Tucson, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats will close out their season Friday night at home versus Arizona State in the annual Territorial Cup. The Cats are looking for their second straight home victory over the Sun Devils after topping ASU in 2014 to win the Pac-12 South. 

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., on ESPN. 

Some Game Themes: It's rivalry week. Need we say more? The Territorial Cup is the nation's oldest recognized rivalry trophy game in college football. Many call the rivalry by other nicknames such as the Duel in the Desert, but the winner takes home the Territorial Cup and it's a point of pride and statewide bragging rights for the next year … The teams have split the last two meetings and the home team has protected its own turf each of the last three seasons after the series saw the road squad win four in a row from 2009-12 … Unlike the 2014 showdown at Arizona Stadium, where the Wildcats prevailed to win the Pac-12 South championship, far less is at stake this time around from an outsider's point of view. Arizona has spiraled to an eight-game conference losing streak, while ASU has dropped five of its last six. The most intriguing storyline will surely be the Sun Devil's bid for bowl eligibility. At 5-6 overall, ASU needs a win in Tucson to go bowling. On the flip side, Arizona looks to send its seniors out with a much-needed victory and send at least a bit of momentum into the offseason … From the standpoint of the matchup, these two defenses rank near the bottom of the conference in most statistical categories. The intriguing statistical conflict may be Arizona's rushing offense (which is third in the Pac-12) against ASU's rather stout run defense (second in the league). However, the Wildcats have been an inconsistent passing attack and that's where the Sun Devils have been vulnerable much of the season … Both sides have been unsettled at quarterback due to injuries throughout the year, so surely the offense that gets steady play can have the advantage this week … Special teams play favors ASU on paper with outstanding performers at place kicker and punter. Overall consistency has plagued the Wildcats in most all phases of special teams play this season … All of that stated, this is the Territorial Cup. There's always a player or two that etches his name in the lore of this rivalry. A play for the ages awaits almost assuredly as no game in this series goes forgotten … When the lights are on Friday night at Arizona Stadium, you'll want to be there for one of the great college football rivalries in the land.

Senior Salute: Before kickoff on Friday night, Arizona will honor its senior class. It's a 23-player group that includes the likes of Sani Fuimaono, Samajie Grant, Michael Barton and Zach Hemmila. Each story, as with all the others, is unique and a glimpse at how much lives can change from the time players step onto a college campus to the time the play their final game. Fuimaono arrived in 2011, playing as true freshman for Mike Stoops in the former head coach's final season. Fuimaono left on a two year mission to Chile and returned to a new head coach for the 2014 season when he became a three-year starter. Grant was among those in Rich Rodriguez's first full recruiting class that arrived in the fall of 2013 and has since been a four-year starter at receiver and, now, running back. Michael Barton began his career at Pac-12 foe California, graduated last spring and transferred to Arizona for his final year of eligibility. His presence has been much needed at linebacker all season. Then there's Hemmila, the fifth-year senior that was slated to start at center in his final campaign. Tragically, Hemmila passed away four days in August training camp. He never got to play his final season or even final game. His loss has impacted the Wildcats perhaps more than they would even understand. His memory will never be forgotten in the Arizona program. Nor will the impact each of these seniors have had as Wildcats. Their legacies are only beginning to take shape in life.
 
Here are the 23 seniors to be recognized this Friday:
 
Calvin Allen (DL), Michael Barton (LB), Tellas Jones (DB) , Samajie Grant (WR), Nate Phillips (WR), Devin Holiday (DB), Paul Magloire Jr. (LB), Matt Morin (TE/RB), Josh Kern (TE), DaVonte' Neal (DB), RJ Morgan (LB), Carter Hehr (DB), Tyler Grammar (DB), DeJean King (DB), Jake Matthews (LB), Trey Griffey (WR), Cody Ippolito (LB), Matthew Stagg (LB), Aiulua Fanene (DL), Zach Hemmila (OL), Freddie Tagaloa (OL) , Abraham Mendivil (WR), Sani Fuimaono (DL)


