With the start of the 2026 college football season around the corner, ESPN listed all the archenemies of each power conference team. Who holds grudges against whom? Some archenemies are actual people, while some are whole teams and others are entirely something different — like what was listed for Arizona State.
Here are the archenemies for ASU and Arizona football teams. Vote in our poll if you agree with the selection (the poll appears after the list; print readers can find it with this story online at azcentral/sports). If not, comment your own choice on our social media channels.
ASU
Archenemy: 1975 AP poll voters
It was the year before the nation’s bicentennial, and the Sun Devils were enjoying a celebration of their own with one of the best seasons
in school history. ASU, under the legendary Frank Kush, was the sole undefeated team in the country at 12-0 and had a historic defense that allowed just 9.4 points per game. Yet, the AP poll voters decided to give the nod to Oklahoma. They ranked the Sooners No. 1, thus giving Oklahoma the national championship. To this day, ASU has never won a national championship.
Arizona
Archenemy: Frank Kush
The Territorial Cup mostly remained in Tucson for the first 20 years of the rivalry. Kush took over as coach in 1958. It then became lopsided toward Tempe, with ASU going 16-5 against Arizona during his time with the school.
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Archenemies listed for ASU, Arizona football teams. Do you agree?
