Arizona
Defensive Grades Are In From Arizona’s Territorial Cup Victory
Arizona didn’t have the best start, but a long second half drained the life from Arizona State and sent the Wildcats back home to Tucson with a 23-7 victory, and the Territorial Cup in hand.
Brent Brennan’s first win in the rivalry series punctuates a dramatic turnaround for the program. After a 4-8 finish last season, Brennan’s aggressiveness in the portal, while retaining his roster, and making significant changes to the coaching staff, led to a 9-3 finish this time around.
The Wildcats have been great defensively all season long, and it showed up again on Friday night. The Wildcats forced five turnovers from ASU’s Jeff Sims, nabbing three interceptions and scooping up two fumbles.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Wildcats dominated the game defensively, despite only playing 20 minutes of the game. Here are the five highest-graded defenders from Arizona’s win (minimum 30 snaps).
Kennedy had a relatively quiet night in the box score, but was still effective on the edge. He made two tackles and had one pressure against the Sun Devils.
The edge rusher did a great job of keeping contain against Sims, not letting him scramble or beat the Wildcats with his legs. He did the same thing in the run game. With the exception of a few plays, ASU could only run the ball between the tackles, and the edges were a big reason why.
According to PFF, Kennedy had an overall grade of 68.3, with a tackling grade of 75.8, a run defense grade of 66.5 and a pass rush grade of 62.7.
Dansby had a big day locking down the perimeter with fellow corner Jay’Vion Cole limited to just eight snaps. The senior corner had two tackles, one pass breakup and an interception.
ASU’s first turnover of the day came as Sims was flushed from the pocket and made an errant throw toward the sideline, where Dansby dove and came up with the takeaway. He allowed just one short catch on five targets, but he also had a pass interference penalty.
Break out the turnover sword. 🗡️@dansby_michael with the INT. pic.twitter.com/pzFghLex4c
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 29, 2025
According to PFF, Dansby had an overall grade of 68.9, with a coverage grade of 71.4, a tackling grade of 76.6 and a run defense grade of 56.1.
Wilson had a great day opposite Kennedy on the edge. He made six tackles and batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage in the win for Arizona.
Like Kennedy, Wilson did a great job of keeping ASU contained to the pocket or running between the tackles in traffic. He also had two hits on Sims as a pass rusher, making his presence felt.
According to PFF, Wilson had an overall grade of 69.0, with a tackling grade of 78.3, a run defense grade of 75.2 and a pass rush grade of 57.1.
Arizona’s safeties once again were flying around the field and always near the ball. Smith was huge against the run, making six tackles and deflecting one pass.
While tackling has been a problem for Smith this season, he was perfect against the Sun Devils. He played close to stop the run and also picked up one pressure. Smith didn’t allow any catches as the primary defender and made some key tackles downfield to prevent ASU from scoring.
According to PFF, Smith had an overall grade of 71.7, with a tackling grade of 82.9, a run defense grade of 74.6 and a coverage grade of 68.7.
Who else? Johnson was once again all over the field making plays. He made three tackles, two pass breakups, one interception and forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Johnson punched the ball away from Sims on a run with ASU driving into scoring range, and Arizona recovered and went on the score the final touchdown to seal the game. On the ensuing possession, Sims overshot his man and Johnson laid out to snatch the pick, the fifth and final takeaway of the day for the Wildcats.
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🌵 that’s four, fam. pic.twitter.com/VCwlvoY8yY— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 29, 2025
According to PFF, Johnson had an overall grade of 83.3, by far his highest grade of the season. He also had a run defense grade of 92.7, a coverage grade of 71.3 and a tackling grade of 56.2.
What did you think of Arizona’s statement win over Arizona State? To let us know, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.
Arizona
Man, woman found dead near Arizona-Utah border; suspect arrested
PAGE, ARIZ., – A suspect has been arrested after two people were found shot to death inside a home near the Arizona-Utah border.
What we know:
On July 5 at 11:30 p.m., the Page Police and Fire Communications Center responded to a report that two people had been shot near Elm and El Camino.
Once at the home, officers found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
“The suspect was unknown and not on scene when officers arrived,” police said.
Dig deeper:
Police secured the home and obtained a search warrant. Investigators then began processing the crime scene.
“Evidence collected provided investigators with a person of interest who may have been present when the shootings occurred,” police said. “Investigators located the person of interest and interviewed him but did not initially charge him with any crimes related to the double homicide investigation.”
The next day, the person of interest was arrested and booked into jail. He’s accused of two counts of first-degree murder.
What we don’t know:
No identities were released. Police didn’t release any details on what led up to the shooting.
Local perspective:
Police “do not believe there is any remaining threat to the community, as the alleged suspect and the weapon allegedly used have been seized by law enforcement.”
What you can do:
If anyone has information related to the investigation, they advise contacting Detective Terry TerEick at ttereick@pageaz.gov.
Map of the cross streets where the shooting occurred:
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from the Page Police Department’s Facebook page.
Arizona
Padres host Arizona Diamondbacks, look to stop home slide
Arizona Diamondbacks (45-45, second in the NL West) vs. San Diego Padres (44-46, third in the NL West)
San Diego; Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Zac Gallen (0-0); Padres: TBD
LINE: Padres -131, Diamondbacks +108; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres are looking to end their three-game home slide with a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
San Diego has a 44-46 record overall and a 23-22 record at home. The Padres have a 26-13 record in games when they record at least eight hits.
Arizona is 45-45 overall and 18-25 on the road. The Diamondbacks have gone 16-4 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
The teams match up Tuesday for the fourth time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Manny Machado has 16 doubles and 18 home runs for the Padres. Fernando Tatis Jr. is 11 for 43 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games.
Ketel Marte has 18 doubles, three triples and 17 home runs for the Diamondbacks. Geraldo Perdomo is 13 for 39 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Padres: 1-9, .255 batting average, 8.02 ERA, outscored by 51 runs
Diamondbacks: 4-6, .222 batting average, 3.84 ERA, outscored by one run
INJURIES: Padres: Jason Adam: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Randy Vasquez: 15-Day IL (ankle), Freddy Fermin: 10-Day IL (head), Matt Waldron: 15-Day IL (arm), David Morgan: 15-Day IL (knee), Jeremiah Estrada: 15-Day IL (knee), Lucas Giolito: 15-Day IL (elbow), Nick Pivetta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Musgrove: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ramon Laureano: 60-Day IL (hip), Bryan Hoeing: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Diamondbacks: James McCann: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Blake Walston: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jordan Lawlar: 10-Day IL (hamstring), A.J. Puk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ryne Nelson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mike Soroka: 15-Day IL (lower body), Corbin Burnes: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Mena: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Andrew Saalfrank: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Martinez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Arizona
WATCH: Mesa teen builds free scam detection tool to protect seniors from fraud
MESA, AZ — For many seniors, scam texts and phone calls can be confusing, intimidating, and costly.
One Mesa teenager believes getting help shouldn’t be.
BASIS Mesa student Shilo Karakkattu created ScamSafe after watching older family members struggle to sort through suspicious messages.
The goal is straightforward: help people avoid becoming the next victim of fraud.
For many seniors, scam texts and phone calls can be confusing, intimidating, and costly. Karakkattu saw that the problem was affecting people he loves and decided to create a solution.
Now, organizations that work with seniors are taking notice of his invention, which could soon help thousands of people across Arizona stay one step ahead of scammers.
Watch in the player above to see the remarkable student whose latest project is protecting some of Arizona’s most vulnerable residents.
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