ASU Football: Sun Devils look to “avenge” 2021 loss against Utah

(Photo via Rebecca Striffler/WCSN)

With the exit of Herm Edwards as head coach for Arizona State football, adversity continues to pile on for the Sun Devils.

Now, with former running backs coach Shaun Aguano leading the charge as interim head coach, the Sun Devils will face one of their toughest challenges on Saturday, matching up against the No. 13 ranked Utah Utes.

The Utes, led by 18th-year head coach Kyle Whittingham, are currently 2-1 after suffering a loss to Florida in week 1. Nonetheless, Utah has bounced back and continued to build upon its success that’s been piling up since week 7 of last season, the last time ASU and Utah faced off.

In that matchup, ASU jumped out to a sizeable 21-7 lead at the half. However, coming out of the intermission, the momentum completely flipped as the Sun Devils were held scoreless, and the Utes came out of the game with a 35-21 victory.

“[They’re] well coached, big, strong,” said defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson. “You look at it last year, we thought we had a pretty good half. They came back, and they made a couple adjustments and knocked us off the ball. They’re going to come out and be physical. That’s just who they are.”

Following the win, the Utes gained national attention for taking down the then No. 18 ranked Sun Devils. A few weeks later, the Utes pulled off another stunning upset win against the then No. 3 ranked Oregon Ducks. With several high-profile wins under its belt, Utah secured its own spot in the AP Top-25 and has held on to it ever since.

The Utes finished off the 2021 season with their second win over the Ducks, only this time it was for the Pac-12 title. They followed that performance up with a strong showing, albeit a loss, against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, which skyrocketed Utah’s expectations, and for the most part, the Utes have been able to deliver.

Many of the pieces from the team that dominated ASU and the rest of the Pac-12 last season returned, but the most notable is junior quarterback Cam Rising.

Last season the 2021 Pac-12 All-Conference first-team selection finished with 2,493 passing yards with 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He also added to Utah’s run game tacking on 499 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

This season, Rising has picked right where he left off. Through just three games, Rising has already amassed 694 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns and just one interception.

Rising’s success is aided by a versatile receiving core headed up by senior tight end Brant Kuithe, who led receivers in yards and touchdowns last season with 611 and six, respectively. He’s off to a respectable start this year with 191 yards and three touchdowns.

“They’ve got a great team,” said graduate linebacker Kyle Soelle. “Up front, they’re stout. They’re physical. They’ve got great physical backs. Their tight ends are physical. They can run routes, versatile. They’ve got a great quarterback. I think kind of like Oklahoma State, they make you play 11-on-11 football, so we’ve got to do a great job on our end preparing for them and take it day by day.”

Another vital offensive piece to return for the Utes is junior running back Tavion Thomas. Thomas, another 2021 Pac-12 All-Conference first-team selection for Utah, crossed the 1,000-rushing-yards threshold last season and found his way into the endzone 21 times.

Through the first three weeks of the 2022 season, Thomas has already racked up four touchdowns and 222 yards. For a Sun Devil defense that struggled to stop the run last week against Eastern Michigan, keeping Thomas limited in the ground game is vital to having a chance at winning.

“It’s like I told the guys, once you put that on tape, people are going to see it,” Henderson said. “…It’s a team sport, now. If it gets past the first line, you’ve got to have backers there. If it gets past them, you’ve got to have DBs. Once [it gets passed DBs], it’s in the endzone. And that’s what I said to them yesterday. For us, it’s going to be a challenge, and it’s going to be a challenge for the rest of the year. It’s not just going to be one game. We will be challenged in the run game from here on out. That’s what’s going to happen.”

On the other side of the ball, the Sun Devils will look to graduate running back Xazavian Valladay to continue his season, especially with a Utah rush defense that’s not as tight.

The Utes, so far, have allowed an average of 146.3 rushing yards per game. Conversely, the Sun Devils’ offense has averaged 189.3 rushing yards per game. This bodes well for the Sun Devils who have prioritized running the ball all season long.

However, if the Sun Devils can’t find a way into the endzone on the ground, it will likely be a long night for ASU on Saturday. Utah’s pass defense is second in FBS in yards allowed per game, letting opposing quarterbacks throw for just an average of 90 yards. Redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones has yet to use the passing game to its advantage, compling just 375 yards through the air in three games.

ASU currently ranks 120th on third-down conversions in FBS, singling a possible area where Utah could exploit. Whittingham’s defense has done a good job forcing opponents to fourth downs, ranking 29th in FBS with their opponents’ third down conversion rate sitting around 28 percent.

The star players on Utah’s defense are talented and numerous, but a few key players stand out amongst the rest.

Senior safety R.J Hubert is back playing in the regular season after suffering a knee injury that kept him out for almost all of last season. Hubert has put in work all over the field for the Utes with a respectable 11 tackles this season in addition to an interception and a forced fumble and recovery.

Hubert’s not the only Utah player forcing turnovers, as the Utes’ defense has recorded six turnovers this season, three interceptions and three recovered fumbles.

Sophomore linebacker Karene Reid also has an interception of his own in addition to helping out the defense in other areas with 13 tackles. His brother, senior defensive end Gabe Reid, has also made his presence known rushing off the edge with two quarterback hits and 1.5 tackles for loss.

The defense, as a whole, has recorded 16 tackles for loss including 4 sacks. In addition to the Reid brothers, other players who’ve been cornerstones for Utah’s pass rush are sophomore defensive end Van Fillinger, with 1.5 sacks, and freshman linebacker Lander Barton, who has recorded a sack, a quarterback hit and 1.5 tackles for losses in his young collegiate career.

“I really don’t like Utah, personally,” senior offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson said. “…They are physical…They’re a disciplined team. I feel like that’s a lot of what makes them great, and they are a really good team. I’m not going to sit up here and tell you they’re not because they are. I have a lot of respect for that coach and what he does with his players.”

Sophomore safety Bishop Cole has also shown out this season. He leads Utah in tackles with 24, 10 more than the player in second. He’s also made his presence known in the backfield, obtaining two quarterback hits and a pass breakup of his own to add to the Utes’ impressive pass defense.

With a star-studded offense and defense, Utah looks to continue piling onto the Sun Devils’ woes this weekend.

And while this weekend’s match up surely looks to be a challenging one for ASU, the Sun Devils looking forward to the opportunity to battle and prove that they’re not to be counted out with almost the entire season left to play. With chips stacked high on their shoulders, the Sun Devils are eager to hit the field.

“…We’ve got chips because of Coach Herm,” Henderson said. “We’ve got chips because it’s the first Pac-12 game. We’ve got chips because of how it played out last year. Personally, I’ve got a couple from my freshman year, but I feel like there’s a lot of things we want to avenge.”

Saturday’s game will be played at Sun Deil Stadium in Tempe. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. MST and will be aired on ESPN.