SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 28, 2014
No. 12 Arizona 42, No. 13 Arizona State 35: Nick Wilson ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns as the host Wildcats held off the Sun Devils to claim the Pac-12 South Division title.
Anu Solomon shook off an ankle injury to throw for 208 yards and two touchdowns for Arizona (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12), which will face No. 3 Oregon in the conference title game Dec. 5 after No. 10 UCLA fell to Stanford on Saturday. Samajie Grant hauled in four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns while Anthony Lopez added a defensive score for the Wildcats, who snapped a two-game losing streak in the Territorial Cup.
Taylor Kelly went 13-of-22 for 144 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters before being replaced by Mike Bercovici, who finished with 123 yards and two scores for Arizona State (9-3, 6-3). Jaelen Strong - who missed the Washington State game with a concussion - caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown while Demario Richard, Kody Kohl and De'Marieya Nelson also hauled in TD passes for the Sun Devils.
Arizona jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Scooby Wright sacked Kelly and Lopez picked up the loose ball and ran it back 25 yards for a touchdown before Arizona State replied with Demetrius Cherry's 2-yard scoop and score after Solomon fumbled an exchange with Wilson. The teams traded touchdowns before Wilson's 21-yard scamper gave the Wildcats their third lead of the first half, but the Sun Devils evened the score at 21 when a muffed punt led to Richard's 7-yard TD grab just before intermission.
Wilson added two more touchdowns in the third quarter - including a 72-yard score - to put Arizona on top 35-21 before Arizona State cut the deficit to seven when Kohl snagged a 2-yard TD pass. The Wildcats capitalized on Bercovici's interception with Grant's second TD to go up 42-28 and they gave up a touchdown with 5:02 remaining before stopping the Sun Devils on downs late in the game to set up a rematch with the Ducks next Friday.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arizona has recorded at least one sack in each of its last 14 games. … Wright, who was recently named a finalist for the Bednarik Award, has made one tackle for loss or more in every outing this season. … Strong surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight season.