TEMPE — For Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham, the Territorial Cup and Thanksgiving go hand in hand.
“You get together with your family, you eat Thanksgiving, you eat leftovers and you watch the Territorial Cup,” Dillingham said Monday.
Sometimes those families are divided when the game starts. That’s what makes it special, he and Arizona coach Brent Brennan both said this week.
“You always want to beat your brother the best,” Dillingham said. “You will hear about it for a year if he beats you in one-on-one basketball. If I play a random person, alright that sucks for a week.
“But you play your brother and you’re around them 24/7, you hear it all year and it’s horrible.”
The fun part of the Territorial Cup, ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham says, is the "relationships within the rivalry."
"You always want to beat your brother the best." pic.twitter.com/qYTYcrgMYl
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 24, 2025
The Territorial Cup is this Friday and we are giving you a chance to be there. Text “SPARKY” to 620620 or register here for your chance to win a family four-pack of tickets!
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It’s a quick turnaround and an early Thanksgiving meal for ASU football
There’s added juice in the game for ASU because it still has a shot at the Big 12 title game, but the focus is squarely on the “one-game season” up ahead.
ASU got back from its trip to Colorado around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, which resulted in the team getting most of the day off as opposed to an early day of practice to get ahead of the short week.
“I’ve never been a believer in cramming and not resting your players after games,” Dillingham said. “It’s not a huge deal because all we did was cut out ‘fast Friday.'”
Players got their Thanksgiving dinner in early in the week as part of the “winner dinner” they get each Monday after a win.
It’s an even bigger buffer from the sluggishness that can accompany the holiday than what UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley hilariously indicated his team would do, eating Thanksgiving dinner two nights before a game as opposed to the night before.
While it’s sometimes customary to have a program legend come back and speak to the team ahead of the game, ASU doesn’t need to bring anyone back.
Defensive line assistant Vince Amey played four seasons at ASU (1994-97) and has experience on both sides of the rivalry. He got his college coaching start in Tucson on the Arizona staff (2012-17) before coming back to coach at his alma mater in 2023.
“He doesn’t even know it yet, but I’m probably going to have Coach Amey talk to the team just because obviously he’s somebody our guys know and respect,” Dillingham said. “And I haven’t had him speak about this rivalry yet in the last two years, so I’m probably gonna let him say something.”
Oh yeah, and Cam Skattebo — who scored three touchdowns in last year’s Territorial Cup — will be back for the game as honorary captain, fresh off a recent WWE appearance.
The Territorial Cup is this Friday and we are giving you a chance to be there. Text “SPARKY” to 620620 or register here for your chance to win a family four-pack of tickets!
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