ASU Football: Territorial Cup Week
By Mike Slifer
Well, it’s now 72 hours away from kickoff. The Territorial Cup game will be held in Tucson this Friday at 1:30.
When first looking at this match-up, it’s hard to ignore the measurables. For the first time in recent memory, both teams are almost equal to each other in record, ranking and statistics. As of today, in the AP poll, U of A is ranked #12, ASU #13. Both teams are 9-2. Both are playing for a shot at being the PAC-12 South Champions.
The post-season scenario is the same for both teams–they need Stanford to beat UCLA. If that happens, the winner of this Territorial Cup game in Tucson is the South Champs. On top of that, even if UCLA wins, the winner of this rivalry game will most likely be invited to play in the Fiesta Bowl. The loser goes to a lesser bowl.
So the stakes are much higher than usual for this game. The winner gets to ride the roller coaster a little longer, the loser has to get in the car and go home. But outside of the implications for post-season play is the rivalry itself. This game is historically hostile. It’s no less hostile than any other rivalry in the country. The players don’t like each other. The students/fans don’t like each other. And since both coaches (Graham/Rodriguez) arrived in 2012, it has been widely publicized that these two head coaches don’t care for each other, either.
So when you factor in the emotions of this game, the desire for bragging rights, playing for pride, representing their school–when you factor all that in with the fact that this game has playoff implications, the stage is set for a highly charged, nasty affair.
Football fans should love this. Even die-hard ASU or UA fans (who typically want to see their rival suffer all season long) will have to admit that the game is more exciting when both teams are good.
There are other measurables involved that make this game intriguing. Both teams are similarly ranked in run defense, passing offense, red-zone production, and turnover margin. But honestly, all this analysis of numbers, stats, rankings, etc. can be thrown out the window for this game. Both teams are talented. Both teams have had a successful season and are hungry for more.
Devils in Detail will attempt to break down this game a little further and provide Keys to Victory, but this game is going to come down to specific players making plays at specific times. One of Bobby Bowden’s famous quotes before a rivalry game with Florida was when he said “this game will come down to blocking and tackling”. Brilliant. He’s right. The team that can control their emotions and execute will most likely determine the winner of this game.
But every game has critical moments. Most of those critical moments occur on third down. So, whichever team can simply make plays on third down will have the best chance to win, especially on third downs in the red zone.
For ASU, right now there are two major concerns: First, the offense cannot start off slow like they have recently. In a game like this, against a quality opponent, if it takes too long to get into a rhythm, it could be a really steep uphill climb. Secondly, the defense has to be more effective when they blitz. For the last two weeks, their pressure packages against opposing quarterbacks were inconsistent. That inconsistency hurt the Sun Devils. The Wildcats have a talented group of receivers. If the UA quarterback (whoever it is) has lots of time to throw the ball, it could lead to some big plays. ASU cannot endure that this week. Big plays by the Wildcat offense will doom the Sun Devils.
Check back the next few days for more analysis of this game.