Arizona secured a 42-35 victory over Arizona State on Friday to take home the Territorial Cup and earn a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game.UCLA had the tiebreaker against both teams coming into the day, but it needed to defeat Stanford in order to clinch the Pac-12 South. However, the Bruins lost, 31-10, allowing the Wildcats to win the division with a victory over their in-state rivals.Running back Nick Wilson led the way for Arizona with a huge performance on the ground. The freshman had 178 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.Quarterback Anu Solomon added 208 passing yards in the win, as well as two touchdown passes to Semajie Grant.Taylor Kelly started the game at quarterback for Arizona State and put up respectable numbers (144 passing yards and two touchdowns). However, head coach Todd Graham decided to switch to Mike Bercovici in the fourth quarter.The junior quarterback came through with two touchdowns for the Sun Devils and had a chance to tie the game late, but a stop by the Wildcats on fourth-down sealed the win for Arizona.Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports discussed what the victory means for the Wildcats:Arizona jumped out to the early lead on the third play of the game, thanks to a fumble recovery by safety Anthony Lopez. Ted Miller of ESPN noted Scooby Wright made the big play:The Wildcats continued to showcase strong defense with a goal-line stop, as described by Damien Alameda of Tucson News Now:However, Arizona State was able to respond and tie the game at 7-7 with a defensive touchdown of their own, as defensive lineman Demetrius Cherry recovered a fumble after Solomon couldn't handle the snap.Arizona regained the lead 55 seconds later on a 69-yard touchdown pass that started as a short slant to Grant.As Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated noted, the whole team helped lead to a great run after the catch:The Sun Devils answered right back. Jaelen Strong caught a 50-yard bomb, setting up a one-handed grab in the back of the end zone to tie the score at 14-14.Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports remained impressed with the junior receiver:A deflected punt late in the first half gaveArizona great field position. A few plays later, a 21-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-1 gave the Wildcats the lead once again. Matt Moreno of Rivals.com liked the call:Arizona State responded with a seven-yard touchdown catch from Demario Richard, tying the game before halftime.During the break, the Wilcats players were kept from seeing the out-of-town scores, according to Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com:After the break, Arizona began taking control in the third quarter. The offense moved the ball down the field with ease during a nine-play, 75-yard drive that took just 2:38.Doug Haller of AZ Central noted the pace was a big factor:After a missed field goal for the Sun Devils, the Wildcats were able to extend the lead on another big play by Wilson, as described by Anthony Gimino of Fox Sports Arizona:While it seemed like the home team was going to pull away, Arizona State was able to cut the lead to 35-28 after making a switch at quarterback. Bercovici came in and immediately led a 65-yard touchdown drive that ended with a two-yard pass to Kody Kohl.ESPN's Matt Barrie echoed the sentiments of many fans watching along:Unfortunately, his second possession did not go as well as he was picked off by Jourdon Grandon deep in his own territory. Two plays later, Solomon answered with his second touchdown throw to Grant. Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee was already looking ahead after Arizona built a 42-28 lead:Still, Arizona State refused to give up and answered back once again with a Bercovicitouchdown pass. After a defensive stop, the Sun Devils got the ball back down seven points with just under three minutes remaining and all three timeouts.College GameDay noted the result of the drive:Arizona did what was needed to come away with a win in arguably the biggest matchup in this rivalry's history.Both coaches knew exactly what was on the line in this battle, from the Pac-12 South title to a high level of pride. Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez explained earlier in the week at a press conference:You know that for your fans, particularly in the state, that the rivalry game is going to mean a lot to them. But I promise it doesn't mean any more to them than it does to the players and coaches. [...]I don't believe that, 'If you only win one game but you beat ASU, it's a good year,' but it is the most important game on our schedule because it is the rivalry game.With the loss, Arizona State finishes regular season with a 9-3 record and should get a quality bowl game this winter, although the fans certainly knew it could've been an even better year with some different bounces.Meanwhile, Arizona will get a chance to play for the Pac-12 Championship against Oregon on Dec. 5 at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.Although a spot in the College Football Playoff might remain just out of reach with so many one-loss teams, the Wildcats are still giving themselves a chance to play for a championship. At the very least, they wouldlove to end the year with a conference title and an appearance in a New Year's Day bowl game.Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.
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