Rainy conditions and two stout running games await the fans making the trek to Rice-Eccles Stadium this weekend. What else can we expect though from the anticipated Pac-12 South showdown? We take a deep dive into the Sun Devils’ toughest road test of the 2019 season.
Utah Offense
One of the longest-tenured starting quarterbacks in the Pac-12 Conference, Utah’s Tyler Huntley has been the team’s starter for the majority of the past three seasons and as a senior has been razor-sharp under center for the Utes.
Huntley’s numbers are spectacularly efficient through six starts as he’s completed 75.6% of his passes (99-of-131) for 1,393 yards with nine touchdown throws and no interceptions while having been sacked only four times. As a runner, he has collected 197 net yards on 44 carries with three touchdowns.
Only twice thus far this season has Huntley attempted 20 or more passes in a game, but he has completed at least 78% of his passes in three of six games and hasn’t fallen below a 70.0% completion percentage in a single game so far in 2019.
His best single-game performance of the year came in Utah’s 38-13 win over Washington State in which Huntley three for 334 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for another two.
Running back Zack Moss passed on the opportunity to leap to the NFL a year early – as did several accomplished Utes on both sides of the ball – at one last run at glory in 2019.
Moss, who missed five games last year, still surpassed the 1,000-yard and double-digit touchdown mark in 2018 for the second straight year and entered 2019 with more than 2,500 rushing yards. This weekend he should set the school career rushing yardage mark even if ASU can have a successful defensive day against him.
An injury against USC forced Moss to miss a game this year, but in five appearances he is well on his way to another 1,000-yard year as he has 514 rushing yards on just 68 carries with six touchdowns. The 5-10, 222-pounder has three 100-yard games this year including 121 last week on just five carries including a 91-yarder with two touchdowns.
Devonta’e Henry-Cole, Jordan Wilmore and Devin Brumfield have all seen action as reserve running backs, though Henry-Cole is listed as the second-stringer on this week’s depth chart and earned the most carries when Moss sat out during the Washington State game.
Each of the three ranges from 26 to 37 carries and between 134 and 165 rushing yards on the year, while each player has one rushing touchdown. Henry-Cole also has a touchdown reception to his credit.
Chandler High School grad TJ Green has also seen some time in a reserve running back role, carrying 15 times for 67 yards in five games.
Bryan Thompson, Demari Simpkins, and Samson Nacua are listed as the starting wide receivers.
Thompson leads the team with 310 receiving yards on just 11 receptions – an incredible average of 28.2 yards per catch – and is in a three-way tie for the team lead with two touchdown catches.
Simpkins is the team leader with 14 receptions, totaling 188 yards but he has yet to find the end zone this year. Nacua has nine catches for 138 yards with two scores.
Though not technically listed as a starter, Jaylen Dixon, slotted as Thompson’s backup at one receiver position, ranks second on the team in receptions (12) and fourth in receiving yards (161) with one touchdown catch.
Former four-star Phoenix product Solomon Enis has eight catches for 109 yards in six games.
As usual, Utah targets its tight ends relatively often as Brant Kuithe ranks second on the team with 207 receiving yards on 11 catches with two scores while Cole Fotheringham has four receptions for 31 yards with a touchdown.
The Utah starting offensive line figures to feature tackle Darrin Paulo and guard Braeden Daniels on the left side with tackle Simi Moala and guard Nick Ford on the right side with Orlando Umana at center.
Paulo, the lone senior of the projected starting group, has the clear experience edge as he has 32 career starts among 45 game appearances, while Umana has 17 starts across 31 games played. Ford has started 13 of 17 career games with Utah, Daniels has six starts among eight games played and Moala has played six total games with five starts.
Utah Offense Summary
Though some may underrate the senior backfield duo of Huntley and Moss, the former high school teammates form an incredibly potent and tenured combination for the Utes.
Huntley has been extraordinarily efficient and effective this season as he is the only FBS quarterback with more than 120 pass attempts yet to have thrown an interception, while he ranks third nationally in completion percentage and sixth in yards per pass attempt (10.63). Similarly, Moss ranks fifth nationally and leads the Pac-12 (among eligible players) in rushing yards per carry with a 7.56-yard average on the year.
Both players should notch impressive career achievements this Saturday as Huntley is 98 passing yards away from moving into fifth all-time at Utah, while Moss needs just 55 rushing yards to become Utah’s all-time career leader. Also, if Moss notches a 100-yard rushing game, it would be his 15th career triple-digit rushing game which also would place him alone in first all-time in school history as he is currently in a three-way tie with 14.
