Arizona State Opponent Profile: Arizona

The Arizona State opponent profile series is officially coming to a close today - as the 12th and final scheduled contest of the season will pit Kenny Dillingham's program against bitter rivals in the Arizona Wildcats.

This will be the 99th meeting between the programs - the first of which ushered in what would become the oldest trophy for a rivalry game in college football.

While Arizona leads the series 51-45-1 (Arizona State's 2021 victory was vacated), the Sun Devils have only lost two games in the series since the 2017 season commenced - which further points towards the paradigm of power shifting in the state between the programs.

Four of the last five games in the series have resulted in blowouts - let's take a look at the largely lopsided results below:

2020: 70-7 Arizona State victory

2021: 38-15 Arizona State victory

2022: 38-35 Arizona victory

2023: 59-23 Arizona victory

The Sun Devils secured a spot in the Big 12 championship game on November 30 of last year with a 49-7 dismantling of a Wildcats squad that featured a star duo in Noah Fifita and Tet McMillan.

Arizona was one of the major disappointments in conference play in 2024, while the Sun Devils were one of the most pleasant surprises across the entire country.

The Wildcats lost McMillan to the NFL, but could potentially be improved behind a tweaked coaching staff and lower expectations that could serve Fifita well.

Despite the recent pitfalls of the Arizona program, this remains a key game with several intriguing headlines surrounding the November 28 meeting in Tempe.

Third year Sun Devil head coach Kenny Dillingham is a 2012 graduate of Arizona State, while current Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan was previously an alum and coaching staff member in Tucson as well - this is an interesting quirk in the longstanding rivalry.

This makes these meetings significantly more emotional compared to years that featured Rich Rodriguez, Todd Graham, Herm Edwards, and Jedd Fisch - for example.

Expect Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson to dominate this game as well - as the Arizona defense has lost substantial talent, including star S Gunner Maldonaldo, who transferred to Kansas State in the off-season.

Please take a few minutes to read up on previous opponent profiles for the Sun Devils - Colorado here, and West Virginia here.

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