What to consider when Arizona Wildcats visit the ASU Territorial Cup

The first year Jedd Fisch has approached its finals when the Arizona Wildcats visit ASU on Saturday for the annual Territorial Cup.

ASU (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12) has won four consecutive matches, most recently last year’s ugly 70-7 result in Tucson. Arizona (1-10, 1-8) has not won in Tempes since 2011. According to DraftKings Betting, UA is a 20-point underdog.

Here’s what you need to look at at 95^th Meeting of Wildcats and Tempe Normal:

(Almost) all hands on the deck

Arizona closed down its troops this week Jedd Fischin Monday’s press conference is the only media outlet before the Territorial Cup. This means we don’t know for sure who will be able to play before the game’s warm-ups, but Fisch hopes everyone who can go will do it.

He said the lengths some players go to be available, despite numerous injuries during the season, are an indication of how much they have bought into what he and his staff are trying to achieve.

“For me and our program, what’s most exciting, regardless of our record at the moment, we have every player who can play, beg, beg to be on the field on Saturday, and I always will. I think it’s a great sign of an enthusiastic team, ”he said.

Other than quarter builders Cannonman Cruz and Jordan McCloud, who both suffer end-of-season injuries in October, are the only players to be absent due to injury Jerry Roberts and a receiver Tayvian Cunningham. Offensive linemen Josh Donovan and Donovan Laie and wide receiver / QB Jamarye Carpenter, not all of whom lost a Washington State loss, are expected to play.

For Joiner, this is an opportunity to return to his breakout performance in 2019, when he got seven catches in the Territorial Cup with 140 yards – the third highest in the Wildcat race – and two touchdowns.

In the graves

ASU makes an average of more than 200 running yards per match with a parent Rachaad White synchronized the attack with 908 yards and 14 touchdowns. UA, who plays an average of 136.2 yards per game on the field, has 890 yards and three results out of the top three ball carriers.

The Sun Devils are fifth in the Pac-12 running defense, while Arizona is ninth.

Trung candidate holds the Territorial Cup for rushing yards in the game, 288 (18 moves!) in the 1998 home win against ASU. Wear There’s Benjamin and Demario Richard reached 165 yards in the previous two games at Tempe, and White played 202 and 184 yards before getting full last week in Oregon State.

Plenty of tickets and turnover

ASU and Arizona are the two most penalized teams in the country, with Sun Devils flagged 97 times and UA 93 times. Together, they have lost 1,653 yards due to penalties.

They are also both FBS’s worst in ball handling. Everyone has translated it 21 times and is the 8th best in the country. The Sun Devils have lost 12 brawls, the third highest in the country, while UA’s 17 intercepted shots are for most of any FBS and most since the 2003 team was eliminated 23 times.

But while ASU gives a lot, it also takes a fair amount off with 18, including 14 abductions. Arizona? Only six takeaways, the lowest in the country.

“I know we talk a lot about penalties,” Fisch said. “I know we emphasize it. Similarly, I don’t know why we don’t take the ball away. We’ve had six takeaways throughout the season, three of which came against Northern Arizona. We talk about it every day, we highlight it every day, but sometimes it just hasn’t happened yet .The same thing with how we have not got those punishments down, but we have to do.

Finishing runs

Arizona has the worst red zone attack in Pac-12, scoring only 73.5 percent of the distance within 20 yards of an opponent. ASU isn’t much better, at 78.3 percent, but the Sun Devils have 30 TDs, while the Wildcats have found the finish line just 11 times.

However, neither team is good at blocking a goal in the red zone, so if Arizona can avoid the usual near-goal errors, it can play its first game over two TDs in the red zone then 56-38. home loss to Oregon State in November 2019.