TUCSON, Ariz. (Sporting Alert) — No. 11 Arizona came out on top in the state battle against rivals and No. 13 Arizona State to win the Pac-12 South title on Friday.
Freshman running back Nick Wilson, who was named the 2014 Territorial Cup Bob Moran MVP, ran for 178 yards — his second highest in a game this season — on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 42-35 victory.
Samajie Grant had four catches for 91 yards and collected two touchdown passes from Anu Solomon, who also went 15 of 21 for 208 yards and no interceptions for Arizona (10-2).
“I’m really proud of our guys,” head coach Rich Rodriguez said on the school’s website. “I told them at halftime, it’s probably going to come down the last minute so let’s get ready to play another 30 minutes.
“Our senior class deserves a lot of credit for establishing a great attitude and culture in our football program.”
With the victory on Friday and Stanford’s win over UCLA, Arizona earned a spot in the Pac-12 Championship game, where they will face No. 2 Oregon at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Dec. 5.
“Here we are, we’re where we want to be, playing for a Pac-12 Championship,” Rodriguez added.
“I didn’t know if this would happen in year three. But I knew it could happen, otherwise I wouldn’t have come here.
“This is the perfect environment to build one of the best programs in the country. We aren’t there yet, but we’re on our way.”
The Wildcats and Sun Devils (9-3) went toe-to-toe through-out the game and went into the break at halftime locked at 21-21.
However, Wilson scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to hand Arizona a 35-21 lead before Grant added another score in the fourth.
Taylor Kelly went 13 of 22 for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat for Arizona State, with Mike Bercovici, who also played at quarterback, ending with 14 of 22 for 123 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns.
In other college football results on Friday, Maty Mauk completed 25 of 42 passes and threw for 265 yards with a touchdown and an interception in No. 17 Missouri’s 21-14 victory over Arkansas.
The Tigers (10-2), who were picking up their sixth successive win, clinched a place in the 2014 Southeastern Conference championship game for the second year in a row.
No. 8 UCLA suffered a 31-10 defeat to Stanford.
NCAAF Box Scores and Results
No. 17 Missouri 21, Arkansas 14 – Box Score
Stanford 31, No. 8 UCLA 10 – Box Score
Western Kentucky 67, No. 24 Marshall 66 (OT) – Box Score
Stanford 31, No. 8 UCLA 10 – Box Score
No. 11 Arizona 42, No. 13 Arizona State 35 – Box Score
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