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SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time ever, Utah welcomes nationally ranked teams into town for a third consecutive week.
The Utes are hosting 22nd-ranked Arizona State this week, in a game that means more than the game against then 5th ranked Stanford meant.
If Utah loses at home this week, it will mean a few not-so-positive things for the Utes. First, it will mean the Utes have gone 1-3 at home against Pac-12 competition; second, Utah will fall to 4-5 on the season, meaning the Utes will need to pick up two wins in three games to gain bowl eligibility; and third, it will mean Utah heads to Oregon to face the Ducks with virtually zero momentum.
Still, Utah does have a few things on its side going into the game against Arizona State, and one of them is the time off that helped heal some Utah injuries, including the injury to quarterback Travis Wilson. Also, Utah offensive coordinator Dennis Erickson may have a little insight on how to beat ASU’s personnel, as he coached the Sun Devils for five seasons.
However, the Sun Devils under Todd Graham have a strong second-tier team in the Pac-12 as Arizona State is 6-2 and on a three-game winning streak. Also, the Sun Devils are sixth in the country in offense, scoring 46.6 points a game.
So, with Utah’s back against the wall as the Utes search for bowl eligibility, this Saturday’s conference matchup comes down to a battle between Arizona State’s offense and Utah’s defense.
Why this matchup?
Just as few weeks ago, it seemed as if eight wins was a realistic goal for Utah — especially after the victory over Stanford. Now, the Utes are just looking to find a way to win one game at a time in their quest for a bowl game.
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Utah’s defense was stout against BYU and played decently against Southern California, but the pressure on the defense has grown as the weeks have gone on and Utah’s offense has lost production. After the injury to Wilson, Utah’s offense has constricted and appeared to be inefficient at times.
Over the last three seasons, Utah’s struggles have largely been explained by a lack of health at the quarterback position, and it appeared injuries contributed to lackluster road performances by the Utes against Arizona and USC.
So, the defense will have to stop an Arizona State offense that is 17th in the country in passing yards, registering 324.9 yards a game, and has scored over 50 points the last three games. The Utes can do it, but it will come from a game plan that is similar to the game plan against Stanford.
Utah will have to use its physicality on the line of scrimmage to limit ASU quarterback Taylor Kelly’s time in the pocket, and then hope the defensive backs can keep receivers covered long enough to render the Sun Devils’ offense ineffective.
Who wins this matchup?
Over the course of his career, Kyle Whittingham has found a way to motivate his team to win games that appeared to be stacked heavily against Utah’s favor. There are a few advantages the Utes have, and the atmosphere at Rice-Eccles Stadium will be one of them. Also, Utah has the much more aggressive defensive front.
Still, the Utes have been burned by several dynamic quarterbacks at home this season, and Kelly is in the same conversation as Brett Hundley and Sean Mannion. And, the question marks about Utah’s offense this week are almost too numerous to count.
With that in mind, the Utes will be in this game late, but Arizona State will be another team that will barely crawl past Utah at home.