With 3,165 career rushing yards, Moss currently ranks 41st all-time in conference history, but could realistically finish inside the all-time top-20 by the end of the season. Among the players on that list, he could surpass this weekend is ASU’s Demario Richard (37th, 3,202 yards).
Though Utah has a few new starting pieces to its offensive line, the returns have been tremendous as on a national scale only Air Force and Boston College have allowed fewer sacks than Utah’s four, while the Utes lead the Pac-12 and rank 16th nationally in yards per carry (5.43) and top the conference and place 21st nationally in rush offense (228.8). Utah also leads the Pac-12 in rushing touchdowns (15), tied for 19th nationally.
Overall, Utah likely will look to establish the run against Arizona State to open passing opportunities to its receivers and tight ends as it has successfully done on several occasions so far in 2019.
Utah Defense
Operating out of a 4-2-5 defense, the Utah front features left end Bradlee Anae and right end Mika Taufua with John Penisini at left tackle and Leki Fotu at right tackle.
Anae, Fotu, and Penisini are all seniors and have combined for 64 career starts. Anae and Fotu were First-Team All-Pac-12 selections last year while Penisini was a second-team pick.
Taufua leads all Utah linemen with 17 tackles including 2.5 for loss with one sack while also leading Utah with two fumble recoveries, while Anae has 14 tackles including 5.0 for loss with a team-high 4.0 sacks. Fotu has a share of the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss as part of his 11 total tackles. Penisini has 13 tackles including 3.0 for loss with one sack.
Anae is as accomplished behind the line of scrimmage as any active FBS defender, as he currently ranks fourth among active players in career sacks and ninth in career tackles for loss.
At linebacker, Devin Lloyd starts at the “Rover” position and Francis Bernard at the “Mac” spot.
Bernard leads Utah with 43 total tackles including 3.5 for loss and shares the team lead with two interceptions. Lloyd isn’t far behind Bernard with 42 tackles of his own, tying for the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss and ranking second on the team with 3.0 sacks.
In the five-man secondary, Jaylon Johnson will be joined by either Tareke Lewis or Josh Nurse in the starting lineup, with free safety Julian Blackman and strong safety Terrell Burgess along with nickel back Javelin Guidry.
Burgess has 25 tackles with four pass breakups and an interception, Guidry has 23 tackles and four pass breakups, Blackmon has posted 22 tackles with a share of the team lead with two interceptions and three total pass breakups. Johnson has registered 20 tackles with a team-high seven pass breakups and one interception.
Lewis has nine tackles and four pass breakups while Nurse has seven tackles and two pass breakups.
Johnson was a First-Team All-Pac-12 honoree last year as a sophomore, Blackmon was a second-team selection, while Guidry earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 recognition in 2018.
Utah Defense Summary
With three returning First-Team All-Pac-12 defenders from last year, two returning second-team honorees and one returning honorable mention selection, the Utah defense is vastly experienced and long has been expected to remain one of the best overall units at the FBS level.
Through six games, the standard has been maintained as Utah is currently second in the nation in rush defense (52.8), while the Utes are also tied for eighth in scoring defense (13.2) and rank 10th nationally in total defense (271.5). Utah is also tied for seventh nationally in red zone touchdowns allowed (seven) and tied for eighth nationally in turnover margin (+7).
Not just dominant against the run, the Utah defense is very active against the pass as the Utes have 33 pass breakups (tied for fourth nationally) in six games with eight interceptions (tied for 11th nationally). Utah, though, ranks right around the middle of the FBS in passing yards allowed at 218.7 per game (64th nationally).
Utah has strengths across the defense, starting with its line that includes a pair of tackles at a combined weight of 650 pounds along with one of the most accomplished pass rushers at the FBS level at one of the defensive end positions. The secondary is filled with next level talent as well, while the linebackers, though not as highly acclaimed as the front and back end defenders in terms of past postseason accolades, have been the team’s most productive defensive standouts thus far in 2019.
Utah Special Teams
Atypical compared to seemingly the entire length of Utah’s tenure in the Pac-12 Conference, the Utes do not have a nationally dominant kicker and punter this year as the team replaces the spectacular duo of kicker Matt Gay and punter Mitch Wishnowsky.
As a team, Utah is 7-for-10 on field goals with Jadon Redding connecting on 6-of-8 and Andrew Strauch making 1-of-2. Punter Ben Lennon has punted only 14 times and averages 39.6 yards per punt.
