The Sun Devils head down to Tucson this weekend for one of the most important Territorial Cups in recent memory. With a win, ASU is all but guaranteed a spot in the Big 12 Championship, barring all the countless scenarios for different teams to deny them earning a spot in that contest.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt experienced the Michigan and Michigan State rivalry last year, but going up against the eventual national champions is much different compared to this year. Although the Sun Devils are a touchdown-plus favored in the game, Leavitt won’t be taking the game lightly, and neither will his teammates.
“I feel like you can’t really grasp it until you play in it,” Leavitt said. “I’m going to take everybody’s advice, go into the game, and just embrace the moment, feel the passion. We still have to go into the game and put our best foot forward. It’s going to be a high passion game, and they’re probably going to play the hardest they have all season, so we’re ready for it.”
From fall camp to now, the expectations for this team have changed drastically. Although the energy and mood in the locker room were much improved, the possibility of playing for a Big 12 Championship in ASU’s inaugural year was thought of much less in August compared to now.
“I think it’s a testament to the work in the offseason,” Leavitt added. “We know what we’re capable of, and you’re never going to have that belief if you never put the work in. Then you’ve gotta see those results, and we’ve seen them. We’re just going to keep going, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Arizona comes into this game with one of the best duos in the country in sophomore quarterback Noah Fifita and junior receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Of Fifita’s 2,832 passing yards, McMillan makes up for 1,251 of them, good for third in the country.
It will be a battle of dynamic duos down in Tucson, with the Sun Devils bringing one of their own in Leavitt and redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson. Even with teams honing in on Tyson week in and week out, Leavitt and the play calling of offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo have found ways to get the ball to Leavitt’s favorite target.
“I haven’t looked at it like that before, but that’s a fair point,” Leavitt commented. “I go into every game with that mindset anytime a quarterback is ranked above me, or an offense is supposedly better than ours. I feel like we’re always counted out, and we just keep proving people wrong. I’m excited to see what we do.”
The Sun Devils are currently in a four-way tie for the top spot in the Big 12, holding the number one spot between the four teams. A win all but puts ASU in one of the spots for the Big 12 Championship, and the Sun Devils have responded to every challenge they’ve faced. Coming off back-to-back weeks of defeating a top-20 opponent, the Sun Devils have put themselves in the spot they’re in right now.
“That’s how every week is,” Leavitt remarked. “Once you win a game, the next one is more important. That’s how it’s going to be for the rest of the season, and that’s how it’s been for the past few weeks. I don’t think it changes the approach or how we view the game because if you practice hard and prepare hard, the game shouldn’t be any harder.”
The Sun Devils are currently an 8.5-point favorite over Arizona, but a rivalry game means all rankings and previous stats are virtually thrown out the window. The passion and fight in both of these teams will be what the game comes down to. The Sun Devils are marching into Tucson looking to avenge a 59-23 loss in last year’s T-Cup, but Arizona also has the chance to play spoiler to ASU’s playoff hopes.
“Anything can happen,” Leavitt mentioned. “I’ve seen a bunch of rivalry games in basketball and football where crazy stuff happens. This is the first time you’ll have 12 teams playing for a championship, and you never know what can happen. When it comes to rivalry games, talent matters less than execution and who can control the moments.”
While Leavitt has yet to experience a Territorial Cup, his teammate, redshirt senior quarterback Trenton Bourguet, is heading into his sixth matchup against Arizona. He saw the Sun Devils win three straight from 2019-2021, most notably the 70-7 blowout in 2020, but Arizona has taken the last two. In his Territorial Cup as a player, it would be quite nice to end with a victory over ASU’s arch-rival.
“It’s been super exciting,” Bourguet expressed. “It’s crazy that this is my sixth and final here. We’re competing here every single week, but it’s been a magical run so far, and we’re just continuing to put in the work to extend our season.”
Bourguet has seen a lot of change in his time as a Sun Devil. As the sun begins to set on his playing career, he sat back with graduate receiver Melquan Stovall as the two veterans head into their final regular season game. Bourguet has been taking everything in but also realizes the potential of this team.
“It’s business as usual, but I’m definitely not taking any day for granted,” Bourguet stated. “Practices, walkthroughs, team meetings just knowing that time is dwindling down. I talked to Melquan since he’s been in college for a while, and we’ve just been blessed. Maybe our careers didn’t go the way we wanted to, but we wouldn’t change anything.”
Bourguet grew up in Tucson as an Arizona fan, never once thinking about being a Sun Devil. Once he graduated high school, Herm Edwards, then the head coach at ASU, offered him the chance to walk on to the team. Now, walking into a stadium near and dear to him for so long, Bourguet and the Sun Devils will have to handle business if they want to control their own destiny to Arlington, Texas, to play in the conference championship.
“I grew up going to those home games,” Bourguet recalled. “There’s going to be a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, but it’s super exciting. For me, it’s more about the team and this rivalry. For us, we just have to try not to make it bigger than it is. Hopefully, we can go out there and do our thing, and it’ll be a good day.”
Over the course of the season, Bourguet has witnessed Leavitt grow and mature as a player and person. With the two spending so much time together in the same position group, all the quarterbacks have gotten closer to each other. From battling for a starting job to leading a team to a top-15 ranking, Bourguet praised Leavitt’s talent and the coaching staff's job of playing to his strengths.
“It’s been exciting,” Bourguet voiced. “Obviously, there’s only one quarterback on the field, but I think our room has helped each other out. At the end of the day, we want to win no matter who the quarterback is back there. I think he’s doing a great job spreading the ball around, using his legs, and I think Coach Arroyo has done a great job getting the ball to our playmakers and letting them do the rest.”
As Bourguet’s playing career comes to an end, he looks forward to his new chapter in football. Bourguet fell in love with the sport at the age of two and has displayed his talent and knowledge of the game for many years to follow. He plans to coach at some level of football after this year, and a spot on the ASU staff for the 2025 season is not out of the question.
“The plan is to one day be an offensive coordinator,” Bourguet explained. “I could be a head coach as well, but I think OC (offensive coordinator) would be perfect for me. I definitely need to work my way up, and I’d love to stay here in Tempe under (head) Coach Dillingham and Coach Arroyo. I think this place is a hidden get,m and it’s an empire waiting to be built.”
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