2024 has been quite the trading of places between the two Grand Canyon State schools. ASU has improved dramatically over the last year, while Arizona looks nothing like the 10-win team it was in 2023. Yet, the Wildcats will aim to derail the Sun Devils’ path to the Big 12 title game. But do they have the tools to accomplish that? Here’s a detailed look at the 98th Territorial Cup matchup and the University of Arizona.

Arizona Offense

Whether it’s a product of Arizona’s change of coaching staff, a lack of supporting skill talent (minus perhaps the best wide receiver in college football) or a good old sophomore slump – or a combination of the three – though he has had a good season, Wildcat quarterback Noah Fifita has not built upon or even lived up to the incredible level of play he showcased last season as a first-year starter for Arizona.

Last season, Fifita completed 72.4 percent of his passes and threw 25 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Through 11 games this season, he’s completed 61.3 percent of his passes with 17 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, totaling 2,832 passing yards on the year.

In 2023, Fifita had five games with at least 300 passing yards, including a monstrous 527-yard, five-touchdown day against ASU. This season, he has only reached the 300-yard mark twice and has four games with under 225 passing yards.

On a national scale, Fifita ranks 19th in total passing yards and 21st in passing yards per game, but he only ranks 84th in the country in passing efficiency (128.68), and only two players in the nation have more than the 12 interceptions Fifita has thrown through 11 games.

Additionally, he has been sacked 26 times this year, which ties for the 18th-highest number of times that any individual quarterback has been taken down this season. However, Fifita does have 411 passing attempts this year, 11th most among all FBS quarterbacks.

Though undersized compared to the traditional quarterback prototype, Fifita is not much of a running threat. He has 15 net yards on the year, one touchdown, and a long run of 24 yards.

After the offseason transfer of Jonah Coleman, one of many former Wildcats to follow former head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington, Arizona gained its starting running back for 2024 through similar means as Quali Conley followed Brent Brennan from San Jose State to Arizona.

Conley leads the team with 140 carries for 719 yards (5.1 avg.) with eight touchdowns, also ranking third on the team with 36 receptions totaling 220 yards with a score. He has two 100-yard games on the year including a 107-yard performance two weeks ago in a win against Houston. Conley does, however, have five games this year with under 50 net rushing yards, including last week’s loss to TCU (42 yards).

Behind Conley, former Ole Miss transfer Kedrick Reescano ranks second on the team with 67 carries for 304 yards (4.5 avg.) with one touchdown.

Arizona has been without a potentially dangerous rusher for virtually the entire season, as Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who rushed for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns last season at New Mexico, has only appeared in one game this season due to reported concerns about eligibility issues.

Interestingly, Croskey-Merritt is listed atop this week’s depth chart with an “or” beside his name, along with Conley and Reescano. Croskey-Merritt has only played in the season opener, ironically against his former team, New Mexico. That said, he has been listed in the same capacity on previous depth charts this season and still has only appeared in the season opener.

The clear-cut standout of the entire Arizona roster and a player who logically figures to be making his final college appearance this Saturday is superstar receiver Tetairoa McMillan. He dominated ASU last season with 11 receptions for 266 yards and a touchdown.

Overall, this season, he has caught 78 passes for 1,251 yards with seven touchdowns. On a national scale, he ranks third in the country in total receiving yards and receiving yards per game, ninth in total receptions, 10th in receptions per game (7.1), and tied for 36th nationally in touchdown catches.

Somewhat oddly, McMillan has “only” five 100-yard games this year, but two were monster outings with a 10-catch, 304-yard, four-touchdown opening effort against New Mexico and a 10-catch, 202-yard, one-score day versus West Virginia about a month ago. He had six 100-yard games in 2023 and one as a freshman in 2022, adding up to 12 career 100-yard receiving efforts.

Through 11 games, he has at least five receptions in 10 of 11 games this season and has five with at least eight catches.

This week, McMillan was named a Biletnikoff Award finalist along with Colorado’s Travis Hunter and San Jose State’s Nick Nash.

Behind McMillan, there is a gargantuan, Grand Canyon-sized gap between the Wildcats' next leading pass-catcher. McMillan has 42 receptions and 945 yards more than Arizona’s second-leading performer in both categories.

Chris Hunter has emerged as the top performing complement to McMillan at wide receiver, especially of late. On the season, he has 32 receptions for 306 yards with three scores, with 21 receptions for 214 yards and two touchdowns coming across the past three games.

JUCO transfer Jeremiah Patterson ranks third among receivers on the team with 26 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns. He had a season-high six receptions last week versus TCU but only totaled 28 receiving yards on the day.

Former Colorado transfer Montana Lemonious-Craig has 17 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown this season, but despite having played in each game since, he has not caught a pass since a five-catch outing against BYU on October 12.

