TEMPE — In a Territory Cup matchup where ASU and Arizona had very different seasons, there was one constant between both teams: elite wide receivers who have good chemistry with their signal-caller.

With Arizona comes the more established duo of Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan, who excelled together in high school before making the jump to Arizona, where McMillan is now the program’s all-time leading receiver and a Biletnikoff Award finalist.

The Tucson tandem took last year’s rivalry win in big style, with McMillan recording 11 catches for 266 yards and a touchdown while Fifita rushed for 527 yards and five touchdowns.

Meanwhile, ASU’s Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson are in their first season together and have made great strides over the last seven games. Tyson’s 749 receiving yards over the stretch led the nation, one yard above McMillan’s 748.

“I actually haven’t seen it that way, but it’s a fair point,” Leavitt said after practice on Tuesday when asked about proving the duo’s superiority. “I kind of go into every game if the quarterback is rated better than me or the offense is supposedly better than ours or something like that.”

“I feel like we’re always letting down and proving people wrong over and over again.”

Leavitt has the second-best PFF grade among Big 12 quarterbacks (at least 150 dropbacks) behind Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. He also has the best overall grade among all FBS freshmen (redshirt or true) at 88.2.

“Yeah, I think so,” Tyson later added of McMillan. “There’s not much to say, but he’s a good receiver.”

Although Leavitt wasn’t there for last year’s matchup, Tyson was, and he hasn’t forgotten what Arizona did.

“They just show no mercy for us,” Tyson said. “So I feel like we need to do the same thing this year.”

When Fifita and McMillan decided to stay in Tucson despite a mass exodus along with Jedd Fisch to Washington, it put them in a difficult situation and was the main reason the Wildcats had such high expectations at the start of the year.

He has the most receiving yards among Power 4 players this season, with 1,251 yards well ahead of runner-up Tai Felton of Maryland (1,097).

“Man, this guy is unbelievable,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said of McMillan on Monday. “He’s incredible and they have a remarkable connection… and they still have that ability and it still flashes. They still score a ton. When they get going, they are still extremely dangerous as a football team. I think there’s something special about these two.”

Arizona coach Brent Brennan told reporters Wednesday he believes both Wildcats will be remembered “as legends.”

“I think they will be remembered as incredible football players and outstanding people in the community,” Brennan said. “For me, there is no better receiver in the country than T-Mac. I think he should win the Biletnikoff Prize, I hope he wins. His consistency… and the relationship between him and Noah, I don’t think there’s any reason why they shouldn’t be remembered here forever.”

Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward called Fifita the best quarterback the Sun Devils have seen all year, noting that he was also the best quarterback they had seen the entire previous season.

“The receiver is fantastic. He just finds ways to get open,” Ward said Wednesday, praising McMillan’s ability to get open regardless of the coverage. “We have to be very specific about how we play against these guys and tailor our game plan to really stopping and defending this offense.”

Saturday’s Territorial Cup is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MST on FOX. Listen to play-by-play coverage on 98.7 FM, the Arizona Sports app or online with State of the Sun Devils pregame coverage starting at 10:30 a.m