DFF Making Plays: With one game to play in the season, sophomore safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles leads the Wildcats in tackles with 74. Flannigan-Fowles had a career-high 13 tackles Saturday at Oregon State, collecting eight solo tackles and five assists. He also produced his third tackle-for-loss of the season against the Beavers and first since the UCLA game in October. A true sophomore, Flannigan-Fowles has been a major contributor since stepping on Arizona's campus. A local product, Flannigan-Fowles began his prep career at Tucson High, before transferring to Mountain View High in nearby Marana. However, Flannigan-Fowles was ruled ineligible after the transfer and had to miss his senior season in high school. That has not slowed his development at the next level, however. He played in all 13 games last season, starting one and finishing with 28 tackles as a true freshman. He's taken another step this year and has a seven-tackle lead on Paul Magloire as the team's leader. Flannigan-Fowles has had at least five tackles in each of his last six games. He had a then career-high 11 against USC, before topping it with 13 against Oregon State.
 
Big Play Brown: Sophomore receiver Shun Brown, a classmate of Flannigan-Fowles', had two catches for 57 yards Saturday against Oregon State. He leads Arizona with 521 receiving yards this season and is averaging a team-best 18 yards per catch. Brown has been Arizona's most consistent threat at receiver, and has shown a special knack for making big plays. Brown had a 43-yard catch Saturday against Oregon State, marking the fifth time this season he has had a catch of at least 40 or more yards. That leads the team. Taking it further, Brown has 11 plays this season that have gone for 20 or more yards. He's second on the team to quarterback Brandon Dawkins. Brown's 29 catches this season are second to only senior Nate Phillips. Brown didn't have a catch in the season-opener against BYU, but has had at least one catch in the 10 games since. He has had at least 50 yards in six games this season, including the last two against Colorado and Oregon State.
 
The Say Hayes Kid: True freshman Isaiah Hayes has made an instant impact on Arizona's defense this year and continues to play a bigger role as the season progresses. Hayes started against Oregon State on Saturday and finished with a career-high nine tackles. Hayes has played in 10 of 11 games this season, missing just the USC game with an injury. He has not slowed down post injury, however. Over his last four games, Hayes has 26 tackles, 1 ½ tackles-for-loss and a sack. He has had at least five tackles in each of his past four games. He set a career-high earlier this month when he had seven tackles against Washington State, but topped that Saturday. Hayes' seven solo tackles Saturday were the second-most on the team behind Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who had eight.
 
Trip 'Em Tristan: True freshman Tristan Cooper made his fourth career start Saturday against Oregon State, and like his fellow underclassmen in the secondary, turned in a solid performance. Cooper had six tackles, including his first career sack. Cooper tripped up Oregon State quarterback Marcus McMaryion for a seven-yard sack in the second quarter. It was Arizona's lone sack of the game. So far this season, Cooper has played in 10 games and has 32 tackles, including a pair for a loss. He also has a pass breakup and a forced fumble to his credit. From El Paso, Texas, Cooper should get an opportunity to play in front of a lot of family members and friends next season when the Wildcats travel to UTEP for a non-conference road game.

No More Turnover "Rutt": Redshirt sophomore linebacker Brandon Rutt corralled his first career interception earlier this month against Colorado, and then picked up another turnover Saturday against Oregon State. First, Rutt's interception against the Buffs marked Arizona's first forced turnover since the Stanford affair on Oct. 29. In that game, Dane Cruikshank registered an interception, but fumbled the ball on his return. Rutt's interception led to a 2-yard touchdown plunge from Zach Green, giving Arizona its first points off turnovers of the conference season. The sophomore linebacker was at it again Saturday against the Beavers. Rutt recovered a rumble early in the fourth quarter. He again saw the Cats turn his turnover into points as Samajie Grant scored on a two-yard run on the ensuing possession. The Cats have 14 points off turnovers in the conference season this year, with both turnovers coming from Rutt. Rutt drew his first career starting assignment Saturday against Oregon State. He finished with four tackles. He has played in all 11 games this season and has 12 tackles, one pass breakup and two fumble recoveries to go with his interception.
 