The Wildcats use their tight ends more than just a little bit, with Keyan Burnett leading the way with 18 receptions for 217 yards and a touchdown in eight games and Sam Olson posting 13 receptions for 196 yards and two scores in 10 games.

Burnett has missed the past two games, opening the door for Olson, a former San Jose State transfer, to earn recent starts at tight end, but Burnett is listed as the starter on this week’s depth chart.

The Wildcat offensive line is slated to feature Jonah Savaiinaea at left tackle, Wendell Moe, Jr. at left guard, Josh Baker at center, Alexander Doost at right guard, and Joey Capra at right tackle.

Savaiinaea, an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 pick last year, has started at both left and right tackle this season. Overall, he has started all 36 games he’s played at Arizona across his almost three-year career. However, of significant importance is that earlier this week, it was reported that Savaiinaea’s availability for Saturday’s game is uncertain, which would be a substantial loss for the Wildcats.

Baker, who has been in the program since 2020, has appeared in 50 games for the Wildcats with 42 starts, including all 25 of the 2022-23 seasons and all ten games in which he has played this year.

Moe, a third-year Wildcat, has ten starts this year at left guard, while Doost, who transferred to Arizona after redshirting at Northwestern last year, has started the past eight games at right guard.

The right tackle position has been a bit of a turnstile for the Wildcats, with four different players earning starts at the spot this year. Capra, formerly of Nevada and San Diego State, has started the past two games for Arizona at right tackle and is listed on the depth chart as this week’s starter as well.

Arizona Offense Summary

Statistically, Arizona ranks 35th in the country in pass offense (259.0), 45th in third-down conversion percentage (.432), and ties for 46th in red zone offense (.875), which are the main defensive categories in which the Wildcats rank among the better half of FBS teams this year.

Arizona also ranks 73rd in the nation in team tackles for loss allowed (5.55 per game), 87th in total offense (367.6), 90th in team sacks allowed (2.36 per game), 103rd in turnovers lost (19), 107th in scoring offense (23.1), and 117th in rush offense (108.6).

Though Fifita’s statistics and overall performance level is a significant decline from last season, his passing combination with McMillan is one of the most dangerous in the nation. That said, the offensive contributions outside this pair have been sparse, to say the least.

Arizona Defense

Operating mainly out of a 4-2-5 alignment, Arizona's starting line figures to feature Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei and Tre Smith, along with Stanley Ta’ufo’ou and Isaiah Johnson.

One of several current Wildcats to have followed head coach Brent Brennan from San Jose State and also a local product from Mesa’s Red Mountain High School, Smith has been a bright spot this season in terms of attacking opposing backfields with team-highs of 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and ten quarterback hurries as part of his 48 total tackles, which rank fifth on the team. He also has a forced fumble on the year.

Uiagalelei has registered 30 tackles, including 6.5 for loss with 1.5 sacks, as well as seven quarterback hurries and one pass breakup.

Formerly a USC Trojan, Ta’ufo’ou has 28 tackles, including 4.0 for loss with 2.0 sacks, along with two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.

Johnson, a graduate of Chandler High School, has nine total tackles this year, including 2.5 for loss with 2.0 sacks and a quarterback hurry.

At linebacker, Taye Brown and Kamuela Ka’aihue figure to start on Saturday for the Wildcats.

Brown, a Hamilton High School product, ranks second on the team with 60 tackles, including 3.5 for loss with 2.0 sacks, along with two pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Ka’aihue has 11 tackles in 11 games this year and is listed as the fill-in for injured starter Jacob Manu, a First-Team All-Pac-12 pick in 2023.

In the secondary, cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Marquis Groves-Killebrew are likely to be joined by Dalton Johnson and either Owen Goss or Jack Luttrell at safety and Genesis Smith at the team’s “Star” defender position.

Johnson, a fourth-year member of the program, is by far the team’s leading tackler with 85 – 25 more than Arizona’s second-leading tackler – including 4.5 for loss with two pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

Smith, who, like Brown, came to Arizona from Hamilton High, has posted 53 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, with a split of the team-high three interceptions and a share of the team lead with six pass breakups. He also has a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Davis, an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 selection in 2023, is credited with 39 tackles, including 2.0 for loss, with a share of the team-high with six pass breakups along with a quarterback hurry.

Groves-Killebrew, a former Louisville Cardinal and Texas A&M Aggie has 23 tackles in nine games, including a sack and four pass breakups.

Goss, a transfer from Colgate, has tallied 49 tackles, including 4.0 for loss with a sack, as well as three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry.

Luttrell came to Arizona this offseason as a transfer from Tennessee and has collected 38 tackles, a share of the team high, three interceptions, one pass breakup, and one forced fumble.

