Despite the fact that both Arizona State and Arizona enter Friday’s clash for the Territorial Cup with seasons that to this point have been less than incredible, there is still an abundance of storylines and history within this rivalry matchup.
With the NCAA’s oldest football rivalry trophy on the line, this intrastate showdown dates back to 1899 and 2016 marks the 90th meeting between the Sun Devils and the Wildcats.
Conference Oh-Fer
Entering this week of play, Arizona is one of only five FBS teams still winless in conference play and only one other club among that list is a member of a Power 5 conference. Should Arizona lose to ASU, this would mark the first season since 1957 that the Wildcats will have gone winless in league play over an entire season.
Arizona (Pac-12 Conference): 0-8*
Fresno State (Mountain West): 0-7
Rutgers (Big Ten): 0-8
Texas State (Sun Belt): 0-6
Tulane (American Athletic): 0-7
*-Conference games only
Also, Arizona is one of just six FBS teams with just two wins joining Buffalo, Kansas, Rutgers, Texas State and Virginia. Fresno State has the fewest wins of any FBS school with its 1-10 record.
Dry Times in the Desert
As much enjoyment Sun Devil fans likely have gotten out of Arizona’s current eight-game losing streak, ASU doesn’t have much of a proverbial leg to stand on as both ASU and Arizona are among the nine FBS programs with the longest active losing streaks as Fresno State has lost nine consecutive games, Arizona and Rutgers eight, Purdue, Texas State, Tulane and Virginia six and ASU and Connecticut have lost five straight contests.
This year marks the first time that Todd Graham will have faced Arizona after a loss – let alone five consecutive losses – and ASU’s current five-game skid ties 2009 for the longest losing streak in program history prior to facing Arizona. ASU faced Arizona after a four-game losing streak in 2003 and had three-game losing streaks prior to playing the Wildcats in 2000-02. ASU has a 3-2 record in these games with wins in 2000, 2002 and 2003 and losses in 2001 and 2009.
If ASU happens to lose Friday, it would mark just the third time in school history that the Sun Devils suffered a six-game losing streak in a single season matching 1929, 2008 and 2009.
Clash of the Not-So-Titans
Boy oh boy, the difference two years can make.
On November 28, 2014, No. 12 Arizona hosted No. 13 Arizona State in a matchup of two 9-2 teams in a contest that ultimately placed the Pac-12 south division title on the line.
The next season, Arizona fell to a 7-6 record while ASU finished 6-7, while 2016 has seen matters grow collectively worse – and potentially poorer for both teams – as Arizona enters the game with a paltry 2-9 record and ASU travels to Tucson with a 5-6 record.
Due to the subpar performances of both Arizona and Arizona State this season, 2016 will mark just the fourth time in rivalry history that both teams enter the game with losing records. The three other cases among the 89 previous matchups between the two teams were in 2003 (4-7 ASU vs. 2-9 Arizona), 2001 (4-6 ASU vs. 4-6 Arizona) and 1966 (4-5 ASU vs. 3-6 Arizona). The combined seven wins between the two teams mark the lowest total between the two teams since 2003.
Bowls and Cups
Friday’s matchup will mark the 11th time since the two teams entered the Pac-10 Conference in 1978 that ASU enters the game with five wins in search of the sixth to achieve bowl eligibility. In the previous 10, ASU has a 7-3 record with bowl berths acquired in 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2015. Should ASU win Friday the Sun Devils will become bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive year and likely earn a bid in either the Las Vegas or Cactus Bowl depending on whether Washington is chosen for the College Football Playoff and if the Pac-12 is represented in the Rose Bowl in the Huskies’ absence.
ASU also earned a sixth win in 1991 and 1992, but in those days six wins didn’t guarantee a bowl berth as it does today and the Sun Devils were not chosen for postseason play. The Devils finished 6-6 with its dramatic win in Tucson in 2010 but due to having played two FCS opponents that year, ASU was not bowl eligible. The three losses that would have earned bowl eligibility came in 1984, 1998 and 2008.
Underdog Upsets
Despite ASU’s five-game losing streak, the Sun Devils enter Friday’s game with a three-game edge in the win column over the two-win Wildcats. Since the two programs joined the Pac-10 Conference in 1978, there have been seven occasions in which ASU has had at least a three-win edge over the Wildcats at the time the two teams played. In those seven, ASU has a 3-4 record.
Wins: 2007 (9-2 ASU vs. 5-6 Arizona), 2002 (7-5 ASU vs. 4-7 Arizona), 1996 (10-0 ASU vs. 5-5 Arizona)
Losses: 2011 (6-4 ASU vs 2-8 Arizona), 2004 (8-2 ASU vs 2-8 Arizona), 1997 (8-2 ASU vs 5-5 Arizona), 1982 (9-1 ASU vs 5-4-1 Arizona)
The past two times Arizona has entered the game with just two wins (2004 and 2011), the Wildcats upset the Sun Devils both times.
Conversely, ASU’s most substantial upsets of Arizona in terms of win-loss deficit entering the game are when the 5-6 Sun Devils defeated the 7-4 Wildcats in 2010 and when the 3-7 ASU team took down the 5-4 Arizona squad in 1976.
In all, since 1978 ASU has entered the Duel in the Desert with more wins than Arizona on 19 occasions (including 2016) and 12 times the Wildcats had more wins while six matchups came between teams with an equal number of wins.
The most lopsided matchup of all time between the two (in terms of win-loss records) is the 1957 showdown as the 9-0 Sun Devil squad faced Arizona’s 1-7-1 team. The end result was lopsided as well, as Dan Devine’s final game at Arizona State resulted in a 47-7 victory.
