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Football Blog: Cactus Bowl Ties
December 07, 2015 12:50 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There will be plenty of interesting ties when West Virginia faces Arizona State in the 2016 Motel 6 Cactus Bowl on Saturday, January 2, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Of course, Arizona State coach Todd Graham spent two seasons on Rich Rodriguez’s WVU staff in 2001-02, his second year working as co-defensive coordinator with his Imperial View neighbor Jeff Casteel before he moved on to Tulsa to become the Golden Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator in 2003.
Graham was responsible for recruiting outstanding players such as Jay Henry and Mike Lorello, who had key roles on West Virginia’s 2005 defense that helped the Mountaineers to a Big East title and a victory over Georgia in the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl.
Then later, in 2011, when Graham became head coach at Pitt following a successful four-year tenure at Tulsa, he brought his Panther team down to Morgantown to play in the final Backyard Brawl. The hard-fought, 21-20 WVU victory propelled the Mountaineers to the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl where they defeated this years’ top-ranked Clemson, 70-33.
One of Graham’s defensive coaches working the Panthers sidelines in Morgantown that evening was none other than Tony Gibson, now Dana Holgorsen’s defensive coordinator here at WVU.
Another defensive coach Graham had on his staff that year was Keith Patterson, who became Dana Holgorsen’s defensive coordinator in 2013. And when Patterson left to rejoin Graham at Arizona State in 2014 that opened the door for Gibson to become West Virginia’s defensive coordinator.
There is one other interesting tie to this year’s game – Ken Kendrick, Arizona Diamondbacks owner and West Virginia University graduate. Kendrick has been a very active supporter of WVU athletics through the years.
“We’ve got a great relationship with Ken Kendrick, so it’s going to be fantastic to be able to get out there and spend some time with him,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said.
The West Virginia coach said during Sunday evening’s Cactus Bowl teleconference that his busy schedule has not afforded him time yet to catch up with Patterson, but he is sure they will cross paths when the Mountaineers arrive in Scottsdale later this month.
“I’m sure he is excited about being able to reunite with some of the guys he’s worked with for a while,” Holgorsen said. “Coach Graham has got connections with West Virginia as well, so there are some connections and it makes competing against each other fun, especially in bowl games.
“There are going to be some opportunities to be able to interact and when you’re able to do that with some people that you know and some people that you like and respect, it always makes it that much better.”
This year’s Cactus Bowl is essentially a home game for Arizona State, which plays its games at nearby Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
Graham admitted that he is excited to be able to have another opportunity for his seniors to be able to play in front of what should be a very pro-Arizona State crowd.
“This is a bowl we wanted to be in because we’re such a close-knit group of guys and although it’s not a home game, it’s right here in our hometown,” he said. “It’s an advantage for us in that it’s the last opportunity for these seniors to be together and for their families and for our fan base, it’s pretty neat, and it will be a unique experience for them.”
Both teams are coming off disappointing season-ending performances after stringing together some wins. The 7-5 Mountaineers dropped a 24-23 decision at Kansas State on a kickoff return after winning four straight against Texas Tech, Texas, Kansas and Iowa State, and 6-6 Arizona State fell 48-46 at Cal after winning back-to-back conference games against Washington and Arizona.
The Sun Devils were predicted to finish second behind USC in the Pac-12 North Division this year, earning seven first-place votes, while West Virginia was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12.
ASU finished two spots below that in fourth place with conference losses to USC, Utah, Oregon and Washington State, while West Virginia actually finished one place better in a three-way tie for fifth place with Texas Tech and Texas.
However, a victory at Kansas State would have given the Mountaineers sole possession of fifth place with an 8-4 regular season record, some momentum heading into the bowl game and additional momentum going into the offseason.
Therefore, the Cactus Bowl outcome will be important to a West Virginia program that is seeking an elusive eighth victory – something it has not been able to accomplish since joining the Big 12 in 2012.
The Cactus Bowl outcome is also important to Graham’s Sun Devil program to avoid a losing season for the first time since he took over there in 2012.
Arizona State posted consecutive 10-win seasons in 2013-14 before slipping to six victories this year.
That alone should make for an interesting and compelling game when the two teams meet next month.
Tickets are on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office and can be purchased by calling toll-free 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
The WVU Alumni Association and the Mountaineer Athletic Club are offering a special travel package through PrimeSport, which includes accommodations for three nights at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix for Thursday, December 31 check-in and Sunday, January 3 departure.
The WVU Alumni Association has more Cactus Bowl travel information available on its website – alumni.wvu.edu.
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