A heated rivalry will present a Territorial Cup game which carries more than usual implications for such a contest, especially for the Sun Devils. On Saturday afternoon in Tempe, they will encounter a Wildcat squad that is much improved over last year. Here’s a detailed look at ASU’s archrival.

Arizona Offense

When the season began, Brandon Dawkins – a player who put up highly impressive numbers in the last two games against ASU – returned as Arizona’s starting quarterback, but after four games and a 2-2 record, a new starter entered the fold for the Wildcats.

From day one as a starter, Khalil Tate made his presence known as one of the most dynamic and threatening dual-threat quarterbacks in the country as in his debut start he set a new FBS quarterback rushing record with 327 yards and four touchdowns in a win at Colorado. In that game, he also completed a scorching 12-of-13 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown.

Starting that week, Tate would ultimately be named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week four consecutive times as he guided the Wildcats to four straight victories and rushed for 230, 137 and 146 yards in his second, third and fourth starts. In start number four, a win over a nationally ranked Washington State team, Tate added a career-high 275 passing yards with two scores, a win that vaulted Arizona into the top-25 for a week.

On the season, Tate has rushed 125 times for 1,325 yards (10.6 avg.) with 11 touchdowns and has totaled 1,157 passing yards and has completed 59.3% of his passes with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.

In his seven starts, Tate averages 177.0 rushing yards and 159.4 passing yards per game. Nationally, Tate ranks 12th in total rush yards but ranks fourth in the nation in rushing yards per game at 147.2.

Tate has shown some deficiencies in the passing game of late as he has thrown seven of his eight interceptions on the year in the past five games – at least one pick thrown in each of the five. Also, Oregon last week found the magic solution to stop Tate as the Ducks held him to just 32 yards on 14 carries. Before that, Tate’s lowest rushing total in a start was his 137 yards against California.

A spectacular as Tate has been in the run game, he is far from the only weapon in the Wildcat backfield as a trio of other rushers have created a collective impact this season as well.

J.J. Taylor saw action early in the 2016 season and showcased impressive running skills before being sidelined with a season-ending injury. Granted a redshirt for the season, Taylor’s redshirt freshman campaign of 2017 has been striking as well as he has carried 124 times for 754 yards with four touchdowns and has a pair of receiving scores as well. Among Pac-12 running backs with 100 or more carries, only Stanford’s Bryce Love and USC’s Ronald Jones have higher yards per carry averages than Taylor’s 6.1.

Previously a 1,000-yard rusher as a freshman who now as a senior is part of Arizona’s running back rotation, Nick Wilson ranks third on the team with 534 yards on 105 carries with six touchdowns. His unavailability is uncertain for Saturday, but should he play, Wilson is just 42 yards away from the 3,000-yard mark for his collegiate career.

A player who enjoyed a career day against ASU last season, Zach Green ranks second behind Tate with 10 rushing touchdowns and has 300 yards on 61 carries. A straight-ahead rusher, the 229-pounder has lost just one single yard across his 61 carries. Last year as a junior against ASU, Green had 126 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns – prior to that game, Green had never rushed for more than 46 yards in a single and only had one career rushing touchdown.

Shun Brown is an electric performer at wide receiver, having caught 37 passes for 479 yards with five touchdowns. Tony Ellison has proven to be a reliable possession receiver with 31 receptions for 483 yards and three scores, as has Bryce Wolma at tight end with 26 catches for 228 yards and two touchdowns.

On the offensive line, Arizona has started left tackle Layth Friekh, left guard Christian Boettcher, center Nathan Eldridge and right guard Jason Alsadek in all 11 games, while Gerhard de Beer has started eight times and Cody Creason three times at right tackle.

The group as a whole has excelled as the Wildcats have the third-best rush offense in the nation and are tied for the ninth-fewest sacks allowed in the FBS.

Offense Summary

ASU defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has his work cut out for him this week in a way that he has not through the season’s first 11 games, though the blueprint set last week by Oregon could be a script to follow for Arizona State.

Stopping Tate is much, much more easily said than done and though he’s the clear headliner of the team he is certainly not the only offensive weapon.

Tate didn’t appear in the game last season, but ASU’s defense better have a chip on its shoulder after an embarrassing effort last season in Tucson to the tune of more than 500 rushing yards racked up by the Wildcats.

ASU’s objectives should be to be mindful of Tate’s presence on every single snap, strive to keep the ball out of his hands but also limit the impact of the other Wildcat skill players on the field.

Arizona Defense

Along the defensive front, sophomore Justin Belknap is slated at the end position with Dereck Boles at the nose and either Luca Bruno or Parker Zellers – both fifth-year seniors – at tackle.

