The University of Arizona football team (4-7, 2-6 Big 12) will take on Arizona State (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium.
This will be the 98th meeting between the schools with the Wildcats leading the all time series 51-44-1. Arizona is currently on a two year winning streak in the rivalry with a 59-23 win over ASU in Tempe last year.
ASU this year:
After a 3-9 record last year, ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham has turned the Sun Devils around in his second season. After a 28-23 win over BYU last week, the team is tied for first place in the Big 12 and a win on Saturday will secure their spot in the Big 12 championship game.
Senior running back Cam Skattebo has been the Sun Devils’ star player with nearly 1,700 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt has thrown for 2,153 yards and 18 touchdowns during his first season at ASU after transferring from Michigan State last season.
The ASU defense has been impressive all season long, allowing no more than 31 points in any game this season.
A win on Saturday would mark the first double digit win season for ASU since 2014, when the team went 10-3 with a Sun Bowl win over Duke.
Arizona this year:
After a 49-28 loss against TCU last Saturday, Arizona is now eliminated from making a bowl game. However, head coach Brent Brennan has announced that no players will be sitting out for the game against ASU, including star receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
After a week that saw McMillan breaking Arizona’s receiving record and being named a Biletnikoff award finalist, McMillan will look to make his mark as a Wildcat one last time with the expectations that he will declare for the NFL draft after this season.
This could be the last game that McMillan and quarterback Noah Fifita ever play together. The two have been teammates since the eighth grade and played together at Servite High School in Anaheim, California.
Keys to success:
In order to play spoilers Saturday for ASU, the Wildcats will need to protect the ball as ASU averages 1.6 takeaways per game. The defense, despite all the injuries it has suffered this year, will have to find a way to slow down Skattebo and the Sun Devils’ offense that is averaging over 30 points per game.
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