Tucson, Arizona — UA ensured that no one watching the Territorial Cup would know the final score of the UCLA-Stanford matchup that ultimately made Friday afternoon's game in Tucson a de facto play-in game for the Pac-12 South title.
And from the opening kickoff, it was a party for the Wildcat faithful.
After a haphazard first half that ended deadlocked at 21, with each side capitalizing on a turnover from the other, UA kicked into high gear in front of a partisan crowd.
ASU never got any closer to taking the lead once the second half kicked off.
A one-yard touchdown punched in by freshman running back Nick Wilson capped a nine-play, 75 yard drive to open the half for the Wildcats (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12).
UA redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon throws a pass during the Wildcat's 42-35 Territorial Cup victory at Arizona Stadium in Tucson on Nov. 28, 2014. (Photo by Alexis Macklin)Just three minutes later, he broke through the ASU defense for a 75-yard touchdown to open up a 35-21 lead.
Trotting out onto the field for the next Sun Devil drive, though, was redshirt junior quarterback Mike Bercovici, in relief of redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly, who finished 13-22 with 144 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked four times and couldn't find much in the way of offensive rhythm in the second half.
Bercovici drove the ASU offense down on a 6-play, 65-yard drive, connecting with redshirt sophomore tight end Kody Kohl for a two-yard touchdown to pull within a score, trailing 35-28 with 11:23 to go.
The Wildcats answered once more with what proved to be the game-winning score, as Solomon connected with sophomore wide receiver Semajie Grant for a 20 yard touchdown pass.
Solomon finished 15-28 with 208 yards and two touchdown passes.
Bercovici's next drive in an effort to lead the Sun Devils (9-3, 7-3 Pac-12) ultimately fell short, advancing as far as the UA 40 yard line before missing redshirt junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong on fourth and 12.
UA coach Rich Rodriguez got his first victory against ASU in his third Territorial Cup game, the Wildcats are Pac-12 South Division Champions and will play North Division winner Oregon in Santa Clara, California for the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Reach the assistant sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @StefanJModrich
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