Samajie Grant, Jaelen Strong shine for Arizona, ASU in Territorial Cup

Both Arizona and Arizona State had modest outputs in the passing game Friday, but one receiver from each team turned some heads in UA’s 42-35 win.

ASU already knew who its No. 1 passing target was entering the game, but one UA player continued to separate himself from the rest of his team’s receiving corps.

Jaelen Strong made four grabs at Arizona Stadium and led all Sun Devils with 80 yards receiving.

Meanwhile, Samajie Grant led the Wildcats with 91 yards receiving, and his four catches tied the team high.

Grant reached the end zone twice in the Territorial Cup, while Strong had one score to his name. Both receivers had a reception of 50 yards or more.

Below is Grant’s dazzling 69-yard catch-and-run that broke a first-quarter tie.

Grant’s performance became the fourth game in a row in which he has gone over 80 yards through the air. It was also the second multi-touchdown game of his collegiate career. The sophomore began the 2014 season with 101 yards and four receptions in a win over UNLV, but he had no touchdowns and failed to record more than 57 yards in a game over his next six outings.

The 5-foot-9 Compton native now has 40 catches for 645 yards and five touchdowns this season. Compare that to his rookie year of 47 receptions, 373 yards and one touchdown. He is averaging 16.1 yards per reception in 2014, as opposed to the 7.9 average he had as a freshman.

As for Strong, Friday marked a solid return for the Sun Devils junior, who missed last Saturday’s win over Washington as he recovered from a concussion. Not only did Strong grab his 10th touchdown and reach 80 yards for the fifth time in 2014, but he also drew a couple of pass interference calls on the Wildcats in the second half, which helped ASU continue drives and stay within reach.

The Sun Devils’ leading receiver did most of his damage before briefly heading to the locker room in the second quarter with a sore shoulder. Early in the quarter, Taylor Kelly found Strong for a 50-yard completion that moved the ball to the Arizona 16 yard line. Four plays later, the wideout capped the drive with a tough three-yard touchdown catch.

“That catch that Jaelen made down there was phenomenal,” head coach Todd Graham said after the game.

Strong returned from the locker room late in the second quarter, but he was mostly quiet from then on. Backup quarterback Mike Bercovici targeted him on each of the Sun Devils offense’s final two plays of the game, with the first pass looking catchable, but the junior was not able to haul in either one.

Strong passed the 1,000-yard plateau Friday for the second year in a row. The 6-foot-3 Philadelphia native is at 1,062 yards and 75 receptions on the year. In his sophomore season, he collected 75 receptions for 1,122 yards and seven touchdowns. Wherever ASU ends up playing a bowl game, it will be the Sun Devils standout’s last chance to improve upon his numbers from last year — and he needs 61 yards and at least one reception to do it.