Dawkins Shows Ground Attack: Quarterback Brandon Dawkins enters Friday's game versus Arizona State ranked fourth in the conference with 84.6 rushing yards per game. He's the only quarterback in the top 12 of the league and has the fourth fewest attempts of the top 12. On the season, Dawkins has rushed for 761 yards and eight touchdowns on 119 attempts. Against Colorado, Dawkins had 18 carries for 76 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per attempt. He piled up 88 rushing yards Saturday against Oregon State after entering in a relief role at quarterback. Dawkins is fifth nationally in rushing yards by a quarterback and 55^th nationally for all positions. Among Power 5 quarterbacks, Dawkins' 84.1 rushing yards per game ranks third. Dawkins' big play ability has been on display all season. He leads the team with 11 20-yard plus plays this season. All 11 have been rushing plays. Dawkins had a 20-yard rush against Colorado. He didn't have any such plays against Oregon State. His longest rush went for 16 yards. He has the longest play from scrimmage this year for the Wildcats, which was a 79-yard touchdown run against Washington. 

Maul 'Em Paul: Senior linebacker Paul Magloire has led the Wildcats in tackles each of the past two games he has played in. Magloire missed the Oregon State affair with a groin injury. In his previous game against Colorado, Magloire totaled nine tackles and a pass breakup. In the game before that, Magloire had a career-high 15 tackles. He became the first player to have 15 stops in a game for the Cats since Scooby Wright hit that number in the New Mexico Bowl last season. No player has had more than 15 tackles in a game since Wright had 19 against UCLA in 2014. Magloire is second on the Wildcats in tackles this season with 67. He's second on the team to Michael Barton in tackles-for-loss with 5 ½ and is second on the team with 2 ½ sacks. The senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida has had at least eight tackles in five of his 10 games this season. He totaled 10 against BYU and eight each against Hawaii and Stanford, before making 15 stops against the Cougars and nine against the Buffaloes. The senior had an interesting journey to Arizona. Magloire began his collegiate career at Appalachian State as a quarterback. He then transferred to Arizona Western Junior College and changed positions to safety. Magloire then committed to Arizona, but again changed positions to linebacker, where he has been a steady force for the Cats. Entering the Arizona State game, Magloire is tied for 13th in the conference with 6.7 tackles per game.
 
Cam Can Catch it: Junior Cam Denson finished last season tied for the team lead in interceptions, playing in all 13 games in the defensive backfield. But last spring, Denson, a local product from Salpointe Catholic High School, was moved to wide receiver. Over the first four games of the season, Denson had two catches for 19 yards, with both catches coming against Grambling State. However, the former high school receiver has officially hit his stride. Over his last seven games, Denson has 13 catches for 223 yards and two touchdowns. The junior had the best offensive game of his career against Washington State. Denson hauled in a career-high four catches for 77 yards (also a career best) and his second career touchdown. His score came in the second quarter when he caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anu Solomon. Denson made his first career offensive start at Washington State. He started again against Colorado and had three catches for 33 yards. On Saturday against Oregon State, Denson had two catches for 41 yards, including a 37-yard catch from Brandon Dawkins. He had eight career starts as a defensive player, starting two in 2014 and six more last season. He's one of two active players on the Cats who have started games both on offense and defense. DaVonte' Neal, another defensive back, is the other. Neal made 10 starts at wide receiver, before making 16 career starts on defense.
 
Barton Bringing It: Following a 29-game career at California that produced 158 tackles, 2 ½ sacks and an interception, linebacker Michael Barton transferred to Arizona for his final season of eligibility. The 6-foot, 237-pound linebacker has produced right away for the Wildcats. Barton is fourth on the team with 57 tackles, 17 behind the leader, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. Barton has 40 solo tackles, 17 assists and seven tackles-for-loss in his first season in Tucson. He also has three sacks. Barton's seven tackles-for-loss lead the team and his three sacks are tied for the most on the Wildcats. Barton has taken over the starting middle linebacker spot after Cody Ippolito was lost with an injury. Barton had 12 tackles versus Stanford, which is the second most in his career. He had 13 in a game when he was at Cal. Barton missed the Washington State game with an injury, but returned against Colorado, where he had seven tackles, 1 ½ tackles for loss and a sack. Against Oregon State, Barton had seven tackles.