No. 16 Arizona State crushes Arizona 49-7 to reclaim Territorial Cup

The Sun Devils are bringing the Territorial Cup back to Tempe.

For the first time in three years, Arizona State has beaten their bitter rival Wildcats to reclaim the oldest rivalry trophy in college football history, and they did it in spectacular fashion with a 49-7 final score. In doing so, they won their tenth game for the first time since 2014 and have placed themselves firmly in contention to reach the Big 12 title game.

Coming into this game ranked 16th in the most recent College Football Playoff Top 25, Arizona State was a heavy favorite to beat their rival despite going on the road to face the 4-7 Wildcats. They backed up everyone who bet on them to cover by dominating in the first half and taking a 35-0 lead into the halftime break.

The Wildcats got the ball to start the third quarter and they came out with something to prove. They marched down the field right away, with several big plays to star receiver Tetairoa McMillan before Noah Fifita hit him for a 28-yard touchdown.

The Sun Devils looked to respond, moving down the field with ease. Two big runs from backup running back Kyson Brown, which totaled 60 yards, got them into first and goal but the drive fizzled out. Head coach Kenny Dillingham opted to kick the field goal, a departure from his typically aggressive style, and Parker Lewis doinked the 21-yarder off the upright.

For a brief moment, it looked as if the door might be open for a comeback, as BYU nearly did something similar last week against Arizona State. The Wildcats offense started moving the ball again after the missed kick, but things stalled out on third down. When they brought out the punt team on fourth and two on their own 43-yard line, Arizona fans started booing, but the ball went back to Arizona State.

The Sun Devils offense came out looking to stick a (pitch)fork in the Wildcats, moving it down the field with several big passing plays. When Sam Leavitt's third down scramble still came up short, Dillingham decided to go for it on fourth down this time. Leavitt then tossed a bomb to Xavier Guillory, who easily sailed past two defenders.

Following that big score, the Sun Devils defense forced a punt after just six plays, and Arizona State pulled their starters. Tucson natives and brothers Trenton Bourguet and Caden Bourguet connected on a seven yard pass for a first down before walk-on receiver Derek Eusebio made his first catch of the year, a quick screen that quickly became a big play.

At that point, the game was effectively wrapped up, and the Wildcats even pulled their starters too. Arizona State managed to pick off backup quarterback Cole Tannenbaum, though the offense didn't really do much as they were trying to simply grind out the clock. Before long, the clock had hit triple zeroes and the win was official.

It was a big win to close out a magical season that saw the Sun Devils win their final five games and finish 10-2 just one year after going 3-9 in Dillingham's first year on the job. Now, they wait to see the results of the final slate of Big 12 games to know whether or not they'll travel to AT&T Stadium in Dallas next week to play in the conference championship game.

While Sun Devil fans will surely be sitting on pins and needles for the rest of the evening, they can at least rest easy knowing that they will be keeping the coveted Territorial Cup.