Just 25 months ago, a football paradise was sprouting in the desert.
Arizona State and Arizona were both ranked in the Top 15. Each team brought a 9-2 record into the Territorial Cup, a game that would determine the Pac-12 South champion. The magnitude of the showdown caused vertigo in the Valley, a game that far exceeded local bragging rights.
That same weekend, the Cardinals were 9-1 entering a showdown in Seattle, and the math is staggering. Over the first three months of the 2014 season, our three major football programs had combined to win 27 of 32 games.