Another week, another game where ASU will face a ranked team as the Sun Devils begin Pac-12 play hosting No. 13 Utah. In this young 2022 season, the Utes have already put up some impressive numbers on both sides of the ball and, as usual, will present a formidable opponent for Arizona State and the first game with interim head coach Shaun Aguano on the sidelines.
Utah Offense
In 2021, the Utah Utes started 1-2 but won nine of their next ten games and reached the Rose Bowl for the first time in program history. The catalyst? Inserting quarterback Cam Rising into the starting lineup.
A one-time transfer to Utah from Texas, Rising started the final 11 games of the season and, on the year, threw for 2,493 yards with 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions while also rushing for 499 yards with six scores.
With a dual-threat skill set, the moxie, toughness, and leadership that college programs covet, Rising averages 231.3 passing yards per game and 29.7 rushing yards per game this year with eight passing touchdowns while completing 67.1% of his passes thus far. Though he has just one interception, it was a costly one as it sealed the victory for Florida over Utah in the season opener.
After starting last season as part of a running back rotation, Tavion Thomas absolutely exploded once he gained traction in 2021, as he ultimately was a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection with 1,108 yards and 21 touchdowns. As can be expected, he was also named a preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 selection for 2022.
The bruising (6-2, 238) back is close to a 1,000-yard pace, and a double-digit touchdown total yet again with 222 rushing yards on 50 carries with four touchdowns while also nabbing two catches for 21 yards.
Micah Bernard is a more than adequate change-of-pace back when Thomas needs a spell, as he averages 8.3 yards-per-carry this far in 2022 with 91 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. He is used almost as frequently as a pass-catcher as he has nine receptions for 97 yards as well.
In the pass game for Utah, it is all about their tremendous tight ends duo, as few teams in the nation – if any – can stack up to the combination of Brant Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid.
Kuithe, a versatile threat that is used in various ways, including as a rusher for Utah, was a Second-Team All-Pac-12 pick last year and was the preseason First-Team selection for 2022. He is Utah’s leader in every major receiving category, with 17 receptions for 191 yards and three touchdowns. In 2021, Kuithe had 50 catches for 611 yards and six scores.
Not far behind him is Kincaid, with 12 catches for 174 yards and two scores. Last season, Kincaid had 36 receptions for 510 yards and eight touchdowns.
At wide receiver, Devaughn Vele, Jaylen Dixon, and Phoenix native Solomon Enis are listed as the first-stringers.
Vele tops the receivers this season so far with 112 yards on eight catches with two touchdowns, while Enis has five receptions for 46 yards with a score, and Dixon has 42 receiving yards on four catches.
The Utah offensive line figures to start tackles Braeden Daniels, guard Keaton Bills, center Paul Maile, guard Michael Mokofisi, and tackler Sataoa Laumea.
Daniels is the standout of the group, as he has 32 career starts and was a Second-Team All-Pac-12 pick in 2021 and a preseason First-team All-Pac-12 choice this year. Laumea, with 21 career starts entering this weekend, was an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 pick last year and a preseason Second-Team all-conference selection for 2022.
Utah Offense Summary
Efficient – even if unspectacular – quarterback play. A dominant run game. Matchup nightmares at tight end. A beastly offensive line. These elements have been routine for Utah in recent years, and 2022 appears to be no exception.
Rising, though he has only been the starting quarterback for barely a full calendar year, is a proven leader and winner. Likewise, Thomas is an absolute load at running back, and the Kuithe-Kincaid duo is the bane of any defensive coordinator’s existence.
Utah has experienced and accomplished players at multiple vital spots on offense, which will pose a major threat to the Sun Devil defense that got gashed with regularity last week against Eastern Michigan.
Utah Defense
Operating out of a base 4-3 defense, the Utah line figures to feature starters Junior Tafuna and Aliki Vimahi at tackle with Van Fillinger and Jonah Elliss at the ends.
Fillinger, a preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 selection for 2022, has a team-high 1.5 sacks this far.
Tafuna was the 2021 Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and also a preseason Second-Team All-Pac-12 pick for 2022. He has six tackles, including 2.5 for loss so far in 2022.
Ellis has seven tackles, including 2.5 for loss, while Vimahi has one tackle on the year.
At linebacker, Florida transfer Mohamoud Diabate is slated to start along with Karene Reid and Lander Barton.
Diabate and Reid tie for third on the team with 13 tackles, while Barton has ten, including 1.5 for loss. Reid also has an interception and 1.5 TFLs.
In the secondary, nationally elite cornerback Clark Phillips III starts with JaTravis Broughton, with R.J. Hubert at free safety, Cole Bishop at strong safety, and Malone Matele as the primary nickel defensive back.
Phillips, a preseason All-American, a Second-Team All-Pac-12 selection in 2021, and a preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 pick this year, has four tackles on the year.
Bishop joined Phillips on the preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 squad and was an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 choice in 2021. He leads Utah in total tackles thus far with 24.
Hubert ranks fifth on the team with 11 tackles and has one interception, while Broughton has 10. Matele has registered three tackles on the year.
Utah Defense Summary
Though Utah replaces a few key starters, including last year’s Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year in the conference and first-round NFL Draft pick Devin Lloyd at linebacker, the assembly line of tremendously talented Ute defenders appears to roll on in 2022.
Through three games, Utah only allows 14.3 points per game and 90.0 passing yards per game, with just one passing touchdown allowed.
A stout line, active linebackers, and playmaking defensive backs are commonplace among any year’s Utah defense, and though there have been a few hiccups through the first three games, there is reason to believe this year’s entire body of work will not stray too far from the recent norm for the defending Pac-12 champions.
Utah Special Teams
It seems that Utah always has an excellent kicking game regardless of the name on the back of the jerseys, and so far, so good in 2022 as kicker Jordan Noyes is 3-for-3 on the year with a long of 43 yards. Punter Jack Bouwmeester averages 40.6 yards on nine punts.
In the return game, 42nd-year senior from last year Britain Covey has moved on to the NFL, but the replacements have been successful so far as Devaughn Vele averages 11.4 yards on ten punt returns and Micah Bernard averages 26.3 yards on three kickoff returns.
Overall Summary
There aren’t many tougher matchups for interim head coach Shaun Aguano to face in his first game at the helm for ASU than Utah, ranked No. 13 in this week’s AP Poll and the defending champions of the Pac-12 Conference.
However, by Aguano’s own admission, he prefers the stiff challenge in game one.
It is the deepest hope of Sun Devil fans everywhere that the team and staff can muster up some energy as a result of the sudden coaching change, as a performance anywhere in the same solar system of putridity as last weekend will result in a long evening for the home team.
Utah is highly talented, experienced, and one of the absolute best-coached teams in all of college football. Are they invincible and without weakness? Of course not, but this challenge for Arizona State is significant, to say the least.
If ASU were to overcome the odds and defeat the visiting Utes, it will go down as one of the most satisfying and impressive wins in recent years for this Sun Devil football program.
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Enjoy a 30-Day FREE trial by signing up today here and get all the latest Sun Devil news!
