By Jacob Seliga
Lead Writer
Friday night, no game looms larger on the small college football slate than the showdown between former Pac12 and now Big 12 rivals, Utah and Arizona State.
The No.16 ranked Utes come to Tempe with more questions than answers and needing a win coming off their bye week following a loss to Arizona.
Utah Offense
The Utes' offense is the definition of, “you don’t know what you’re going to get.” The biggest reason for that is the question mark at the quarterback position. To start the year it was potential All-American Cam Rising leading the Utah offense but he suffered a hand injury against Baylor that has kept him out and recovering for the past month.
He was a game time decision prior to the Arizona game and Kyle Whittingham had said that he’ll have that same designation this week. With Rising, the passing game -- most notably his connection with tight end Brant Kuithe -- is elevated massively. If Rising cannot go again, freshman Isaac Wilson is in line to get the start. Interceptions have been an issue for the freshman signal caller who has struggled against zone coverage which could be big for the Sun Devils who haven’t forced a turnover since the Texas State game.
Former Arizona/USC wide receiver Dorian Singer has been the most reliable pass catcher as he’s pacing the team in both receptions and receiving yards. On the ground in typical Utah fashion, the Utes have one of the better and under-appreciated backs in the country in Micah Bernard who has 547 rushing yards and has run through defenses averaging close to seven yards per carry.
Utah Defense
Defensively, the Utes are the toughest unit Arizona State has faced to this point in the season. Entering the contest, Utah ranks third in the country in first downs allowed per game giving up only 12 per game. To put that in perspective, last week against Kansas the Sun Devils had 28 total first downs.
The Utes are also top five nationally in getting off the field on third down, only allowing first downs on just 24 percent of third down plays. The biggest reason for that is because of the defensive line of Utah which is averaging a conference high 2.5 sacks per game.
Off the edge are two of the premier pass rushers in college football in Van Fillinger and Connor O’Toole who in two and half games together combined for 6.5 sacks. O’Toole has missed the past two games for the Utes but looks poised to make his return this week. That’s crucial as Utah’s run defense took a substantial hit without him on the field against Arizona, a game where the Wildcats averaged 5.4 yards per carry and had 161 yards rushing.
While those two contain the run at the line of scrimmage, safety Tao Johnson of the Utes has been flying all over the field making plays whether it’s keeping passes in front of him and stopping the run.
Prediction: Arizona State 31 Utah 28
This game, without question, may be the biggest Arizona State has been a part of in close to five years.
With the uncertainty at the quarterback position for Utah and the return of multiple defensive starters for the Utes, this game appears much closer than what the preseason line for this matchup was.
Cameron Skattebo has taken a giant step forward and has exceeded expectations to become arguably the best running back in a conference full of premier rushers. His ability to take the load off of Leavitt will be key in this game as his ability to run both between the tackles and bounce will extend drives and will help prevent the Sun Devils from being in third and long situations where the Utes thrive.
This should be a tight contest but a late touchdown drive followed by a stop by the Sun Devil defense should be enough to secure a close win and put Arizona State one win away from going to a bowl in year two under Kenny Dillingham.
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