There’s something about familiarity and normalcy that can silence any doubt. For Arizona State Football, it was bringing the Territorial Cup back to Tempe, making it five straight times it has done so. Not to mention, its head coach is coming back too.
Amidst a turbulent season, the Sun Devils were perhaps in desperation mode for a rivalry win to not only save their season, but their coach as well. While the game started off as a back-and-forth battle, ASU would eventually pull away and make a statement in a chippy 38-15 win over Arizona.
“It’s like a dream come true,” senior cornerback Chase Lucas said, who grew up in Chandler, Arizona. “Ever since I knew about ASU vs. U of A, I used to come to this game as a little kid. Just seeing the rivalry – the fights, the chippiness, the people talking all the time. It’s just what makes this rivalry such a good thing.
“I know [vice president for university athletics] Ray Anderson just told us that in the future, [current ASU head coach] Herm Edwards is going to be our coach now too. Despite all that BS that y’all [are] hearing, Herm Edwards is the coach.”
While the future for Edwards is locked in now, it may not have looked that way in the first half.
ASU started off by working the outside and getting its offensive players in space, exemplified by junior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall’s 14-yard touchdown catch on the Sun Devils’ first drive. ASU’s other score came after senior cornerback Jack Jones caused Arizona freshman quarterback Will Plummer to fumble, and senior defensive end Tyler Johnson had his second fumble recovery of the season at the one-yard line. Redshirt senior running back Rachaad White then punched it into the end zone to give the Sun Devils momentum with a 14-6 lead.
Yet, the offense stalled on several occasions and only accounted for 128 yards in the first half. This included a costly false start by junior fullback Case Hatch on a 4th-and-1, and Daniels taking a sack for a nine-yard loss on third down.
Plummer impressed in the first half with 215 passing yards, a half-yard short of Arizona’s average per game in 2021. The freshman battled back from the strip-sack in addition to two other sacks to deliver strikes across the field. Yet, the Sun Devils’ defense held strong once the Wildcats reached the red zone, forcing three field goals within the 15-yard line.
While the third quarter started as a back-and-forth contest with scoring drives by both teams, the Sun Devils truly flexed their muscles. Daniels was masterful on two scoring drives, including a 48-yard scamper for a score and a beautiful back-shoulder fade to Pearsall for his second receiving touchdown.
Daniels said the run was off of a broken play, with offensive coordinator Zak Hill jokingly saying, “that’s just normal Jayden – [I] designed that one up nicely.”
The junior threw for 82 yards and two touchdowns with 86 yards rushing and the score on the ground.
“It’s just been a lot of talk about our passing game,” Daniels said. “It wasn’t like we had 300 yards passing, but we connected on those shots. We just wanted to go out there and have fun. It’s always fun beating up on the little bros every year. You don’t lose to them.”
As ASU’s offense woke up in the third quarter, the Wildcats’ miscues started to compound. After Plummer’s five-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Michael Wiley in its first drive of the quarter, the deficit was six points. But Arizona wouldn’t sniff another chance to get closer, as the second Daniels-Pearsall connection and a safety off a holding penalty in the end zone grew the Sun Devils’ lead to 16.
ASU’s cherry on top – or rather Arizona’s nail in the coffin – was on Arizona’s 10-play, 70-yard drive to begin the fourth quarter. In yet another Wildcat drive that crumbled in the red zone, Plummer overthrew his receiver and Jones took it all the way to the opposite end zone for a game-sealing pick six – the first of his career at any level, according to Jones.
After the excitement of the play, Jones heaved the football into the student section and made snow angels in the end zone. It warranted two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (one from Jones, and the other from redshirt sophomore cornerback Jordan Clark), two of seven among both teams for the day.
“It was in my head, I just launched it,” Jones said. “And I was thinking it’s over. U of A [has to] go home sick.”
For all the penalty problems that the Sun Devils have had this season, Edwards told Jones, “I’ll get you later,” and didn’t seem too upset with the celebration.
“He makes a great play and he had a great game,” Edwards said. “I’m not mad at him.
“Man, I love him.”
The senior cornerback was named the Territorial Cup’s Most Valuable Player, with a forced fumble, sack and interception.
It has been quite a football journey for Jones, who attended junior college and USC before transferring to ASU, where he was then suspended last season for team-conduct reasons.
“It’s a blessing,” Jones said. “It was Nipsey Hussle, it was a quote he said. He said, ‘I went through every emotion to get to where I’m trying to go to.’ When that time came for when I wanted to quit, I just thought about that like, ‘You got to go through this stage to get to where you want to go in the long run.’
“I just kept my head down and stayed working, and from the blessing of God, I made it here.”
With all the extracurriculars that occurred in the game, there were several strong words by some ASU players postgame. Jones flat-out said that “U of A sucks,” while Johnson said the Wildcats “can take a nice little 2 ½ hour drive down to the little toilet bowl down there.”
A rivalry game victory can appease most of the players, but it holds even more meaning knowing that Edwards will stay on and has the university’s support.
But for the 67-year-old coach, he says he’s not even close to being done.
“I had no plans of leaving,” Edwards said. “We’re continuing to build. It’s been a process, it’s been 3 ½ years basically … and we continue to try to get better.
“We want to win the Pac-12 Conference’s Southern Division. That’s one of our goals – that was always our goal. We fell a little short, so we got to get better.”
