The start for the Sun Devils couldn’t have been much better. Facing the No. 12 team in the country, Utah, in its home finale, ASU got off to a furious start, racing to a 13-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, thanks to a pair of Utah turnovers.
But it was ASU’s own turnovers and mistakes that fueled a Utah rally that ended in a 49-26 loss for the Sun Devils.
“We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” redshirt junior safety Marcus Ball said. “They definitely had a good game plan…they had a good game plan and they stuck to it…I think down the stretch we had some self-inflicted wounds that cost us.”
After the first quarter, the Utes (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) had only two rushing yards, but three quarters later Utah finished with 201 yards on the ground with senior running back Joe Williams accounting for 181 of them with two touchdowns.
Williams’ first touchdown came in the third quarter when Williams escaped for an 82-yard touchdown to put Utah ahead 28-20. He scored again with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
“(Williams) was tough; he fought hard today,” Ball said. “I felt like we did a good job today of making them one dimensional as far as making them throw the ball more than they usually do. They had some big runs down the stretch. He’s a tough back.”
The defense gave up numerous big plays, including in the fourth quarter when Utah, facing first-and-35 from the ASU 47-yard line, needed only two plays to score on a 24-yard pass from junior quarterback Troy Williams to sophomore receiver Raelon Singleton
But it wasn’t only the defense that struggled on the night for ASU (5-5, 2-5). Redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins admitted as much. He said himself he made mistakes that can’t be made.
One of them came in the first quarter when Wilkins, looking for sophomore tight end Jay Jay Wilson in the end zone, had his pass intercepted by Utah junior safety Marcus Williams.
A possession that likely should have resulted in early points instead came up empty.
Wilkins finished the night completing 19 of 31 passes for 309 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions (the second of which was returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter) but said he felt as though he could do better.
“They are two errors I can’t do,” Wilkins said. “Obviously there was a climb route down there in the end zone, and I just didn’t see a guy coming back across. Just have to know that we have points there regardless, we have the best field goal kicker in the nation. I just have to throw that away or get what I can get and get down. At the end of the game, just a simple concept. He made a good play, but I shouldn’t have thrown that ball.”
Wilkins was under assault the entire night as well. Utah finished with 11 sacks including five from senior defensive end Hunter Dimick. The Utes also totaled 22 tackles for loss, leaving Wilkins to run for his life much of the night and contributing to the team’s struggles.
“They did a really good job scheming us up and game planning for things that we do,” Wilkins said. “Obviously I took some critical sacks and had some critical interceptions down in the red zone. I think that’s one thing that we pride ourselves on, scoring in the red zone. Regardless of a touchdown or a field goal. That’s a poor part on my job, I have to live and learn and grow from it.”
It wasn’t all terrible for the Sun Devils, though as junior running back Kalen Ballage had 118 receiving yards to go with 46 rushing yards and a rushing score. Additionally, freshman receiver N’Keal Harry had 114 receiving yards and a 31-yard, zig-zagging touchdown run in the second quarter.
But growth, as Wilkins said, will be critical as the team attempts to reach bowl eligibility.
