Across the Ute sideline: Scouting the Arizona State Sun Devils

SALT LAKE CITY - Fighting through adversity is one of the main themes that Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham preaches to his players.

Losing its first two conference games and its starting quarterback for at least two to three weeks provides plenty of adversity to overcome as Utah tries to rebound from a 31-14 home loss to Washington last week.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Utes, who play host to the South Division leader and 22nd ranked team in the nation on Saturday.

Welcome to the Pac-12.

Utah (2-2) vs. Arizona State (4-1)

Series Snapshot
Arizona State holds a 16-6 series lead and has won the last seven games—six which were played in Tempe. Utah's last win was a 31-28 verdict in Tempe in 1976 when both teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference. They last met in 1993, with ASU winning convincingly, 38-0.Game 5 Notes

• Utah (2-2, 0-2 Pac-12) vs. Arizona State (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12)
• Date: Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011
• Time: 1:30 p.m. MT
• Site: Rice-Eccles Stadium (45,017, FieldTurf)
• TV: FSN (ROOT Sports)
• Radio: ESPN700 & SIRIUS 128/XM 193
• Series Record: ASU leads 16-6
• Last Meeting: 1993 (ASU 38-0)
• Kickoff Weather: Partly cloudy and cool, temps in the lower 60s

With Jordan Wynn out for at least 2-3 weeks, backup quarterback Jon Hays will take the reigns against Arizona State, who has beaten the Utes seven straight times.

Here is an inside look at Arizona State and the key players to watch for on Saturday.

Season to date

Arizona State (4-1, 2-0) is the only Pac-12 South team without a conference loss, and is in the driver's seat to represent the division in the conference championship game.

The Sun Devils routed USC 43-22 on Sept. 24, and coasted to a 35-20 win over Oregon State last week.

Arizona State's lone loss on the season came on the road against Illinois, a game that the Sun Devils should have won.

Coaching Staff

Sun Devils head coach Dennis Erickson is no stranger to winning. In his first season at ASU, Erickson lead his team to a 10-3 record, a share of the Pac-10 championship and a berth in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. He has won two national championships while at Miami (1989 and 1991), and has even coached in the NFL.

Coach Erickson is also known in the Pac-12 as the architect of one of college football's biggest turnarounds when he coached at Oregon State from 1999-2002. He led the Beavers, who had not had a winning season since 1970, to a 7-5 record in his first season before grabbing the attention of the college football world with an 11-1 mark in 2000, which was punctuated by a 41-9 defeat of No. 10 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, OSU's first bowl win since 1962.

Erickson, who is in his fifth year at ASU, is the first person to coach three different Pac-12 schools, having also coached at Washington State.

Offense

Arizona State is ranked 27th in the country in passing yards per game, led by the tallest quarterback in college football. Standing at six foot eight inches tall, Brock Osweiler has thrown 10 touchdowns and has ran for two scores.

"Brock Osweiler is a big kid and throws it around very well," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said.

"He's very accurate. He makes good decisions. He sees the field very well. He has good pocket presence and awareness. He's a good quarterback just like every other quarterback in this conference."

Osweiler has two main receivers that he likes to target.

Senior Aaron Pflugrad has 25 catches for 375 yards and four touchdowns, while junior Jamal Miles, has 24 catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Miles is more than just a receiver, returning kicks and punts for the team as well.

"I would need a book to describe Jamal Miles," Osweiler said of his wide receiver. "He can do it all. We line him up in the slot. We bring him into the backfield. We hand the ball to him. We send him in motion and get him the ball. He throws the football. He might be the best athlete I've ever been around in my life. The things that he does and as many tackles as he avoids and makes people miss and spins past this guy and runs past this guy, it's just fun to watch the kid. He's a true talent, he works very hard in the offseason and he is a great football player."

Junior running back Cameron Marshall is averaging just under 75 yards per game on the ground and has seven touchdowns this season.

For the Utes to slow down the Sun Devils, look for them to try and put as much pressure on Osweiler as possible. Osweiler has thrown six interceptions in 2011, the most by any Pac-12 quarterback.

Defense

Perhaps the most prolific defensive player in all of college football lines up at linebacker for Arizona State. Vontaze Burfict, named the meanest man in college football by the Sporting News, leads a defense that ranks 30th in points allowed and 25th in sacks, averaging nearly three quarterback takedowns a game.

Arizona State has overcome major injuries on the defensive side of the ball, not missing a beat and continuing to be an aggressive defense that makes a lot of big plays.

Burfict blitzes a lot, and has four of the team's 13 sacks.

Expect Utah QB Jon Hays to specifically look where Burfict lines up before each snap.

Special Teams

Redshirt Freshman Alex Garoutte is 3-6 on field goals with a long of 49 yards. He seems to be more accurate the farther out he kicks, as his makes are from 49, 25 and 47, while his misses are from 42, 32 and 35 yards.

Josh Hubner handles the punting for ASU and averages 41 yards a punt.

Arizona State is excellent in kickoff and punt returns, ranking at the top of the Pac-12 in both categories. Jamal Miles is fourth in the nation in punt returns, averaging 19.3 yards per return.

Wrap up

The Utes haven't started 0-2 in conference play since 2007, and risk falling to 0-3 for the first time since 2002 when they lost their first four conference games.

"The bottom line is that we are 0-2 in conference play, and it doesn't get any easier this week," Whittingham said.

"The Sun Devils are an excellent football team. We have our hands full. We need to have a good week of practice and we need to correct our deficiencies. Through our first three ball games we did a good job possessing the football, and this game was very bad, so we have to get back to what we were doing the first three games."

For quarterback Jon Hays, it couldn't get much tougher for his first career start, but playing in a big game is something Hays is excited about.

"It's something you dream of when you're a little kid," Hays said.

"I'm excited to work all week long and see what the result is on Saturday."

Email: rojackson@ksl.com

Twitter: @rojackKSL

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