U of A pranksters strike early, paint 'A' red

Arizona State University and University of Arizona don't face off in the Duel in the Desert for over a week, but some tricky Wildcats are already pulling pranks.

On Thursday, ASU students woke up to see a bold red "A" on "A" Mountain, rather than its usual shiny gold.

U of A fans apparently snuck up on the mountain early to make their mark on Tempe.

"A" Mountain has been at Tempe Butte since 1938.

Each year, members of the Student Alumni Association guard the "A" before the big rivalry game.

It looks like this year U of A got a jumpstart on the tradition.

"A" mountain wasn't red for long. ASU answered back with some Sun Devils taking it upon themselves to paint it gold again and order has been restored.

What makes this unusual is the two teams don't play each other until next weekend.