The Territorial Cup game is a spectacle within itself, but each year, there's always a few entertaining subplots floating around, thanks to the hype and buildup of the matchup. Below are some of the question marks, pluses and minuses, and general points of intrigue surrounding both teams.
From west Philadelphia, born and raised
ASU redshirt junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong fends off UA senior safety William Parks during Arizona's 58-21 loss at Sun Devil Stadium on Nov. 30, 2013. (Photo courtesy of Tyler Baker, The Daily Wildcat)Of the three natives of the "City of Brotherly Love" on ASU and UA team rosters, which will best represent Philly? West Catholic High School alumnus and redshirt junior wide receiver Jaelen Strong (confirmed by Coach Todd Graham to play against UA) will likely have the final word in such a debate, just 18 receiving yards shy of eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark for the second consecutive year. Strong's teammate, freshman DeAndre Scott, has been lauded by Graham as a special teams guru, and hails from Imhotep Charter School, about 30 minutes north of West Catholic.
The Wildcats' starting bandit safety, junior William Parks, is a Germantown High School alumnus, and while he definitely will cross paths with Strong, he'll likely run into Scott on kick coverage at some point in Friday's contest.
Kickin' it
Sophomore place kicker Zane Gonzalez attempts a field goal in the 2nd half of the game against Utah on Nov. 1, 2014. ASU defeated Utah in overtime 19-16. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)ASU hasn't played many games that have been decided by a field goal this season (though sophomore kicker Zane Gonzalez nailed a game-winner to top Utah in OT on Nov. 1) , but in the Territorial Cup, eight of the matchups since ASU and UA joined the Pac-10 conference in 1978 have been decided by three points or less.
Gonazalez has been relatively consistent, with a few hiccups. Still, he's hit 19 of 23 field goal attempts this season, and has been practically automatic on extra point attempts, with a 95 percent success rate. He drilled four field goals in both games against Stanford and Utah, but those were at home, and it will be the first time the Lou Grouza Award semifinalist will have to kick inside Arizona Stadium.
Last season against UA, he was a perfect 3-3 and nailed all seven extra points in a 58-21 rout of the visiting Wildcats.
On the other sideline, redshirt junior placekicker Casey Skowron has had a tumultuous season, to say the least. In his first year as the starting kicker, Skowron has been rather erratic, converting just 68 percent of his kicks thus far.
His most notable mishap occurred against USC on Oct. 11, a 36-yard field attempt that was shanked wide right with 12 seconds to go that would have kept the then No. 10 Wildcats undefeated, he also had another kick blocked right before halftime of that same game.
He redeemed himself in a big way, though, to knock off Washington 27-26 with a last-second 47-yarder that sailed through the uprights, but not without the help of Huskies coach Chris Petersen, who iced Skowron with a timeout, even though his first attempt missed.
With the kicking game being such a wild card for both teams, if one of them is on — or off — on Friday, it could be the difference.
Smack talk
UA redshirt junior free safety Jourdon Grandon agitated many Sun Devil fans with his comments on Jaelen Strong on the Brad Cesmat Show a few days ago.
Grandon said, in regards to Strong playing against physical defensive backs, that " I'm not sure he responds to it very well."
Coach Rich Rodriguez deflected Grandon's opinions when he appeared on Cesmat's show and said Strong would be a "first-round pick."
For Grandon's sake, one can only hope that he's not matched up across from Strong on the line of scrimmage to find out what his response will be.
Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon delivers a pass during a first-quarter drive against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/MCT)The (injury) Book (report) of Solomon
UA redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon was listed as "questionable" by Wildcat media relations, and that's all we know on that front. However, UA certainly would be better off with Solomon under center than redshirt senior Jesse Scroggins, the next man up on the depth chart.
Scroggins redshirted his freshman year at USC, and then transferred to El Camino College, where he threw for 1,148 yards and eight touchdowns, and had two rushing touchdowns in eight games.
Since he transferred to Tucson, he hasn't played a single snap, and Rodriguez and UA are probably as unsure of what to expect from the journeyman and veteran backup as Graham and Co.
NEW per @ArizonaFBall: QB Anu Solomon remains questionable for Friday's #TerritorialCup due to an ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/H3lRgFE1r7— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) November 26, 2014
Reach the assistant sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @StefanJModrich
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepressport on Twitter
