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TEMPE, Ariz. — With just a little more left in the tank, the Arizona State Sun Devils managed to secure a comeback 19-16 victory in overtime to take sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the Pac-12 South Division.
Despite the stats drastically in favor of the Sun Devils on the offensive side of the ball, Utah managed to force an overtime only to have a second half lead wiped away on a rare missed kick by Andy Phillips.
The following is a grading of Utah’s performance in Saturday night’s loss to the Sun Devils.
Where does one begin with Utah’s offense against Arizona State? The conservative playcalling did nothing to help Utah advance the ball in an attempt to win the game. The only drive worth talking about was Utah’s first drive out of halftime to tie the game up 13-13. It was a moment where Utah’s offense appeared to be clicking and looked to swing the momentum in a game that was clearly in Arizona State’s favor.
But the rest of the game’s offense was vanilla and conservative, leaving nothing to the imagination for the Sun Devils defense. Everyone watching the game knew the ball was going to Booker. But even then, the offense didn’t do anything to disguise its playcalling to Booker. A few play-action passes or slant routes likely could have been the difference in Utah’s offense.
Booker did finished with 146 rushing yards, but the offense as a whole was relatively inefficient. Few teams are going to come close to winning a football game when they only throw for 57 yards and their opponent has 444 total yards.
The defense started out slow, but quickly made adjustments and kept Arizona State from putting too many points on the board. The defense only allowed one touchdown in the game, despite an Arizona State offense that has the ability to quickly put points on the board.
Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly managed 444 total yards of offense, but the Utes defense managed to keep Arizona State from ultimately hurting Utah for much of the game. Even in overtime, Utah forced Arizona State to a field goal in the red zone.
Utah had opportunities to really hurt Arizona State, but managed to drop two catchable interceptions. While the turnover margin was not the ultimate factor in the loss, having the interceptions may have been a game changer.
Before anyone criticizes kicker Andy Phillips for missing a field goal in overtime, it should be remembered that Phillips easily made a 50-yard field goal to keep Utah in the game. Ultimately Phillips not making a late-game field goal lead to the loss — the grading takes a hit as a result — but he also accounted for more than half of the team’s points, making three field goals and a PAT.
Additionally, punter Tom Hackett kept Utah in the game with his deep punts and great field position. Utah’s defense was able to bend but not break with the help of Hackett pinning the Sun Devils deep into Utah’s territory. Hackett averaged 47.1 yards per punt, with his longest going 58 yards.
Utah has played close in every Pac-12 game this season and has found a way to win in each game. But the winning has overshadowed Utah’s inability to get much out of its offense for most of the year. Utah can’t continue to rely on its defense and special teams to win games, or even to keep the game close. The offense has to find a way to get some production, move the ball and score points.
Utah is a much-improved team, but f to take the next step and capitalize on the record it’s built, the offense has to get things going. Phillips is rarely going to miss a field goal and the defense has shown it can show up in clutch situations, but the offense — sans Booker — is rather mediocre.
