TEMPE — For most of Friday, Sun Devil Athletics had the city buzzing.
Molly Miller’s Arizona State women’s basketball team opened the day with a 59–41 win over Coppin State and, later in the afternoon, Greg Powers’ ASU hockey crew delivered an overtime thriller, edging Ohio State 3–2 at Mullett Arena.
By the time the sun faded behind “A” Mountain, nearly 55,000 fans packed into Mountain America Stadium for the 99th Territorial Cup.
But, for Kenny Dillingham and his Sun Devils football squad, the night ended differently.
Instead of replicating last year’s 49-7 outburst, ASU found themselves stuck in a defensive struggle they couldn’t break out of.
Turnovers, stalled offense and untimely mistakes proved costly, as No. 20 Arizona State fell to the No. 25 Arizona Wildcats, 23-7, ending its regular season on a sour note.
“You guys have done something special,” Dillingham said about his message to his team. “You guys took a program that was dead. (The) guys all came here when we were dead. Absolutely nobody wanted to be here. And you guys took a team and did something that hasn’t been done in 12 years.”
The Sun Devils finished the night with five turnovers, all of them tied to senior quarterback Jeff Sims. He ended the game 11-of-25 passing for 114 yards with three interceptions and two lost fumbles.
“Jeff is an unbelievable human being,” Dillingham said. “He’s an unbelievable person. He has all the ability in the world. I feel for him tonight. But I feel for him because he’s a great person and he’s a guy that’s going to be successful in life.”
Although Sims took on the brunt of the frustration surrounding the loss, the offense’s struggles extended well beyond the quarterback position. The passing game never found rhythm — something senior tight end Chamon Metayer said he sensed as the game unfolded.
“We just had to get our own ways, and by the time we kind of figured it out, it was kind of too late,” Metayer said. That’s just the game. We (have) got to capitalize early. We can’t start slowing. So that’s more on us than them. The defense gave us a chance every time.”
Part of the challenge stemmed from the loss of junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who exited late in the first quarter after re-aggravating the hamstring injury that sidelined him earlier in the season.
Still, despite the injuries and turnovers, the Sun Devils managed to take a 7–3 lead into halftime thanks to a 27-yard rushing touchdown from Sims early in the second quarter. It ended up being ASU’s only points scored on the night.
“I mean, five turnovers. That’s a lot. We gave them short fields,” Dillingham said. “They stopped the run pretty well for the most part, but we didn’t have enough plays. But when you turn the ball over five times, and then we didn’t fill the field position and special teams, all those things, your back’s against the wall.”
Arizona struck quickly after halftime, tying the game on a touchdown pass from junior quarterback Noah Fifita to senior tight end Cameron Barmore. The Wildcats added two field goals from sophomore kicker Michael Salgado-Medina — who finished 3-for-6, with two misses and another blocked.
Arizona tacked on another touchdown under two minutes remaining to bring it to 23-7.
ASU senior linebacker Jordan Crook emphasized the group’s resilience despite the disappointing finish.
“We (are) fighters at the end of the day, I think six people from our leadership council (are) out for the season,” Crook said. “Most teams could have easily, went out there and not won anymore games, but it just showed the fight that we show. It just showed a standard that was set over the last two years.”
Crook is one of 17 seniors who started Friday night, leaving significant holes for Arizona State to fill next season.
With the loss, ASU closes the regular season 8–4 in Dillingham’s third year, with a bowl game still ahead.
“They’re Sun Devils,” Dillingham said about his departing seniors. “They want to be Sun Devils, they chose to be Sun Devils, they’re going to be Sun Devils for life. They’re one of the most fun teams that this fan base has seen in the last 30 years here.”
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