Utes Suffers Disappointing Loss To Arizona State

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Utah football team was riding a four-game winning streak before they met the Sun Devils. After a 38-20 loss, the Utes lost their top spot in the Pac-12 south division and their starting quarterback.

Tyler Huntley left the game with 5:41 left in the third quarter as Utah trailed by four, 21-17 at the time. He was tackled after throwing an incomplete pass and fell on his shoulder. The junior quarterback was carted off to the locker room and it is believed that he broke his collarbone. If that is the case, he will miss the remainder of the season.

Huntley had 88 yards passing to go with one touchdown and two interceptions prior to the injury.

Jason Shelley took over at quarterback and finished with 59 yards through the air and one interception on 4-of-11 passing against the Sun Devils.

The defense struggled to stop the Sun Devils offense, particularly the running game. They allowed 536 yards of total offense, including 251 yards on the ground.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham wasn’t happy with the way his defense played.

“It wasn’t us. That edge that we have been playing with, seemed to be missing today,” Whittingham said.

Running back Eno Benjamin rushed for 175 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns. Wide receiver N’Keal Harry had 9 catches for 161 yards and three scores.

First Half Miscues

Arizona State was driving down the field on their first possession before the Utes stopped them on third and goal on the Utah 15-yard line. As the Sun Devils were about to kick a field goal, the officials stopped the game and reviewed the previous play for targeting.

After review, the officials flagged safety Philip Afia and he was ejected. Two plays later, Arizona State running back Eno Benjamin ran in a 6-yard touchdown.

Utah’s first possession, Huntley was pressured out of the pocket and threw a deep pass to wide receiver Jaylen Dixon, who bobbled the pass and was intercepted by Arizona State defensive back Aashari Crosswell who returned the ball to the Sun Devils 47-yard line. They turned that turnover into touchdown, putting Utah into a 14-0 hole.

“We had a rough start. That’s something that didn’t work in our favor,” Kyle Whittingam said after the game.

Tides Turned After Huntley Injury

The Utes crawled back into the game as they trailed by four points when Tyler Huntley was injured in the third quarter. Utah scored just a field goal on the drive that Huntley exited the game. Arizona State scored two touchdowns and a field goal to put the game out of reach.

Utah running back Zack Moss played well with 128 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Pac-12 South Race

The Utes dropped to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-12. They no longer control their own destiny to win the south division. If Arizona State wins the rest of their games, they will win the division. Currently, Utah is tied with Arizona for first place and hold the tiebreaker.

“We are still in it but there is no margin for error,” said Kyle Whittingham, when asked about the division race.

Utah will face Oregon at home on November 10. The start time and broadcast information will be announced early in the week.