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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lost its junior quarterback Tyler Huntley to a left shoulder injury in the third quarter, and Utah ultimately fell to Arizona State on the road, 38-20, on Saturday.
The Utes entered the game in control of the South Division in the Pac-12, but allowed several turnovers and mistakes to drop a vital game in the South race. The Sun Devils now control the South and would have the rights to the title if they win out.
Arizona State scored first on their opening series on a 6-yard rushing touchdown by running back Eno Benjamin, capping off an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Utah’s defense held the Sun Devils to a field goal attempt, but a review of the previous play found that Utah safety Phillip Afia had committed a targeting penalty, giving the Sun Devils new life.
On Utah’s opening drive, Huntley escaped a defender for a near sack and tossed it 52 yards to Jaylen Dixon on the goal line, who ended up tipping the ball to a Arizona State defender Aashari Crosswell for an interception that was returned for 47 yards. The Sun Devils would then score seven plays later on a 3-yard toss to N’Keal Harry to give Arizona State a 14-0 lead.
Utah would go on to score 17 unanswered points to take the lead late in the second quarter, but the Sun Devils weren’t done and managed a quick six-play, 77-yard drive in just over a minute that ended with a 23-yard pass to Harry in the end zone. After that, it was all Arizona State for the remainder of the game.
The following are three takeaways from Utah’s loss on the road to Arizona State.
ASU playmakers too much for Utah’s defense
It was no secret that Arizona State’s Benjamin and Harry were going to cause problems for the Utah defense; however, few would have expected the defense to struggle as much as they did Saturday. For much of the season, the defense has been locked in and has played sound football.
But against the Sun Devils, the Utah defense looked outmatched in a lackluster effort. Defenders failed to wrap up, coverage was soft — even on Harry — and the Sun Devils bullied the Utes all day in the desert. In total, the Arizona State offense managed 536 yards in a balanced passing and rushing attack.
Harry is a once-in-a-generation type talent and it’s difficult to manage a player that can do everything, but Utah gave him wide open looks and failed to wrap him up. As a result, Arizona State moved the ball with ease and gave themselves more than enough opportunities to score and keep Utah out of the game.
Offense regressed in meaningful game
Ignoring the Huntley injury that will likely sideline him for the season, the Utah offense took a step back in terms of progress made over the last four weeks when they were rolling past teams. Zack Moss attacked the defense early and found big gains as the offensive line opened up holes. But once the Arizona State defense stacked the box and forced the offense to be a little more creative, Utah struggled to produce.
Prior to leaving the game, Huntley had several overthrown passes, while others were deflected at the line of scrimmage. The offensive line couldn’t contain the various blitz packages and Utah was forced to beat the Sun Devils through the air, which was a 50-50 chance at best. Huntley finished the game throwing for 88 yards on 7-of-15 passing for one touchdown and two interceptions. Redshirt freshman Jason Shelley only added 59 yards on 4-of-11 passing and one interception.
Utah did manage 325 yards of total offense — 178 yards rushing — but the effort was hollow as it was meaningless in the end. While the outlook doesn’t appear too great moving forward for the offense with Huntley out, Utah has to find a way to establish a passing game if they want any semblance of a good offense.
Turnovers doomed Utah
From the opening Utah drive, turnovers set the tone for the Utes. Huntley’s 52-yard toss to Jaylen Dixon at the goal line that resulted in a tipped interception gave Arizona State some early momentum and a quick 14-0 lead after another Sun Devils touchdown. While a freak play, it was the baseline in what would be a three turnover night for the Utes.
Facing a 4-point deficit to start the second half, Utah again found a way to give the Sun Devils life when Huntley threw a pick on an ill-advised pass at mid field. It’s hard to weather a momentum shift when Utah kept giving the Sun Devils all the ammo it needed to keep it out of reach for the Utes.
Utah’s final turnover, an interception in the end zone by Shelley to Samson Nacua, put the final nail in the coffin and signaled the white flag for a desperate Utah team. But truthfully, the damage had already been done and it’s hard to blame Shelley for trying to make a play at the end.
Although not officially a turnover, Britain Covey nearly had another muffed punt turnover as he tried to catch the ball over his shoulder while on the run. Luckily for Utah, the play was negated by an Arizona State penalty, but Covey needs to sometimes let the ball go past him if he’s not able to confidently pull down the ball. If this had just been one time it would be manageable, but it’s been a trend this season.
Bonus: South Division title is now a mess for Utah
I won’t get into it too much, but Utah now needs help to even have a chance in the South. At this point, if Arizona State wins out, they’re the South champs. If the Sun Devils drop a game and Utah wins its final two games of conference play, then Utah is still in the running, but it’s hard to rely on other teams when the opportunity was there for the taking.
