TEMPE, Ariz. - With his team facing a humbling home loss to its archrival that would end any bowl hopes, Terry Richardson squinted through the sunlight to watch the punt fall out of the desert sky.

A few seconds and a 71-yard return later, Richardson was mobbed in the end zone and Arizona State was on its way to a 23-20 victory over Arizona on Friday.

“I was thinking score, score, score,” Richardson said. “I had to do something, it was a slow game. I was like, ’I’m going to get it however I can.”’

Richardson’s spectacular return and Rudy Carpenter’s two-point conversion pass to Zach Miller tied it at 20-20 with 7:52 remaining.

Jesse Ainsworth won it with a 20-yard field goal — the same length as an extra point — with 6 seconds to play.

The Territorial Cup victory earned the Sun Devils (6-5, 4-4 Pac-10) an invitation to the Insight Bowl, played 10 miles down the freeway at Chase Field — formerly Bank One Ballpark. Arizona State accepted the bid in the locker room after the game.

The probable opponent is Rutgers.

“We’re going to spend Dec. 27 in beautiful downtown Phoenix, and we’re pretty excited about that,” Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter said. “Any of you guys been in Phoenix around Christmas time? It’s beautiful.”

It will be the first consecutive bowl appearances for ASU in coach Dirk Koetter’s five years at the school.

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Mike Bell gained 117 yards in 27 carries in his final game for Arizona, but missed most of the second half with a deep thigh bruise.

“You could tell Mike was just having one of those games,” said Arizona coach Mike Stoops, who dropped to 1-1 in the rivalry. “He’s our best running back, there’s no question. He was on his way to having a big day. They made a great hit on him, and that was the end of that.”

Freshman quarterback Willie Tuitama went down with an apparent shoulder injury after being hit hard by safety Zach Cantanese while throwing the game’s only interception with 11:26 to play.

Bell had 100 yards in 20 carries in the first half. He limped off the field in the first series of the second half, and tried briefly to come back later, but had to be helped to the sidelines.