ARIZONA FOOTBALL

Arizona coach Rodriguez, ASU coach Graham talk rivalry

Jul 29, 2015, 1:12 PM | Updated: 7:26 pm

Apparently Arizona State coach Todd Graham and Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez can play nice after all.

The two appeared together on ESPN Wednesday to talk about their programs, each being very complementary of the other.

The two coached together at West Virginia, with Rodriguez leading the way and Graham a linebackers coach and then co-defensive coordinator.

Now, they’re rivals, with Graham holding a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head battles but Rodriguez’s Wildcats currently riding a one-game winning streak.

“The rivalry, the intensity is never going to change,” Rodriguez said. “And Todd and I have competed against each other and we’ve competed with each other in games before. So right now, everybody’s friendly, but in a few weeks that will change probably.”

Probably.

The two aren’t exactly known to have the friendliest of relationships, though it’s hard to know how much of that may be overblown or simply a product of the two working in a cutthroat industry for rival universities. Rodriguez joked that the two aren’t calling each other and trading ideas or talking strategy.

“But Todd has had a lot of success in his career; I’ve been fortunate to have a great staff throughout,” he said. “It’s fun in the offseason, but we’re still competing and Todd’s a competitor, I like to compete. So we compete about every day in our rivalry.”

It has led to great things for both programs, with each forcing their way into the conversation for being among the nation’s best. And if not that, both Arizona State and Arizona are certainly among its up-and-coming schools. In three seasons in Tempe, Graham has won 28 games and one Pac-12 South title, while Rodriguez has led the Wildcats to 26 wins and a division championship.

Last season’s game between the schools, which the Wildcats won 42-35 in Tucson, served as a division championship game. The Territorial Cup is already one of the country’s biggest games, but with the schools rising to prominence it is likely to take on even greater significance.

“One of the things that’s pretty interesting, the last two years the Pac-12 South title has come through Arizona, in Arizona or Arizona State,” Graham said. “Obviously it’s a big game, it has implications every year to who wins the South.

“It was a heck of a game. Obviously any time the rivalry is intense and that game is intense. It was a heck of a football game, a lot of big plays. I think they scored on defense, we scored on defense, and battled back and forth. Obviously they did a great job and wound up coming out on top.”

Added Rodriguez, with a smile, “Let’s call it the biggest one ever because we won. If we didn’t win we’d kind of forget about it.”

The Wildcats’ coach echoed Graham’s comments with regards to how intense the rivalry between the schools is, saying it ranks up there with some of the best in the country.

“And I’ve been in some great rivalries throughout my career, I know Todd has, too, it’s one of the best in college athletics,” he said. “Not just in college football, but college athletics, period.”

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