Boles leads the group with 38 tackles including 1.5 for loss, Bruno has 25 tackles including 1.5 sacks, Belknap has 22 tackles including 3.0 for loss with 2.5 sacks and Zellers has 14 total tackles but none behind the line of scrimmage.

Arizona was tremendously banged up along the defensive line prior to and as a result of its game against Oregon last week, so the available personnel could vary by the time Saturday arrives.

Standout true freshman Kylan Wilborn plays the team’s Stud position. Wilborn has established himself as a legitimate pass rush threat as he ranks second nationally in sacks among freshmen with his 7.5. Altogether, Wilborn has 32 tackles including 9.5 for loss with the 7.5 sacks as well as four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Wilborn leads the Pac-12 in forced fumbles and ranks third in the league in total sacks.

Starting at linebacker are true freshmen Colin Schooler at mike and Tony Fields II at will with fifth-year senior Dane Cruikshank at spur.

Fields II and Schooler are the team’s two top tacklers with Fields II having posted 81 tackles including 5.0 for loss with 3.0 sacks and one interception while Schooler has collected 75 tackles including 11.5 for loss with 3.0 sacks and two interceptions and one forced fumble. Among Pac-12 linebackers, only Oregon’s Troy Dye has more tackles for loss than Schooler.

Both Fields II and Schooler along with Wilborn stand a very good chance at being named the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.

Cruikshank has totaled 63 tackles including 4.0 for loss with 0.5 sacks with three interceptions and one forced fumble.

Similar to ASU’s J’Marcus Rhodes, Cruikshank moved from a more traditional defensive back role to the spur position and like Rhodes, Cruikshank has shown noticeable improvement in his new position.

In the secondary, junior Jace Whittaker is joined by redshirt freshman Lorenzo Burns at cornerback with true freshman Scottie Young, Jr. at safety and junior Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles at the bandit.

Whittaker has a team-high 10 pass breakups and three interceptions along with his 30 total tackles. He ranks second in the Pac-12 in passes defended with a total of 13.

Flannigan-Fowles leads the bunch in tackles with 73, adding three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Burns has a team-high four interceptions – tied for second in the Pac-12 – to go along with 67 tackles, while Young has 44 tackles including 3.5 for loss.

Defense Summary

Arizona’s defense is, in a word, weird.

The Wildcats are tied for second nationally in interceptions (17), rank 12th in the nation in red zone defense (74.1%) and are tied for 15th nationally in turnovers gained (22). If you’re an Arizona fan, these numbers are good.

However, the Wildcats also rank 124th of 129 FBS teams in pass defense (287.3), first downs allowed (25.1 per game) and total red zone opportunities allowed (54), are tied for 120th in red zone touchdowns allowed (35), while also ranking 119th nationally in total defense (470.9), 116th in third-down defense (45.4%) and tied for 116th in rushing touchdowns allowed (28) and 104th in scoring defense (33.4). If you’re an Arizona fan, these numbers are bad – very bad.

Arizona has allowed at least 37 points in four of its past five games and in its two recent losses to USC and Oregon, the Wildcats allowed 49 and 48 points, respectively.

In three of the past four games, Arizona has allowed between 588 and 653 yards of total offense and both USC (331) and Oregon (353) accumulated well over 300 rushing yards against the Wildcats.

The “bend but don’t break” label doesn’t truly apply in an accurate fashion to Arizona’s defense, however, the team has been able to make stops and create turnovers at opportune times – some of which have been the difference between wins and losses for the Wildcats.

Ultimately, this is a very young defense that features five true or redshirt freshmen in the projected starting lineup and is equally capable of making game-shifting plays as it is of suffering as tide-turning lapses.

Arizona Special Teams

Special teams regularly factor into the outcome of the game for the Territorial Cup, and the Arizona Wildcats bring both dynamic strengths and glaring weaknesses to Tempe with their special teams units.

If not for Washington’s Dante Pettis’ record-setting season and career as a punt returner, Shun Brown perhaps would be the talk of the conference – and perhaps an All-America candidate – at punt returner.

Through 11 games, Brown averages 16.2 yards on 12 punt returns with two touchdowns, which ties him for second in the nation behind Pettis in punt return touchdowns and would place him third nationally in return average if he had enough attempts to qualify.

The Wildcats have a similarly dangerous threat on kick returns in Tyrell Johnson, who averages 27.2 yards on 21 returns this year.

Arizona’s primary placekicker is Josh Pollack, who has made 10-of-14 attempts with a long of 45 yards with two kicks blocked.

Lucas Havrisik is the team’s kickoff specialist and long-range field goal kicker, as he tied the school record by connecting on a 57-yarder against Washington State. On the year, he is 3-of-4 with all coming beyond 40 yards. He has also kicked 54 touchbacks on 81 kickoffs.

