The Arizona State football team rallied from a first half deficit to defeat Arizona, 24-14, in front of an electric Sun Devil crowd (54,074) Saturday evening and win its third straight Territorial Cup.
The game was highlighted by big plays from the Sun Devil defense, and a monster game on the ground from junior running back Eno Benjamin, who ran for 168 yards in the victory. After being held to two field goals from sophomore Cristian Zendejas in the first half, the Sun Devils would come from behind to score 18 second half points and dominate the line of scrimmage.
Benjamin's 168 yards on the ground is the best by a Sun Devil in the Territorial Cup series since Woody Green ran for 192 yards on Nov. 24, 1973. It is the fourth-best by a Sun Devil in the series behind only Green, Art Malone (187 on Nov. 30, 1968) and Green again with 172 (Nov. 25, 1972).
O U R S T A T E ?? pic.twitter.com/Sv5chPv5e7
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) December 1, 2019
"Our coaching staff did a nice job of keeping their message simple, just doing the little things right," said Coach Herm Edwards. "I challenged our players after the Oregon State game because I was tired of losing. We lost four in a row. We got off to a very fast start, 5-1, but we didn't handle success well. We beat Oregon and it was a tough one. We knew Arizona was going to be a tough game, and it didn't matter what we did last week because the win wouldn't have mattered if we lost this one. You have to put a string of games together and we've done that now. The guys are excited about playing in a bowl game, and that'll be a lot of fun."
The ASU defense answered the call while the offense looked to find its rhythm in the first half, finishing with three interceptions, two coming from cornerback Jack Jones, which would be Jones' third interception in the past two weeks and one via linebacker, Merlin Robertson.On the ground, Benjamin earned his 15th 100-yard rushing game of his career while becoming the first Sun Devil to rush over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons since Freddie Williams in 1974-75, as well as being named the MVP of the Territorial Cup Game.Mood ?? pic.twitter.com/uxMtKTyxRk
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) December 1, 2019
ASU CAREER RUSHING LIST
4,188 -- Woody Green (1971-73)
3,424 -- Freddie Williams (1973-76)
3,299 -- J.R. Redmond (1996-99)
3,202 – Demario Richard (2014-17)
3,173 -- Wilford White (1947-50)
2,994 -- Leon Burton (1955-58)
2,867 -- Eno Benjamin (2017-present)
The Sun Devils now await their postseason fate with an announcement for a bowl berth scheduled for next Sunday, December 8.Eno Benjamin ran right through the Arizona defense this past weekend. pic.twitter.com/2DA09FHTgQ
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 5, 2019
BOB MORAN PLAYER OF THE GAME
2019: Eno Benjamin, ASU
2018: Eno Benjamin, ASU
2017: DemarioRichard, ASU
2016: Brandon Dawkins, UA
2015: Devin Lucien, ASU
2014: Nick Wilson, UA
2013: D.J. Foster, ASU
2012: Marion Grice, ASU
2011: Nick Foles, UA
2010: Brock Osweiler, ASU
2009: KeolaAntolin, UA
2008: Mike Thomas, UA
2007: Mike Marquardt, ASU
2006: Ryan Torain, ASU
2005: Terry Richardson, ASU
2004: Richard Kovalcheck, UA
2003: Andrew Walter and Loren Wade, ASU
2002: Mike Williams, ASU
2001: Bobby Wade, UA
MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A CATCH BY A SUN DEVIL
53, D.J. Foster (2012-2015)
44, John Jefferson (1974-1977)
41, Derek Hagan (2002-2005)
40, Kyle Williams (2016-2019)
39, Chris McGaha (2006-2009)
37, N'Keal Harry (2016-2018)
36, Lenzie Jackson (1995-1998)
PAC-12 MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION (1996-PRESENT)
53-D.J. Foster, ASU (2012-2016)
48-Keenan Howry, Oregon (1999-2002)
42-Dennis Northcutt, Arizona (1996-1999)
41-Jayden Mickens, Washington (2012-2015)
41-Derek Hagan, ASU (2002-2005)
40-Trenton Irwin, Stanford (2016-2018)
40-JuJu Smith-Schuster, USC (2015-2017)
40-Kyle Williams, ASU (2016-2019)