Earlier this week Arizona State head coach Todd Graham showed the Sun Devils every turnover ASU has produced under his watch in The Territorial Cup against their rival, the University of Arizona. The final highlight: Damarious Randall’s 64-yard pick-six interception that helped seal ASU’s 2013 win.

“‘I wonder what that feels like right there?’’’ Graham said.

In front of a home crowd of 64,855 fans, the Arizona State Sun Devil Football team found out. ASU was up 31-10 at halftime, and it seemed like ASU would cruise to victory. But anything can happen in a rivalry game, and after the third quarter the Wildcats were only trailing by eight points. Emotions were high, and U of A was in striking distance. Despite Arizona's rally, the Sun Devils twice returned interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. First, it was freshman safety Kareem Orr intercepting redshirt-freshman Brandon Dawkins 21 yards for a 45-30 lead. Then it was senior cornerback Lloyd Carrington taking one back 38 yards for a 52-30 advantage to put icing on the cake. ASU held on to win the rivalry game by the score of 52-37.

Despite the disappointing season and failure to live up to the preseason hype, this game salvaged football in Tempe. It felt like ASU Football was finally back to their old selves. They rediscovered their vertical pass game and delivered key turnovers when it mattered most. The student section was completely full for the first time all year, the atmosphere during the game was special, and the 18 ASU seniors won their last home game on Senior Night.

“I can tell you this,” Graham said. “We won 10 games last year (but) we lost this game. … I feel better right now than I did last year. I don’t ever want to experience that again.”

Arizona State (6-5, 4-4 Conf) plays the University of California next weekend to wrap up their season. With this win over their rival they became bowl eligible.