(Editor's note: This is a reprint of a story that originally ran Nov. 19, 2000 in the Tribune newspapers.)

As the Washington Redskins and Arizona Cardinals went through pregame warm-ups earlier this month, John Jefferson mingled with Frank Kush and friends in a suite at Sun Devil Stadium.

Looking down on the field that bears the name of Kush, the legendary former Arizona State coach, Jefferson pointed out the location of the play that is the defining moment of this state’s college football rivalry.

“Right there in the south end zone, that’s where I made it,” Jefferson, who played at ASU from 1974-77 and is now director of player programs for the Redskins, told the gathering.

What Jefferson made is simply known as “The Catch.”

Those are words that, when spoken anywhere else in the country, invoke the image of Dwight Clark leaping high to pull in Joe Montana’s pass for the winning score in the 1981 NFC championship game.

Valley football fans, however, know Jefferson inspired the name first. His acrobatic touchdown reception is the most memorable — and controversial — play of what is considered the best-ever game between Arizona and ASU, the 1975 contest won by the Sun Devils, 24-21.

“That game symbolized the great intensity of the rivalry,” said Jim Young, UA’s coach from 1973-76. “It’s the greatest game I was associated with at Arizona, no doubt about it. And that kind of a game really set the stage for the rivalry taking off.”

It’s the silver anniversary of Jefferson’s catch, and he is still constantly reminded about it.

“All the time, especially when I’m back in Arizona,” Jefferson said. “The UofA people always want to know if I really made the catch, and the ASU people just say, ‘Yeah, great catch!’ ”

The score, which came in the final minute the first half, cut a 14-3 Arizona lead to just four points and shifted momentum to the Sun Devils in a game where the stakes were sky-high.

ASU was 10-0 and ranked eighth in the nation. The Wildcats — who, a year earlier, broke the Sun Devils’ nine-game winning streak in the series — came to Tempe with a 9-1 record and No. 11 status.

“It’s probably the game our fans remember most vividly because it was a close ballgame between two great college football teams,” Kush said. “The rivalry was there full-force, which is how it should be.”

What’s more, the Western Athletic Conference title and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl were on the line.

And the bowl picture then wasn’t like it is today, where all a school needs to get an invitation are six wins and 22 guys with a pulse. There would be no postseason for the loser, despite its impressive record.

“It was all or nothing,” Jefferson said. “Unfortunately, we just weren’t that highly regarded in the WAC. You could have a great record and not go to a bowl at all. The Fiesta Bowl was it.”

And the Fiesta Bowl was getting smaller in ASU’s windshield during the first half. In front of 51,388 spectators, Arizona quarterback Bruce Hill directed a high-powered offense to two touchdowns.

The Wildcats’ lead could have been 21-3, but a 77-yard scoring pass from Hill to wide receiver Scott Piper was negated by a penalty.

“Our end had his headgear over the line of scrimmage,” Young said. “That turned out to be as devastating a play for us as Jefferson’s catch was.”

Quarterback Dennis Sproul led a Sun Devil march to the Arizona 8 with 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Having lined up to the left in the formation, Jefferson quickly cut inside on a slant route as Sproul released the ball.

Kush still remembers it as if it happened last week.

“John laid his body out, three or four feet off the ground and caught it,” Kush said. “I can still see the official putting his hands in the air to signal a touchdown.”

Without question, the diving Jefferson plucked the ball out of the air. But it popped out when his elbows hit the ground — the major pillar of a case that is still being argued in the Old Pueblo.

“It’s a debatable catch, to be sure,” said Young, 65, who is retired an lives in Tucson. “A few years ago, I was visiting Kansas (University) when John was an assistant coach there, and I asked him if he really made that catch. He just laughed.”

Over the years, Young hasn’t been the only Wildcats loyalist arguing that Jefferson has been as evasive answering questions about “The Catch” as he was for defensive backs during his college and eight-year NFL career.

If Jefferson, 44, had taken a vow of silence, he broke it when interviewed for this article, saying he had control of the ball long enough for it to be ruled a reception.

“I know I did catch the ball,” Jefferson said. “No doubt, the ball was caught. The referee said it was a touchdown, and that was the end of it.”

The 70-year-old Kush, now a special assistant to ASU athletic director Gene Smith, said he sensed the air go out of the Wildcats a bit after the score.

“It was a closely fought ballgame until John made that catch,” Kush said. “It was the latter part of the (first half), and UofA was still fired up. When a play like that happens against you, it’s a psychological letdown.

“I think that happened. Afterward, our guys, especially on defense, did a good job of keeping the pressure on them.”

In the third quarter, Jefferson caught another touchdown pass, one with a significantly lower degree of difficulty, to give the Sun Devils a 17-14 edge. Arizona responded with a TD of its own before the period ended.

But Sproul directed another drive that climaxed with his 1-yard TD run with 12 minutes remaining. After that, ASU’s “Crunch Bunch” defense — led by future NFL stars Mike Haynes, Larry Gordon and John Harris — protected the cushion.

“I go down (to Tucson) and speak at functions from time to time, and you still hear about it,” Kush said. “The rivalry, I think, got even more heated at that game. . . . That catch kind of turned things around, not just for ASU but for the competition between the schools.”

With the victory, perfect record and WAC title in hand, the Sun Devils rode into the Fiesta Bowl against Nebraska. A 17-14 triumph — which is still considered the most significant win in school history — enabled ASU to finish the season ranked second in the country.

“Beating Nebraska probably gave us more national recognition than any game we had played prior to that,” Kush said. “But without that win (over Arizona), it wouldn’t have been possible.”

“The Catch” helped elevate the Sun Devils into college football’s spotlight. It secured Jefferson’s place in the pantheon of ASU gridiron gods.

And it gave Young a coaching memory he’ll always remember, even if the final result wasn’t in his favor.

“There were three factors in that catch,” Young said. “First, did Jefferson hold on to the ball (long enough)? Second, did the ground pop it out? Third, was he in bounds? There were so many factors, and it was such a close call that there are always going to people wanting to talk about it.

“But it was ruled a catch, so it was a catch.”