TUCSON (AP) — Nick Foles wanted to be a Sun Devil.

He changed his mind when Arizona State changed coaches.

Now the floppy-haired quarterback is finally coming to Tempe, but he'll be wearing a helmet with a block "A" on it.

Foles, Arizona's starting quarterback, said he understands the importance of the Territorial Cup rivalry but has no ill feelings toward ASU.

"I'm an Arizona Wildcat, and that's all that matters," Foles said this week.

Foles' visit is perhaps the most intriguing sidelight to this year's meeting between Arizona (6-4, 4-3 Pac-10) and Arizona State (4-7, 2-6).

Both teams had to replace longtime starting quarterbacks this season.

Wildcats coach Mike Stoops initially chose Matt Scott as the successor to Willie Tuitama, the most decorated passer in school history. Three games into the season, Stoops went to Foles, and the Wildcats quickly responded.

Foles ranks third in Pac-10 passing efficiency. He's thrown for 2,033 yards in nine games, including seven starts, and has thrown 17 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

Foles, a sophomore from Austin, Texas, transferred to Arizona from Michigan State. But he originally committed to play for Dirk Koetter at ASU.

Foles thought he'd be a good fit in Koetter's air-oriented attack, and it helped that Foles had family in the Phoenix area. But Foles changed his mind after ASU dismissed Koetter following the 2006 season, Foles' senior year in high school.

"It just seemed like the best fit for me and my family, and then when he got fired," Foles said, "I reconsidered and I felt like it was just not the best place for me."

Foles said he met with Dennis Erickson, who replaced Koetter in Tempe.

"It was nothing against him," Foles said. "It was just the best thing for me personally, and my family, to just go somewhere else."

Erickson said he had left the scholarship offer on the table for Foles.

"We tried to pursue him," Erickson said on the Pac-10 coaches teleconference. "He had a scholarship offer from us, and we ended up committing three quarterbacks in that class and he decided he didn't want to come here, so that's what happened."

Coincidentally, Samson Szakacsy was one of the quarterbacks who signed with ASU that year.

Foles has played well this season, but he's gone through the usual ups and downs of a first-year starter.

In each of Arizona's three conference losses, Foles has made a critical mistake in the fourth quarter. In last weekend's 44-41 double-overtime loss to Oregon, he threw an end-zone interception that robbed the Wildcats of a chance to put the game away in regulation.

The play underscored Foles' confidence in throwing into tight spots, as well as his faith in his receivers to make plays.

"The thing with Nick is, he's one of the most competitive people I've been around, and I think that's what makes him good," Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said. "And when you have quarterbacks like that, it's a little bit of the Brett Favre deal, where you have to try to rein him in a little bit at times because they want to win so bad that they try to maybe force the issue."

Barring injury or an early departure for the NFL, it's easy to envision Foles as a three-year starter for the Wildcats, which means this probably won't be the last time he takes on ASU.

The timing of Foles' visit couldn't be worse for the Sun Devils, who have been unable to find a successor to Rudy Carpenter.

A lot has gone wrong this season for ASU, which has lost five straight. But a mix of ineptitude and inexperience at quarterback has drawn the most scrutiny.

Senior Danny Sullivan opened the season as the starter and led ASU to a 4-5 record.

After Sullivan hurt his biceps, true freshman Brock Osweiler took over and made his first start in a 44-21 loss at Oregon. Osweiler hurt his shoulder during the game, so the Sun Devils turned to Szakacsy, a sophomore who has battled elbow problems.

Szakacsy started a 23-13 loss at UCLA last week, throwing an interception that was returned for a score. He also lost a fumble for another Bruins TD.

ASU's three quarterbacks have combined for 14 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions this season.

Erickson said he hasn't decided on a starter for Saturday, but he said Szakacsy and Sullivan would work with the first team in practice.

It's not clear what Sullivan, Osweiler and Szakacsy think about the QB situation. ASU declared its quarterbacks off-limits to the media this week.