Territorial Cup 2015 Live Blog: Arizona Wildcats vs. Arizona State Sun Devil
Nov 21, 2015, 1:02 PM | Updated: 5:16 pm
TEMPE, Ariz. — It’s the 89th Duel in the Desert.
The Arizona Wildcats (6-5) visit the Arizona State Sun Devils (5-5) for the oldest rivalry trophy in college football, the Territorial Cup.
In this space, we’ll keep a running log of all of the days happenings at Sun Devil Stadium.
Fourth Quarter
End of 4th: Sun Devils win 52-37.
2:30 left in 4th: Another pick-six for the Devils. This time it’s Lloyd Carrington. Dawkins was under pressure again and took a brutal hit as he threw the ball. 52-30 ASU
3:33 left in 4th: Kareem Orr possibly seals the game with a pick-six. Dawkins was blitzed and threw into double coverage. 45-30 ASU.
4:08 left in 4th: ASU tried to kill some clock on the ground and it led to a punt. Bercovici’s third down incompletion gave the Wildcats the ball back down only one score.
6:50 left in 4th: A huge 3rd down conversion of 43 yards to Griffey gave the Wildcats life and they capitalized with a touchdown pass for 17 yards to Tyrell Johnson. We’ve still got a lot of game left. 38-30 ASU.
10:13 left in 4th: ASU needed a big drive and they got one. The Sun Devils marched on a 74-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion run by Mike Bercovici. D.J. Foster capped it with a 1-yard touchdown run. Zane Gonzalez added the extra point to put the Devils up 38-23.
Third Quarter
End of the 3rd: Sun Devil Stadium has become very quiet. ASU sleep-walked through that 15-minute frame and Arizona pounced, outscoring the Devils 13-0 to make it a one-possession game. Arizona had 163 yards in the quarter, while ASU managed 87 on 18 plays. This has the makings of an interesting (or strange) finish in Tempe.
:46 left in 3rd quarter: Dawkins hits Trey Griffey on a short pass, and Griffey did the rest, meandering through the ASU defense for a 95-yard touchdown. Awful angles and tackling in the third quarter by Arizona State have made this a game. Skowron kicks the extra point and it’s 31-23 ASU.
1:50 left in 3rd quarter: ASU stalls again. After two great runs by Richard to put him over 100 yards on the day, Bercovici misfired on a third-down pass to Ballage, who was wide-open in the flat. Haack’s punt pins UA at their own 3-yard line. Big drive coming up here for the Wildcats.
3:40 left in 3rd: Another field goal by Skowron — this one from 47 yards, makes it a 31-16 ASU lead. Big play: Lloyd Carrington called for pass interference on a third-down pass to Cayleb Jones. It’s been a rough senior season for Carrington.
6:52 left in the 3rd: ASU finally got its first third-down conversion of the game, but they couldn’t get two and their drive stalled near midfield. UA takes over at their own 8-yard line, following a holding penalty on Cam Denson.
9:10 left in 3rd: ASU’s defense answers — D.J. Calhoun sacks Dawkins on third down. That was Calhoun’s seventh sack of the season, which leads the Sun Devils. Riggleman punts, ASU takes over at their own 13-yard line.
10:17 left in 3rd quarter: Getting a little interesting. Bercovici is sacked by DeAndre’ Miller on third down and ASU has to punt, which nets only 25 yards after a good return by Nate Phillips. Second straight possession in which the Wildcats will start in ASU territory, this one at the 48.
11:32 left in 3rd: Arizona draws first blood in the second half, getting three points off of Bercovici’s second turnover of the day. Skowron connects on a 37-yard field goal to make it Arizona State 31, Arizona 13.
13:43 left in 3rd quarter: UA’s defense put a little pressure on Bercovici on third down, he scrambled and fumbled and UA takes over on the ASU 41-yard line.
Second Quarter
End of the 2nd quarter: Gonzalez boots 29-yard field goal as time expires, capping a 6-play, 67-yard drive. The big play was a 65-yard run by Kalen Ballage. ASU leading 31-10, and has 400 yards of offense in the first half.
2:22 left in 2nd quarter: Another three-and-out. Salamo Fiso credited with a sack of Dawkins on second down. ASU has time left to operate with and will get the ball to start the second half.
4:00 left in 2nd quarter: Bercovici made probably his best throw of the season — a 41-yard thunderbolt to redshirt freshman Jalen Harvey for the touchdown. It was the first catch of Harvey’s career. Gonzalez kicks the point after and ASU is up 28-10. The Sun Devils offense is dominating right now.
5:47 left in the 2nd quarter: Dawkins does a nice job on his first drive of the game. He ran for 26 yards on a 3rd-and-2. Later in the possession, he hit Johnny Jackson on a 28-yard pass that was aided by a missed tackle by ASU’s James Johnson. But he couldn’t convert on a third down deep in ASU territory and the Wildcats have to settle for a 22-yard field goal attempt from Skowron. It’s good. ASU leads 21-10.
10:20 left in 2nd quarter: Brandon Dawkins, a redshirt freshman, is in at QB for Randall.
