Arizona State football completes impressive late comeback over Arizona

Arizona State football pulled off a stunning 19-point comeback in the fourth quarter. The takedown of Arizona prevents the Wildcats from reaching a bowl.

Arizona thought they had sealed their sixth win of the season when they went into the fourth quarter of the Territorial Cup showdown against state rival Arizona State with a 40-21 lead. But the Sun Devils scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, then held on as the Wildcats missed a potential game-winning field goal with 11 seconds remaining to pull off the 41-40 victory in Tucson on Saturday afternoon.

Eno Benjamin proved the difference for Arizona State. While he finished under 100 rushing yards for the first time since October, Benjamin racked up three touchdowns on the ground. His effort helped balance out an 18-of-31 day from quarterback Manny Wilkins, who threw for 265 yards and a touchdown through the air.

J.J. Taylor actually finished with more rushing yards than Benjamin, rushing for 144 yards on 28 carries. But Taylor failed to reach the end zone, which was the ultimate difference given the day put in by Khalil Tate.

Though he has struggled with nagging injuries throughout the season, Tate proved he is still a threat at quarterback with a 282-yard day through the air against the Sun Devils. Tate tossed three touchdown passes against the Sun Devils, doing his best to put the Wildcats in position to reach bowl eligibility in 2018 after a roller-coaster season.

With the loss, Arizona finished the regular season 5-7 and will not reach a bowl game in their first season under head coach Kevin Sumlin. The Wildcats ended this year even worse than they finished in the final season under Rich Rodriguez in 2017.

Though Rodriguez also lost to the Sun Devils, he at least won six games before his dismissal prior to the bowl game. Sumlin will have a grace period in his first year, but the Wildcats sacrificed a prime opportunity to turn around the storyline in 2018.

Arizona State, meanwhile, earned their seventh game as the Sun Devils have proved a resilient and competitive outfit all throughout their first year under new head coach Herm Edwards. All five of their losses to date came by seven points or less, as they were a legitimate challenger in every contest they played this season. The Sun Devils will be a tough out for whoever they play this postseason.