ASU Football: Utes’ defensive strategy keeps the passing game in check, but can’t stop ASU’s rushing attack

(Photo: Tyler Strachan/WCSN)

There is an old saying that goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

On Saturday night, the defense of the No. 17 Utah Utes broke that cardinal rule, and it proved to be the ultimate reason for its demise.

For the actual adjustment that was implemented within the Utah defensive scheme to make sense, some background information must be considered.

Operating out of a 4-3 scheme that showcases extremely talented down linemen and linebackers who are fixated on stopping the run, the Utah defense entered Tempe leading the nation with 35 sacks. This stout Utah defensive line also had allowed only three rushing touchdowns and 112.1 rushing yards per game—good enough for 19^th in the country. Clearly, the Utah defense was not in need of any fixing.

Meanwhile, the Arizona State rushing attack had averaged a mediocre 2.8 yards per carry over its last four games. Equally as important, quarterback Taylor Kelly was sacked seven times against Washington last week.

With these factors in mind, perhaps it made sense for the Utes to establish a 4-2-5 nickel defense—something which they have been using sporadically throughout the season—as their base for the evening. After all, a nickel defense is designed to counter spread offenses (like ASU’s) that have a tendency to throw the ball frequently. Though only two linebackers are used in this scheme, sacks still occur because of the blanketing coverage that results from using five defensive backs.

With ASU’s running production faltering of late and the prospect of it worsening due to the injury of starting left guard Christian Westerman, the Utah coaching staff obviously believed that it could sacrifice bodies in run prevention and divert their energies towards stopping the pass.

The concentration on stopping the pass was worked, as the Utah defense bottled up Taylor Kelly for only 205 yards (well under the defense’s season average of 264.7 pass yards allowed per game). The scheme crumbled, however, when ASU rediscovered how to run the football.

True freshman Demario Richard led the charge with 126 yards on 14 carries. The lethal D.J. Foster-Taylor Kelly read-option attack also reappeared, as Foster rushed for 53 yards on ten carries and Kelly added 55 yards on ten rushes of his own. The jaw-dropping individual rushing statistics from the first three games of the season obviously did not return, but with a team total of 249 yards on the ground and 5.6 yards per carry, the Sun Devils completely exploited the Utah change in scheme.

It was nearly all for naught, however, as ASU continuously shot itself in the foot in the third quarter with costly false start and holding penalties. Aside from the obvious loss of yards that were already earned, these mental lapses created long yardage situations for the Sun Devils, which played precisely into the stop-the-pass game plan of Utah. Fortunately for ASU, the offense put itself in just enough favorable running situations to squeak out a victory.

Coach Todd Graham and offensive coordinator Mike Norvell preach throughout the week that the offense is going to take what the opposing defense gives them. It may seem like simply coaches’ talk at the time, but that adaptive mentality was clearly the theme of Saturday’s win.

By instilling a 4-2-5 nickel defense, Utah challenged ASU run the football. ASU responded and did just that.

Follow Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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