Arizona shrugs off early field goal block, misses to pull away in Territorial Cup

TEMPE — Arizona beat ASU 23-7 in the Territorial Cup on Friday, but it missed out on opportunities to take control early.

It had three red zone trips in the first half, netting 134 yards on 35 plays combined. It reached goal-to-go on two of those drives but was held scoreless on all three.

ASU blocked a field goal, forced a fumble and watched an earlier field goal miss wide right.

Come for the @keithabneyjr field goal block, stay for the @tyson_jordyn & @KennyDillingham reaction 😈

📺 @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/495BhOLiSS

— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) November 29, 2025

Ahead of the block — which came from top ASU cornerback Keith Abney II — defensive lineman Justin Wodtly sacked Noah Fifita for a 12-yard loss to eliminate any thought of going for it in the red zone.

It was Montana Warren with a nine-yard tackle for loss of Arizona running back Quincy Craig before the first missed field goal, who coughed up the ball to end a separate drive when he was hit by defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika.

Kongaika was also notably the former Wildcat who stabbed the ASU pitchfork into the “A” on the field in Tucson after the 2024 Territorial Cup win.

Arizona had another drive in ASU territory at the close of the half, but a holding penalty derailed it and forced the Wildcats to settle for a field goal, getting on the board for the first time but still trailing 7-3 at the break.

The fourth time was the charm for the Wildcats, who needed two plays to find the end zone after Jeff Sims fumbled a handoff exchange close to his own goal line and made it 10-7 early in the third.

But after ASU’s fifth three-and-out on the day, Arizona missed another field goal, this time wide right. It, too, came after a tackle for loss.

Following the third miss of the day, the Wildcats finished the rest of their full drives with scores, getting two field goals and sealing the game with a long touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.

ASU offense operates in Territorial Cup at a crawl

The ASU offense was not in a good place to begin.

More specifically, it produced just 14 yards across its first three drives, with Sims throwing an interception to Arizona’s Michael Dansby to end a third straight three-and-out.

Dansby entered as one of the few Arizona defensive backs without an interception on the year, and it gave the Wildcats 17 as a team. It was Sims’ third interception on the year, all in the last four games.

Sims threw to Jordyn Tyson for a five-yard completion to start the game, but his next three passes went incomplete. He finished with 114 passing yards on 11 of 25 with three interceptions.

The run game wasn’t pulling its weight to that point, as Sims and Raleek Brown had combined for 10 yards on five carries.

The scoreless first quarter clinched ASU going the entire regular season without a touchdown against an FBS opponent. It had two against FCS NAU in the season opener.

Sims ran for a 23-yard score on the next drive, but Tyson left the game with an apparent injury earlier in the possession.

The Sun Devils also had their own special teams miscue when Jesus Gomez had a 49-yard attempt doink into an upright late in the first half.

That was the last scoring chance ASU had, as it finished with five turnovers and six three-and-outs.

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