Receiver Britain Covey averages 7.7 yards on nine punt returns and has three kickoff returns for an average of 17.3 yards but he appears to be shelved for the season. In his place, Demari Simpkins is likely to be the primary option for both roles and thus far has a net result of one lost yard on two punt returns but has yet to return a kickoff this year.
Overall Summary
Well is it a rivalry or not? A hot topic on social media of late, but regardless of your stance there is quite a bit of history between these two teams as they have been conference adversaries on two separate occasions spanning more than a half century.
In the all-time series against Utah, ASU holds a 22-8 edge and a 6-2 advantage as members of the Pac-12 Conference together. From 1962 to 1977, the Sun Devils and the Utes were members of the Western Athletic Conference and ASU had a 10-5 record against Utah during that span (the teams did not play each other in 1965). ASU and Utah were charter members of the WAC in 1962 along with Arizona, BYU, New Mexico and Wyoming.
ASU won the first four against the Utes as members of the Pac-12 Conference before dropping back-to-back matchups in 2015-16. Prior to the loss in 2015, ASU had won 11 straight games over Utah dating back to 1976. The Devils have bounced back with consecutive wins the past two years including a win in Salt Lake in 2017, a loss that many of the Utah upperclassmen would love to avenge this Saturday.
Though played at an earlier point in the season than last year, like the 2018 exchange between these teams this week’s game appears to potentially have a distinct impact on which team will ultimately win the Pac-12 South division. Though the season is just halfway complete and the south division currently shows a great deal of parity, ASU, and to a greater extent Utah, appear to be qualified favorites for the division crown.
With all due respect to Michigan State, Utah presents the most difficult challenge of the 2019 season to date for the Sun Devils and, all due respect to Oregon, which comes to Tempe next month, the road game in Salt Lake City this Saturday could be the toughest test through the entire regular season.
From front to back, the Utah defense will test and challenge Jayden Daniels and company for the Sun Devil offense, while Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss have the experience and ability to make Arizona State’s defense pay.
That said, the past two seasons have gone against the grain and conventional predictions failed to pan out as the Devils won both with general ease – a 20-point victory at Utah in 2017 and an 18-point win last year in Tempe.
ASU has shown to be up to the challenge in defensive battles – especially on the road – so far in 2019 and likely will need its most complete performance of the season to date to exit with a third straight win over the Utes.
Keys to a Sun Devil Victory
Limit Big Plays: Especially compared to the late stages of the Todd Graham era, ASU has done quite well at limiting big plays. That trend must continue this year, as Utah has shown a knack for such momentum swinging offensive plays as evidenced by Huntley’s national ranking in yards per pass attempt, Moss’ placement among the nation’s elite in yards per carry and the fact that only two teams at the FBS level have more than the three defensive touchdowns created so far by Utah.
Don’t Wait Until the Fourth Quarter: It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that ASU claimed game-winning advantages against Michigan State, California and Washington State and did not gain a decisive edge against Sacramento State until the final quarter of play. Also, a lackluster first quarter against Colorado doomed the Devils in what proved to be the only loss for ASU among the first six games. ASU has proven it can win close battles so by no means are the Devils unable to overcome a close slugfest against the Utes, but another two-score first quarter deficit could be a death sentence against a dominant defense and experienced backfield such as the ones fielded by Utah.
Make It Personal: Is this rivalry 1A for ASU? Who knows, but the Sun Devils should treat it as such because the impression is that Utah is approaching this game that way. Jayden Daniels, once almost a Ute, as stoic and composed as he has been all year, should look at this as a rivalry primer for the Territorial Cup game next month. Likewise, Eno Benjamin, also nearly a Utah signee must again do whatever it was that he did last year that allowed him to torch the otherwise impenetrable Utah run defense to the tune of a 175-yard rushing day in Tempe last year. Regardless of the victor, this game likely will go a long way in determining the eventual south division winner, so neither team can afford to approach it as ‘just another game’.
Familiar Faces
· Utah OL London Bartholomew (Mesa Red Mountain High School), WR Solomon Enis (Phoenix North Canyon High School), RB TJ Green (Chandler High School), DB LaCarea Pleasant-Johnson (Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School) and DB Alphonso Taylor (Phoenix North Canyon High School) are Arizona natives
· Utah QB Cameron Rising is the brother of former ASU OL Tyson Rising
· Utah WR Cameron Gardner attended Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High School, as did ASU OL Alex Losoya
· Utah OL Simi Moala attended Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral High School, as did ASU DL Stephon Wright
· Utah OL Marist Talavou attended Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco High School, as did ASU RB Demetrious Flowers, LB Jacob Jornadal and OL Zach Robertson
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