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Sun Devils struggle in Utah due to costly penalties, offensive woes

Utah RB Zack Moss had 177 all-purpose yards in Utah's 21-3 win over ASU
Utah RB Zack Moss had 177 all-purpose yards in Utah's 21-3 win over ASU ((AP Photo/Rick Bowmer))

SALT LAKE CITY - No .17 Arizona State (5-2, 2-2 Pac-12) was the victim of penalty yards and a constant pass rush from No. 13 Utah (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) as the Sun Devils fell 21-3 in Salt Lake City.

ASU committed a total of 12 penalties for a total of 122 penalty yards, just 14 yards short of their total offensive output of 136 yards.

Following the matchup, head coach Herm Edwards message to Utah’s head coach Kyle Whittingham was one of an embarrassment of his team.

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“First of all, I’m embarrassed with our football team when it came to the fouls,” Edwards said of what he told Whittingham. “I don’t believe in that stuff. It mars the football game. I’ve never been in a game where a team has 12 fouls.”


The team’s penalties were ones that came in costly situations as the Sun Devils were able to turn four forced turnovers into a mere three points on the scoreboard.


After back-to-back turnovers caused by the ASU defense in the form of a sack-fumble caused by Tyler Johnson and an interception the team was unable to gain positive yards.


After the fumble recovery the team lost four yards on four plays after a pass interference by Kyle Williams set the team back 15-yards. The end result was a 40-yard field goal by Crisitan Zendejas.


Following a Chase Lucas interception, the team lost a total of 14 yards after gaining possession at Utah’s 28-yard line and eventually had to punt.

“We never had a game where we were penalized that much,” senior cornerback Kobe Williams admitted. “We were just trying to play solid defense. The penalties killed that.”


The ASU defense forced a total of four turnovers on the defensive side of the ball with two more fumble recoveries in the first quarter to add to the fumble and interception.


The turnovers forced by the Sun Devil defense were of little use for the ASU offense as they were unable to move the ball.


True freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 4 of his 18 pass attempts in the matchup for a total of 25 yards.


“We got turnovers on defense early in the game,” Edwards stated. “Did nothing with them. They had a fantastic defense and they didn’t allow us to score.”


Emotions quickly ran high for Arizona State as the team fell into a 14-0 hole with just a minute to play in the first half.


Utah scored runs by Jaylen Dixon and Zack Moss in the second quarter before Arizona State got the field goal in the third quarter.


The emotions were escalated throughout the first half as calls piled up on ASU including the ejection of defensive back Evan Fields.


Fields was ejected after being called for targeting in the second quarter after going helmet to helmet with Moss of Utah.


“We got out of whack,” Williams admitted. “Coach always told us to play with passion, not emotion. We played with emotion.”

“When you play in these types of games, you can’t let your emotions get the best of you,” Edwards added.


The lack of offense was also hindered by the play Utah’s defensive line that created havoc throughout the game.


Bradlee Anae of Utah led the attack on the ASU offensive line as he gathered all three of the Utes sacks.


Anae also added three tackles for loss for a total of 17 lost yards to go along with batting down a pass.


“Anytime you get to the quarterback early ─ He’s a young quarterback and he sees it,” Edwards admitted. “I told him before the game, ‘Just be smart because they’re a good football team.’ And they showed that tonight.”


The onslaught by the Utah defensive line was the primary reason the Sun Devils struggled to move the ball with any pace as Daniels had little to no time to throw.


This led to Daniels rushing for 16 total attempts to avoid the pass rush as he ran for a total of 35 yards on the ground.


Eno Benjamin was the lone bright spot for the offensive attack as he finished 106 of the team’s 136 total offensive yards on 25 carries.


“We don’t want to make excuses,” Edwards stated. “A lot of our youth on both sides of the ball showed up today. I’m not naive to think that wouldn’t happen, it just does. You just want to be in these moments because you learn a lot about your football team.”


While the Sun Devils youth played a large part in the team’s struggles throughout the game, their lack of 3rd down conversions did not help the cause.


ASU finished 2 of 13 on third-down conversions which in turn led to 8 punts from Michael Turk.


“We couldn’t convert third downs,” Edwards admitted. “We were 2-for-13. If you can’t move the ball, you can’t score. We didn’t even have 200 yards of offense. We’re going to have to do a lot better than that.”


Turk was able to control field position, for the most part, to give Utah poor field position despite the offensive struggles.


The punter averaged a total of 48 yards per punt with three going over 50 yards and landing three inside the 20-yard line.


The combination of ASU’s defense holding their own for the majority of the game and Turk’s leg gave the Sun Devils a chance as they trailed 14-3 heading into the fourth.


Arizona State had an opportunity to make it a one-possession game with a 42-yard attempt from Zendejas that flew wide left of the upright.


“We just felt if we could get it to a one-score game, anything could happen,” Edwards admitted.


The Sun Devils last chance at the game ended after a fumble on a punt return by Jack Jones. Utah would cash in on the following play as Moss scored from 32-yards out.


“The missed field goal, that took some air out of us,” Edwards stated. “Then they hit that big run.”


ASU faced three different quarterbacks in the matchup as the Utes starting quarterback Tyler Huntley was banged up at several different points.


The trio combined to complete 14 of their 24 pass attempts for a total of 191 yards.


Moss finished the matchup with 25 rushes for 109 yards and three receptions for 78 yards.


Despite being in position at several points throughout the game to make it close, in the end the Sun Devils caused their own demise through penalties and a lack of focus.


“We just self-destructed ourselves,” Edwards admitted.


The Sun Devils will be back in action against UCLA next week as they play their second straight game on the road.

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