10:33 left in 2nd quarter: Bercovici scores on a 1-yard keeper to put ASU up 21-7 after a Gonzalez XP. Richard had a 37-run on the drive and ASU was aided by a pass interference call on UA corner DaVonte’ Neal that gave ASU a 1st-and-goal at the 2-yard line. If ASU takes care of the football, they should win this game. The Sun Devils’ offense is having its way against a depleted UA defense.
14:27 left in 2nd quarter: Cam Denson steps in front of a Bercovici flare pass intended for Tim White and walked into the end zone from 21 yards out and the Wildcats are on the board. Casey Skowron boots the extra point and it’s 14-7 Arizona State.
15:00 left in 2nd: Randall’s numbers so far: 4-of-13 for 35 yards. Eesh.
First Quarter
:06 left in 1st quarter: Randall made a nice throw on first down to Cayleb Jones, but Arizona stalled again. This time Randall misfired behind Nate Phillips on third down. He’s getting visibly frustrated. Riggleman punts again — this time 52 yards. ASU possession at the 6-yard line.
1:07 left in 1st quarter: Gorgeous play call, better execution. Bercovici fakes the end around, then goes deep over the middle to Lucien for a 59-yard touchdown pass. Gonzalez adds the extra point and ASU has a 14-0 lead. Lucien with four catches for 125 yards so far.
2:17 left in 1st quarter: The theme continues — Randall overthrows Jackson on a third down. Another three-and-out for the Wildcats. Riggleman uncorks a line drive punt that covers 51 yards and ASU takes over at their own 22-yard line.
3:01 left in 1st quarter: Demario Richard pinballed off of several UA tacklers on his first carry of the game for a 9-yard touchdown run. On the previous play, Bercovici hit Lucien on a 58-yard completion. We’ve finally got some action. Devils lead 7-0 after Gonzalez’s extra point.
4:07 left in 1st quarter: UA goes three-and-out again and again Randall air-mails a third-down throw. Riggleman punts.
5:13 left in 1st quarter: ASU gets a couple of first downs, but the drive stalls at the 25-yard line. Another punt by Haack — this one is a BOMB!! Haack drills a 65-yarder to flip field position. Arizona takes over on their own 14-yard line. That is Haack’s longest punt of the season and matches his career high.
7:28 left in 1st: Arizona goes three-and-out, as Randall overthrows Johnny Jackson by about five yards on the sideline — that’s been a common theme of the early offense for Arizona. Riggleman’s punt squirts out of bounds at the ASU 5-yard line.
Through five total possessions, the teams have combined for 47 yards (35 for UA, 12 for ASU).
8:33 left in 1st: Sun Devils opt to go for it on fourth down and Bercovici takes a sack, courtesy of UA DE Reggie Gilbert. Earlier in the drive, Bercovici botched a handoff with Demario Richard, which led to a big loss and put ASU behind the sticks. Wildcats take over on the ASU 49-yard line.
10:01 left in 1st: After completing a third-down pass, Randall ran a designed QB draw on first down, but fumbled. Christian Sam caused it and Laiu Moekiola recovers for ASU at the Arizona 49-yard line.
11:26 left in 1st: Even with the help, ASU couldn’t do much. Bercovici throws low and outside to Lucien on the sideline and he couldn’t come up with the catch. Matt Haack punts only 26 yards and Arizona will start its second possession at their own 28-yard line
12:44 left in 1st: Mike Bercovici’s third down pass was complete to Devin Lucien, who inexplicably ran laterally instead of gaining the first down. Arizona was called for a head butting personal foul to keep ASU’s drive alive.
13:59 left in 1st: Arizona got a 12-yard run from Randall on the game’s first play, but that was it. UA receiver Samajie Grant took a shot on an incomplete second down pass and was woozy coming off the field. Something to keep an eye on. Drew Riggleman punts and ASU takes over at its own 16-yard line.
Kickoff: Zane Gonzalez’s kickoff sails through the end zone. UA will take over at their own 25.
Pregame
1:00 before kickoff – Arizona State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
6:00 before kickoff – Just spoke with Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne in the press box. He’s more than ready for the day, being dressed in a white dress shirt, red and blue tie, red pants (complete with an ‘A’ logo on the back and navy blue tennis shoes. He told me the Wildcats are 2-1 when he’s sported red pants this season.
31:00 before kickoff – Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon will not start today, due to a concussion suffered in the Wildcats’ upset win over Utah last week.
Jerrard Randall will make his second start of the season for the Wildcats. The senior completed 15-of-28 passes for 178 yards in a 55-17 loss to Stanford on Oct. 3. Randall isn’t much of a passing threat — he’s completed just 52 percent of his passes this season for 483 yards and five touchdowns. He’s a MAJOR threat on the ground. Randall has run for 680 yards on 74 carries. His five TD runs have covered an average of 48 yards per pop. His running ability will create a new challenge for the ASU defense.
40:00 before kickoff – Interesting choice by the folks at ASU to paint the end zones maroon and gold for the first time all season on a day when the Sun Devils will be wearing their “Be the Hammer” uniforms, which consist of anthracite and gray.
