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UA athletic director Jim Livengood and coach Mike Stoops believe it's going to take consistency by the Arizona Wildcats to win back the Territorial Cup from Arizona State in Saturday's "Duel in the Desert" game.

Arizona (6-5, 4-4 Pac-10) can secure a spot in a better bowl game — the Las Vegas Bowl perhaps — with a victory. The Wildcats can knock the Sun Devils (5-6, 4-4) from bowl contention, extra motivation for a team looking for revenge.

"It's an absolute must — we need to start, and we need to finish," Livengood said. "We need to play a solid 60 minutes. … There isn't anyone in the free world who doesn't know that."

The Wildcats have struggled against the Sun Devils in must-win games the last two years. They were outscored 21-0 by Arizona State in the first quarter of their 2006 game. Arizona played better in last year's 20-17 loss in Tempe but went through the second and third quarters without scoring.

Stoops still can't pinpoint the reason for his team's struggles in both years — "if I had that answer, I probably wouldn't be sitting here," he said — but believes his team needs to play fast and confidently to win. Playing at home on "Senior Night" should help, he said.

"We have to come out and play loose, do what we do and not force the game in any way," Stoops said. "We've just got to finish — finish our season, finish the fourth quarter and finish off a game. I like our attitude, so I think our kids are in a good position to win this game."

The UA will stick with its regular game-week schedule leading up to Saturday's game. The Wildcats have scheduled practices for today, Wednesday and Thursday; they will hold an informal walk-through Friday.

Arizona's bowl fate has been a topic of conversation around McKale Center, but Stoops and the Wildcats players have been staying out of the fray.

Stoops said the UA's bowl destination is "insignificant" with Saturday's rivalry game fast approaching.

"I think this is much more important to them than any bowl game," he said.

Defensive end Ricky Elmore believes the UA's single-mindedness is a sign of maturity.

"Nobody cares about the bowl game this week," he said. "Everybody cares about this game. And that's the way it should be."

The UA can secure a bid in either the Las Vegas or Emerald bowls with a win Saturday; a loss means they would likely head to Honolulu for the Hawaii Bowl.

Predictably, Saturday's rivalry game is expected to be a sellout.

About 480 tickets remained unsold as of Monday afternoon, according to the UA athletic department. The remaining tickets are expected to be snapped up in the coming days.

With a crowd of 56,000 or more, Arizona will have drawn just more than 364,000 fans this season, a figure that would rank third in program history. Arizona drew 390,589 fans in 2006 and 387,737 in 1988.

● The Wildcats added a potentially valuable recruit Monday when Blinn College (Texas) wide receiver Travis Cobb broke his verbal commitment to Utah in favor of the UA.

The Rivals.com recruiting service lists Cobb, a 6-foot, 178-pound receiver, as a three-star recruit and 94th-best junior college player in the nation.

Cobb played with two current Wildcats — center Herman Hall and linebacker Sterling Lewis — at Blinn a year ago.

● Livengood reiterated Monday that Stoops and his staff have his full confidence, regardless of what happens Saturday.

"I've said that every way humanly possible," he said.

● UA wide receiver Mike Thomas smirked when a student reporter asked him Monday what he thought of Arizona State as an academic institution.

No "junior college" smack here.

"It's another school, just a school like everyone else," he said.

Thomas, a senior, has been around too long to say something that could end up on a bulletin board.

"Being around a long time helps with the political side as well as the rivalry side," he said.