The Territorial Cup
Every year Arizona State University takes on their biggest rival University of Arizona in the Territorial Cup. This game is the biggest of the season for the Sun Devils, and they show up and show out every year. In his Sophomore year, Matt Cross reminded the league why he is the Son of Havoc. Totalling 2 interceptions, 4 pass break ups, 8 tackles and a sack, Cross dominated on defense and led his team to a 36 -10 victory.
The University of Arizona couldn’t get anything going offensively the whole game. With 3 minutes to go in the first quarter, Cross got his first interception of the game at the opponent’s 40 yard line. Cross read the route the whole way and came flying from the middle of the field, leaping in front of the receiver and intercepting the football. This was the beginning of Matt’s huge game. In the second quarter, Matt had 2 pass break ups and 5 tackles. Bouncing around from defender to defender, hardly a single play passed for the Sun Devil’s defense where Matt wasn’t involved. At half time, ASU was up 23-7 and Matt already had one of his best single game performances in college football, but he wasn’t done yet.
Matt was confident in his play coming out of halftime and he showed it on the field when he got his second interception in the 3rd quarter. On a deep ball downfield with a little too much airtime, Matt timed his jump perfectly to snatch the ball away from the receiver who was waiting for it to land in their arms. This was Matt’s first and only multiple interception game in college. Aside from adding more pass break ups and tackles, Matt notably recorded a sack in the second half. On third and goal from the 8, a disguised blitz was called and the Son of Havoc scorched untouched through a wide open whole in the O-line to sack the QB. This put an exclamation point on Matt’s already incredible performance.
In the post-game press conference, Cross was asked a lot of questions about the game, here are a few of the best questions and his responses.
Q: What was your mindset during and after halftime?
A: I knew that I could get another pick after the half, their QB was playing recklessly, playing in a panic, and when that happens it’s easy to read where they’re gonna throw the ball.
Q: How proud of you of your performance today?
A: I’m incredibly proud, I feel as though all the time and effort I’ve put into transitioning to this sport has finally started to pay off. But it’s not just about me, this whole team killed it out there today. They’ve supported me this whole way, and they make a huge impact on and off the field.
Q: You mentioned your teammates, how does having such a big performance affect them?
A: Well we like to compete so it really raises everyone's level of play. We feed off each other's energy, and I really couldn’t have played the way I did without them out there on the field with me either. I mean look at the combined stats, the pass rush put a lot of pressure on their QB today and forced him to make those bad throws. We got shut down corners here that force throws towards the middle of the field where I’m playin at. And when our offense goes down the field and scores after a good defensive stand, not only does it give us time to rest, but it inspires us to keep making plays because we know they’re gonna go put points on the board after.
621 Words
Every year Arizona State University takes on their biggest rival University of Arizona in the Territorial Cup. This game is the biggest of the season for the Sun Devils, and they show up and show out every year. In his Sophomore year, Matt Cross reminded the league why he is the Son of Havoc. Totalling 2 interceptions, 4 pass break ups, 8 tackles and a sack, Cross dominated on defense and led his team to a 36 -10 victory.
The University of Arizona couldn’t get anything going offensively the whole game. With 3 minutes to go in the first quarter, Cross got his first interception of the game at the opponent’s 40 yard line. Cross read the route the whole way and came flying from the middle of the field, leaping in front of the receiver and intercepting the football. This was the beginning of Matt’s huge game. In the second quarter, Matt had 2 pass break ups and 5 tackles. Bouncing around from defender to defender, hardly a single play passed for the Sun Devil’s defense where Matt wasn’t involved. At half time, ASU was up 23-7 and Matt already had one of his best single game performances in college football, but he wasn’t done yet.
Matt was confident in his play coming out of halftime and he showed it on the field when he got his second interception in the 3rd quarter. On a deep ball downfield with a little too much airtime, Matt timed his jump perfectly to snatch the ball away from the receiver who was waiting for it to land in their arms. This was Matt’s first and only multiple interception game in college. Aside from adding more pass break ups and tackles, Matt notably recorded a sack in the second half. On third and goal from the 8, a disguised blitz was called and the Son of Havoc scorched untouched through a wide open whole in the O-line to sack the QB. This put an exclamation point on Matt’s already incredible performance.
In the post-game press conference, Cross was asked a lot of questions about the game, here are a few of the best questions and his responses.
Q: What was your mindset during and after halftime?
A: I knew that I could get another pick after the half, their QB was playing recklessly, playing in a panic, and when that happens it’s easy to read where they’re gonna throw the ball.
Q: How proud of you of your performance today?
A: I’m incredibly proud, I feel as though all the time and effort I’ve put into transitioning to this sport has finally started to pay off. But it’s not just about me, this whole team killed it out there today. They’ve supported me this whole way, and they make a huge impact on and off the field.
Q: You mentioned your teammates, how does having such a big performance affect them?
A: Well we like to compete so it really raises everyone's level of play. We feed off each other's energy, and I really couldn’t have played the way I did without them out there on the field with me either. I mean look at the combined stats, the pass rush put a lot of pressure on their QB today and forced him to make those bad throws. We got shut down corners here that force throws towards the middle of the field where I’m playin at. And when our offense goes down the field and scores after a good defensive stand, not only does it give us time to rest, but it inspires us to keep making plays because we know they’re gonna go put points on the board after.
621 Words
![[Image: ndvj4VD.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/ndvj4VD.jpeg)
