The Duel in the Desert
Arizona vs. Arizona State
89 of their 99 meetings are on file: they first met in 1899, and the earliest on file is 1931; officially, Arizona leads 52–45–1; as played, 45–43–1 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Arizona State 6–4. The winner takes home the Territorial Cup, played for since 2001. Arizona has held it since the 2025 game. The NCAA vacated Arizona State’s win (2021); it doesn’t count officially. This page counts every game as it was played. Share
- Official series
- Arizona leads 52–45–1
- Arizona wins on file
- 43
- Arizona State wins on file
- 45
- Ties
- 1
- Earliest on file
- 1931 first met 1899
- Longest streak
- 11 Arizona
- Current streak
- 1 Arizona
- Last 10 meetings
- Arizona State 6–4
- Most recent
- 2025
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 6–1 | ||||||||||
| 1940s | 5–1 | ||||||||||
| 1950s | 3–7 | ||||||||||
| 1960s | 4–6 | ||||||||||
| 1970s | 2–8 | ||||||||||
| 1980s | 7–2–1 | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 6–4 | ||||||||||
| 2000s | 4–6 | ||||||||||
| 2010s | 3–7 | ||||||||||
| 2020s | 3–3 |
- Both ranked
- 4 meetings: Arizona 2, Arizona State 2
- Average margin
- 17.1 points; 28 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Arizona
- 23–21 Arizona’s record at home
- At Arizona State
- 24–20–1 Arizona State’s record at home
- Shutouts
- 9
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Territorial Cup
- Played for since
- 2001
- Games for it on file
- 25 Arizona State 15, Arizona 10
Who holds it comes from the games on file: the winner of the latest regular-season meeting since 2001 (bowl rematches aren’t played for it); a tie leaves it with the holder (the usual rule; the article doesn’t say). From Wikipedia’s list of rivalry games and the rivalry’s article (CC BY-SA). More on the Territorial Cup.
Games that tell the story
- Arizona’s biggest win1946: Arizona 67, Arizona State 0by 67 points
- Arizona State’s biggest win2020: Arizona State 70, Arizona 7by 63 points
- Upset1997: Arizona 28, Arizona State 16Arizona had a 18% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset2011: Arizona 31, Arizona State 27Arizona had a 24% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset2004: Arizona 34, Arizona State 27Arizona had a 24% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Ranked showdown1986: Arizona 34, Arizona State 17No. 4 Arizona State at No. 14 Arizona
- Ranked showdown1975: Arizona State 24, Arizona 21No. 12 Arizona at No. 8 Arizona State
- Ranked showdown2014: Arizona 42, Arizona State 35No. 13 Arizona State at No. 12 Arizona
Coach against coach
| Years | Arizona | Series | Arizona State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933–1937 | Tex Oliver | 5–0 | Rudy Lavik |
| 1952–1954 | Warren Woodson | 2–1 | Clyde Smith |
| 1959–1966 | Jim LaRue | 4–4 | Frank Kush |
| 1969–1972 | Bob Weber | 0–4 | Frank Kush |
| 1973–1976 | Jim Young | 1–3 | Frank Kush |
| 1980–1984 | Larry Smith | 3–2 | Darryl Rogers |
| 1988–1991 | Dick Tomey | 3–1 | Larry Marmie |
| 1992–2000 | Dick Tomey | 5–4 | Bruce Snyder |
| 2004–2006 | Mike Stoops | 1–2 | Dirk Koetter |
| 2007–2010 | Mike Stoops | 2–2 | Dennis Erickson |
| 2012–2017 | Rich Rodriguez | 2–4 | Todd Graham |
| 2018–2020 | Kevin Sumlin | 0–3 | Herm Edwards |
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Arizona’s side (Oliver 5–0 against Lavik). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
Stars of the series
Biggest days
| Noah Fifita Arizona | 30 of 41, 527 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT | 2023 Passing | |
| Tetairoa McMillan Arizona | 11 catches, 266 yards, 1 TD | 2023 Receiving | |
| Gerell Robinson Arizona State | 11 catches, 199 yards, 1 TD | 2011 Receiving |
Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).
From the newspapers
Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.
On television
| 2025 | FOX | 1.8 million viewers |
Viewers: Nielsen, as compiled by nschultz7’s ratings tracker.
Every game
Every game is listed as played on the field; a win the NCAA later vacated is marked “vacated”; the official series above counts them the NCAA’s way.