Editor’s note: This year, UA and ASU football will face off for the 100th time in what has come to be known as the Territorial Cup game. Leading up to that Nov. 28 matchup, which will be played right here in Tucson, we will be republishing the Arizona Daily Star’s coverage of each rivalry game — one a day — going back to their first meeting in 1899. Tune in daily for a blast from the past.
Some important things to keep in mind: This isn’t the 100th anniversary; the upcoming meeting will be the 100th time the teams have gone head-to-head. There were a number of years that they didn’t compete against one another. The Wildcats lead the all-time series vs. the Sun Devils, 52-46-1.
Matchup: Game 44
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Date: Dec. 5, 1970
Where: Tucson
Winner: ASU, 10-6
What was reported at the time:
By ABE CHANIN
Star Sports Editor
They came to Tucson with one of the flossiest records in collegiate football.
They went home to Tempe in nervous exhaustion with a 10-6 victory over a team that was supposed to have been blown off the field by 24 points or more.
In 19 games, Arizona State University had not been held to so few points and the 38,500 fans in Arizona Stadium plus thousands more who saw the game on regional television found a fact of football life in Arizona: when Arizona's Wildcats and Arizona State's Sun Devils clash, tradition wipes out odds.
The feat of holding a team that has been averaging 529.6 yards a game — the Sun Devils were 150 yards below their average last night — and 38.6 points a game capped a 4-6 football season for the University of Arizona with respectability and hope for the future.
For 37 minutes and 16 seconds last night, the Goliath of Arizona State football was laid cold on the gridiron.
Arizona State, one of five undefeated teams in the nation, ranked ninth in the polls, has not been held scoreless for a half this season. And in the Arizona State dressing room at halftime, professor Frank Kush must have delivered more than a eulogy.
Midway through the third quarter, the vaunted Arizona State offense got moving. In 111 yards, the Devils marched 61 yards, with the touchdown coming on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Joe Spagnola to jet-legged J. D. Hill. Don Ekstrand kicked the point and it was 7-0.
The Sun Devils moved to the Arizona 21. The next time they got the ball, it looked like the feared scoring explosion was coming. But after a pass interference penalty had given Arizona State the ball at the one, Bob Thomas fumbled on the next running play and sophomore Bob Crum fell on the ball for Arizona.
But the great Arizona State offense that has crushed one team after another on the way to the Western Athletic Conference championship and a bid to Atlanta's Peach Bowl appeared ready to break out again.
The Devils moved into Arizona territory again before the third quarter ended, but their drive was stopped when Jackie Wallace tipped a Spagnola pass into the hands of Bob White.
Early in the fourth quarter, Bob Davenport pounced on a Bob McCall fumble at the Arizona State 41 and the Sun Devils quickly drove goalward. They went to the Arizona 11, but were stalled by Arizona's storming defense. On fourth down, Don Ekstrand booted a 28-yard field goal and it was 10-0.
The game threatened to break open when Junior Ah You blocked a John Black punt after a high center pass. The ball went into the end zone for a two-point safety, but Arizona State was caught offsides to nullify the score.
It looked as if Arizona was tiring from its great emotional performance, but the Wildcats came up high again when John Eggold drove into Spagnola, causing him to fumble. Bill McKinley grabbed the ball at the Arizona 30.
Then Demory passed to Hal Arnason, who strung the east side lines on a 45-yard sprint to the Arizona State 25. An offsides penalty advanced the ball to the 20, and then Demory found the elusive Charley McKee beating out two defenders in the end zone, and Arizona went on the scoreboard. With 4:31 to play, it was 10-6 and it stayed that way when Al Mendoza missed the try for the extra point.
There was a tribute to Arizona in the final seconds when the Sun Devils put aside their spectacular offense and ran straight plays, obviously happy to settle for a 10-6 victory.
The Devils found out early they were in for quite a tussle. On the opening play, Johnny Black drove in with a hard tackle on Arizona State halfback Monroe Eley. Eley fumbled and Jim Johnson, the tackle and Oxford Scholar, made the recovery.
The Wildcats moved to the nine before a clipping penalty killed the scoring drive. Mendoza missed a 32-yard field goal attempt on a fourth-down play.
Arizona, pulling some offensive tricks out of a bag that had been left in some closet most of the season, once more drove goal-wise in the first quarter. The drive stalled at the Arizona State 21. And this time Al Mendoza was short on a 38-yard field goal attempt.
In the second quarter, Arizona's offense was blunted by poor field position, but the Wildcat defense kept the pressure on the Devils. McKinley, who recovered two fumbles in the game, grabbed a Spagnola bobble at the one-yard line and just before the half ended, Jackie Wallace speared a Spagnola pass in the end zone.
That show of stopping Arizona State scoreless in the first half combined with a gutsy comeback in the second half heaped praise on the Wildcats.
Arizona's sophomore quarterback, Demory, outdid the veteran Spagnola in passing. Demory completed 13 of 26 for 203 yards while Spag still had a good night on 14 of 23 for 136 yards.
Eley, that hard-driving Arizona State halfback, led all rushers with 150 net yards. A sophomore, he'll be in the Wildcats' hair again next season.
There were great pass-receiving performances in the game on both sides — Arnason (6 for 98 yards) and McKee (5 for 75) for Arizona and Steve Holden (7-81) and Hill (7-55) for Arizona State.
And it also was a great night for defense, although Arizona State still finished with the national total offense crown. Arizona's Mark Arneson ran up 43 defensive points with 11 unassisted tackles. Jim Johnson and Bob Crum had 27 points each, and McKinley had 22.
They all had super defensive performances along with sophomore linebacker Rich Dodson, senior linebacker John Eggold and defensive backs Jackie Wallace and Bob White. The sophs had to handle the secondary after Justin Lanne twisted ligaments in his right knee and left the game in the first half.
For Arizona State, Mike Clupper was the defensive leader with 24 points.
And now the season is over for Arizona, but the Sun Devils, 10-0 for the year and 16 wins in a row, will go to the Peach Bowl to meet North Carolina (8-3). Arizona's performance last night will narrow the odds in that game.
Climb into the Arizona Daily Star’s time machine as we revisit every Territorial Cup matchup between U of A and ASU football ahead of the Nov.…