The Wildcat punt team is where potential challenges could arise for the visiting team, as Arizona in total ranks next to last in the FBS in net punting (30.3) yards. Pollack (37.1-yard average on 14 punts) and Jake Glatting (35.6 on 20) have split punting duties for the Wildcats this year.

Overall Summary

The stakes are always high when the Territorial Cup is on the line, but this year the magnitude is as massive as it’s been in several years as the possibility exists that Todd Graham’s job at ASU could be on the line Saturday.

Though many like to claim that statistics and records fly out the window in a game like this, team strengths, weaknesses, trends and tendencies still certainly play a factor.

Khalil Tate has shown the ability to be the most dynamic athletes in America, but if the Oregon defensive blueprint can be followed his impact perhaps can be limited.

Arizona’s defense has a knack for forcing turnovers, but that capability hasn’t been enough to keep the Wildcats out of some severely dubious company in terms of national defensive rankings in a multitude of important categories.

ASU’s consistency and composure will be crucial on Saturday – will the defense be able to perform more like it did against Washington and Utah than it did against USC and can the red zone touchdown efficiency and overall play calling be better than it was two weeks ago against UCLA?

Also, how does the mental state of the Sun Devil team this week compare to the one that showed zero pride or desire in the 60 minutes of embarrassment that transpired last year in Tucson? Will this team be hell-bent on redemption, or is there any sort of similar apathy anywhere among the roster?

The 2017 season has been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde situation for the Sun Devils and we will not know until Saturday arrives which version of the Arizona State football team will step on the field against Arizona.

Keys to a Sun Devil Victory

Run the Ball, No Unnecessary Risks: As outlined above, Arizona’s defense allows conversions, yards, and points but also excels at defensive takeaways. The lesson from this? ASU should have success with simplicity on offense but could be its own worst enemy if the offense tries to get too tricky or “cute”. Sure, the temptation is always there in rivalry games to double-reverse flea-flicker your way to claiming the trophy at stake, but the Sun Devils should take a page out of Arizona’s second half playbook from 2016 and run and run and until stopped – and if not stopped, just keep running.

Get the Ball out of Tate’s Hands: Against Oregon, Tate had his season-high in pass attempts (35), while tying his second-fewest rush attempts (14) since becoming a starter. The end result? A 20-point loss for the Wildcats.

Though his attempts have been limited – in five of his seven starts Tate finished with 17 or fewer pass attempts – Tate has shown skill in the pass game but also a habit of tossing interceptions as he’s thrown at least one pick in each of the past five games and has seven total interceptions across that span.

Any way that ASU can get Tate out of his comfort zone will be a win for the Sun Devil defense.

Capitalize in the Red Zone: Only two Power Five teams (UCLA and Oregon State) have allowed more total red zone trips than the 54 yielded so far by Arizona. Also, only four Power Five teams have allowed more red zone touchdowns this year than the 35 let up by the Wildcats – Oregon State (42), Kansas (38), UCLA (36) and Texas Tech (36). A level deeper, only three Power Five teams have surrendered more red zone rushing touchdowns than the 23 yielded by the Wildcats – Oregon State, (25), Tennessee (25) and UCLA (25).

However, even with these atrocious numbers, things could have been much worse as the Wildcats admirably rank 12th nationally in red zone defense (74.1%). A perfect example came against California when the Wildcats forced a second-quarter interception in their own end zone on a play that started from the seven-yard line in a game that ultimately ended as a one-point overtime loss for the Golden Bears.

The moral of this red zone story is that the Sun Devils should get a handful of opportunities inside the Wildcat 25-yard line. In those opportunities, ASU must not only avoid settling for field goals instead of touchdowns but also must take extreme care of the ball and not allow the Wildcats to force turnovers as they have at a high rate all year.

Familiar Faces

· ASU head coach Todd Graham was an assistant coach under Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia in 2001-02

· Arizona assistant coach Calvin Magee was also a part of the West Virginia coaching staff in 2001-02

· Graham coached Arizona assistant coach Jamile Addae as a player at West Virginia in 2001-02

· Arizona assistant coach Vince Amey played for ASU from 1994-97.

· Arizona’s JB Brown attended Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High School, as did ASU’s Ceejhay French-Love, JoJo Wicker and Kobe Williams

· Arizona’s Layth Friekh and Shawn Poindexter attended Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial High School, as did ASU’s Marshal Nathe

· Arizona’s Bryce Gilbert attended Gilbert (Ariz.) Higley High School, as did ASU’s Quinn Bailey and Trent Gilbert

· Arizona’s Brandon Rutt and Zach Werlinger attended Chandler (Ariz.) Basha High School, as did ASU’s Ryan Kelley

· Arizona’s Trevor Wood attended Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral High School, as did ASU’s Tyler Whiley