Arizona will be without one of its top cornerbacks, as Emmanuel Karnley, who has 16 tackles and ranks second on the team with five pass breakups in 10 games with six starts, has been suspended for the game after he spit on an opposing player in last week’s game against TCU.

Arizona Defense Summary

Statistically on a national scale, Arizona ties for 47th in turnovers gained (16), but that is the only major defensive category in which the Wildcats are ranked inside the nation’s top 70 as Arizona ties for 70th in red zone defense (.833), ties for 81st in team tackles for loss (5.3 per game), ranks 82nd in pass defense (227.8), 91st in third-down defense (.420), 93rd in rush defense (164.3), 94th in total defense (392.1), while also tying for 98th in team sacks (1.64 per game) and tying for 104th in scoring defense (30.18).

Though multiple key defenders opted to leave Arizona this past offseason via the transfer portal, a pile of notable injuries has ravaged the Wildcat defense of players like Jacob Manu, Gunner Maldonado, Treydan Stukes, and others.

In Big-12 Conference games, Arizona allows 31.5 points per game – though they held Utah (10 points) and Houston (three) in check for what’s proven to be the Wildcats’ only two conference wins thus far. In the Cats’ six other Big 12 games this season, they allow nearly 40 points per game – 39.83.

Arizona Special Teams

Other than McMillan, the next most impressive player on the entire roster this season has to be kicker Tyler Loop, who has made 18-of-22 field goals (81.82%) with an incredible long kick of 62 yards. He also kicks off for Arizona and has punted four times this year with a 41.75-yard average.

Loop, who will play his final collegiate game on Saturday, was a Second-Team All-Pac-12 pick last season and should earn similar—if not better—honors again this season in the Big 12.

True freshman Michael Salgado-Medina has been the team’s primary punter and has had a solid season for a rookie. He averages 43.15 yards on 33 punts and has a long of 71 yards.

Jeremiah Patterson is the team’s primary returns specialist, as he averages 20.88 yards on 25 kickoff returns with a long of 40 and 5.57 yards on 14 punt returns with a long of 32 yards.

Overall Summary

Oh, the difference a year makes.

This time last year, Arizona thrashed ASU by a score of 59-23 on the way to a 10-win season for the Wildcats in 2023, which (at least at the time) justifiably created College Football Playoff caliber expectations for the 2024 season.

However, former head coach Jedd Fisch's abrupt January departure to Washington created quite a shakeup within the program. Though Arizona was able to retain some of its top-end talent after the coaching change, it has clearly had a substantially negative impact on the football program.

Brent Brennan came to Tucson from San Jose State, where he had done a respectable job. Things simply have not clicked this year with Brennan and his Wildcats. Despite being ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP Poll and opening with a 3-1 start to the season, Arizona dropped five straight midseason games and last week added a seventh overall loss to conclusively take the Wildcats out of bowl contention.

Meanwhile, ASU is having a 2024 season that is remarkably similar to that of Arizona in 2023, as the Sun Devils are likely a win away from clinching a Big 12 championship game appearance and two wins away from a College Football Playoff berth.

That said, there likely isn’t a Sun Devil fan on the planet who isn’t exceptionally nervous about this rivalry game, as many still carry the memories of Territorial Cup matchups like those of the 1980s, where Arizona single-handedly kept ASU out of the Rose Bowl.

If we simply evaluate the Xs and Os of this matchup, ASU has a considerable list of advantages, but in this rivalry game, logic and reason do not always prevail.

A crucially important aspect of this game is that ASU must play four full, complete quarters with the same energy, efficiency, and attacking mindset – especially on defense. Each of the past two weeks – and at multiple stops through the first 11 games – the Sun Devils have had drastically inconsistent effort between the first and second halves of games, which have either required furious comebacks by the Devils to win or have forced Arizona State into white knuckle stretches of intense stress, such as the second half last week against BYU.

Also at stake is that an upset win for the Wildcats will give them three straight victories in the series, which Arizona has not managed since 1993-95.

This game could be like 2013, where the Sun Devils made short work of their in-state rival on the way to a conference championship game, or it could be like the occasions in the 1980s and again in 2014 where the Wildcats single-handedly kept ASU either out of its conference championship game or an outright Rose Bowl appearance.

The argument can legitimately be made that this is the most important Territorial Cup matchup since 1996 due to the national championship implications in that game, which, to an extent, are again present in this weekend’s contest.

To win this game would lock in ASU's first 10-win season since 2014, only the fourth time this century, and open the door for a conference championship and potential national championship contention.

To lose this game would be as dejecting as any loss to Arizona in recent memory – perhaps even the most dejecting of all time in the series for Sun Devil fans.

Either way, it’s likely that this Territorial Cup showdown will not soon be forgotten – for better or worse – by Sun Devil fans.