Sun Devils preparing for physical matchup at No. 18 Utah

(Photo: Hailey Rogalski/WCSN)
For much of the season, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham has consistently emphasized the process of building a Power Five football program from the ground up. On paper, the road through his first year in Tempe has been rocky, with the Sun Devils dropping six of their first seven contests.

However, ASU (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12) finally picked up an all-important first conference victory this season in last weekend’s 38-27 victory over Washington State. The Sun Devils put together their most complete performance of the year on offense against the Cougars, committing no turnovers, allowing no sacks and tallying a season-best 235 rushing yards — a major stepping stone in the development of this year’s team.

On Saturday, ASU will visit one of the Pac-12’s premier teams in No. 18 Utah (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12). The Utes are led by longtime skipper Kyle Whittingham and represent the type of program Dillingham wants to mold the Sun Devils into.

“In terms of Utah, this is the culture that I envision here,” Dillingham said. “They’re the program I envision hopefully having here — a coach who’s been there for 19 years, who’s built it up, who’s established physicality in the program, toughness. That’s what we’re trying to build here. So this is the standard, the gold standard in the league in my opinion, for what a program should look like, should feel like.”

Throughout his almost two-decade-long tenure in Salt Lake City, Wittingham has achieved a great deal of success to show for the effort and culture he’s established at Utah. The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year helped the Utes win the last two Pac-12 Championships and holds the most wins in program history with a 154-74 record. In addition to reaching four New Year’s Six bowl games, Utah has posted winning seasons 16 times in 18 years under Whittingham, and hasn’t finished a campaign under .500 since 2013.

Utah’s consistent winning ways can be attributed in large part to Whittingham’s system, which is defined by playing a hard-nosed, physical game on both sides of the ball.

“I think any elite program has that physicality up front, and [Utah] has that,” Dillingham said. “I’ve been talking to our guys about this game for a long time, showing clips of what it takes to win at this level, at a high level, and I’ve been using Utah as the example.”

Over the years, Utah has been known to have one of the strongest defenses in the country, and this season is no exception. The Utes rank top-20 in the nation for total yards allowed in 2023, and this ferocious defense has helped earn relatively low-scoring victories over difficult opponents like Florida and then-No. 22 UCLA.

While Utah’s defense has recently looked shaky against high-powered attacks — allowing 32 points to then-No. 18 USC and 35 points to then-No. 8 Oregon — its capability to adapt to any scheme it faces cannot be underestimated. The Utes contain both size and speed, which can prove a nightmare for opposing offenses.

It will be difficult for the Sun Devils to replicate last week’s performance on offense, specifically on the ground. Utah has conceded the eighth-fewest rushing yards in the entire nation, meaning junior running backs DeCarlos Brooks and Cam Skattebo will need to bring their usual physicality and play a clean game.

“We’re gonna have to match their physicality, like coach Dillingham said,” Aguano said. “They’re a very physical team that likes to kind of bully themselves on you, and they do a great job. They’re very well coached, I think coach Whittingham is probably one of the best coaches in the country… We have to make sure that we don’t make any mistakes, because they capitalize on opponents’ mistakes. So we can’t make mistakes, and we’re gonna have to try to match their physicality.”

Although Utah’s defense is operating at full strength, its offense has fallen victim to inconsistent play, mainly due to the season-long absence of star senior quarterback Cameron Rising. Over two years as the starter, the dual-threat signal caller logged 5,527 passing yards, 46 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions, adding 942 rushing yards and 12 scores on the ground.

Without Rising, the Utes have used both junior Bryson Barnes and redshirt freshman Nate Johnson under center. Barnes has thrown for 769 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions, while Johnson has yet to be picked off and has logged 499 yards and three scores.

However, where Utah’s offense does the most damage is on the ground. The two lead backs — sophomores Ja’Quinden Jackson and Jaylon Glover — have combined for 782 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore two-way player Sione Vaki has run for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while Barnes and Johnson each have three rushing scores to their name.

Much like its defense, the Utes’ offensive line plays a very physical brand of football to create avenues for running backs. Despite ASU possessing a top-20 run defense nationally, Utah’s aggressive mindset up front will undoubtedly test the Sun Devils this weekend.

“This will be the most physical game,” Defensive Line Coach Vince Amey said. “They’re big, they’re aggressive. So this would be a true challenge for us as far as how physical we can be to dominate the line of scrimmage. So I’m looking forward to it as a coach and I hope these guys are looking forward to [it] too, because football is a physical sport, and they gotta be physical this week.”