Bring the juice: Arizona and Arizona State riding high heading into Territorial Cup

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Territorial Cup will be brimming with juice this year.

A rivalry dating to the McKinley presidency will take a massive uptick in intensity on Friday night, when Arizona faces Arizona State in one of the most anticipated Territorial Cup games in a decade.

Both teams are on the upswing, both still have plenty to play for and, yes, they still don’t like each other.

“Rivalry games have so much to them that make them so fun and exciting, but when you have two teams coming together that are both playing good football, it adds a little extra juice to it,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said.

The Territorial Cup has been dotted with lopsided wins in recent years — the latest, Arizona State’s 49-7 win in Tucson — as the programs have labored to find a consistent footing.

This year will be different.

Arizona State is coming off its first College Football Playoff and is still in the mix for another — albeit a longshot — despite a litany of injuries this season in its third year under coach Kenny Dillingham.

Arizona took a major upward swing in its second season under Brennan, riding a four-game winning streak after winning four games all last season.

The Sun Devils were No. 20 in the CFP rankings on Tuesday and the Wildcats were No. 25, marking the first time since 2014 the rivals are ranked heading into the Territorial Cup game.

“It’s awesome to have this game played with two really good football teams,” Dillingham said. “I think that’s what you want. You want this game to matter. It’s awesome that it matters.”

Dillingham has done his part by returning the Sun Devils to the national spotlight.

Arizona State labored through an injury-ravaged 3-9 first season under the ASU alum in 2023 before pulling together one of the program’s best seasons.

Led by quarterback Sam Leavitt and battering-ram running back Cam Skattebo, the Sun Devils won the Big 12 championship their first season in the league and reached the CFP for the first time last year.

Skattebo is now in the NFL and Leavitt suffered a season-ending foot injury in early November, yet Arizona State has kept finding ways to win.

Quarterback Jeff Sims has filled in for Leavitt nicely and the Sun Devils (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) still have an outside shot at playing in the Big 12 championship game again after blowing out Colorado 42-17 last week. Arizona State’s rise and Dillingham’s enthusiasm have ignited a fan base that’s been blasé at times through the years, leading to sellouts every home game this season.

“It certainly makes it more exciting for the fans, knowing that both teams are coming into it playing good football — and I think that’s what it should be,” Brennan said. “You want these games to have a big impact.”

Brennan has engineered a similar second-year turnaround in Tucson.

The former San Jose State coach inherited a program coming off a 10-win season under coach Jedd Fisch but had trouble gaining any traction in his first season in Tucson. But after finishing 4-8 last year, the Wildcats (8-3, 5-3) have turned the narrative around behind dynamic quarterback Noah Fifita and a stifling defense that’s among the nation’s best after being one of the worst a year ago.

“They’re playing as good of football, in our league, as anybody right now,” Dillingham said.

So are the Sun Devils, adding a whole lot of juice to the Territorial Cup.

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