Fork Report: Impotent offense, bad fourth quarter doom Sun Devils in loss to Utah
Oct 18, 2015, 12:18 AM
Utah running back Devontae Booker (23) carries the ball as Arizona State linebacker Salamo Fiso (58) looks on in the first half during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
To beat the team ranked fourth in the nation on the road, you need to play a solid, if not spectacular game in all three phases.
Arizona State couldn’t put together a complete effort in all phases in a 34-18 loss to Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday night.
The Sun Devils’ defense was exceptional, holding Utah’s Devontae Booker to 16 yards on the ground in the first three quarters. But the special teams were up and down and the offense lacked a pulse for most of the evening.
Still, ASU led 18-14 entering the fourth quarter on the strength of a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Tim White, three Zane Gonzalez field goals and a safety courtesy of Utah’s Britain Covey, who made a terrible decision on a kickoff return.
But ASU’s special teams and offense let them down in crunch time.
After a three-and-out deep in their own territory, ASU’s Matt Haack uncorked a 20-yard punt, giving Utah great field position at the ASU 32-yard line. Three plays later, Booker took a pitch from Travis Wilson and raced 25 yards into the end zone to give the Utes a 21-18 lead.
They were just getting started.
Another Sun Devils possession failed to do anything, Haack punted again. The distance was better, but the execution by the coverage team was not. Dasmond Tautalatasi interfered with the return man, and ASU was penalized 15 yards, giving Utah great field position again — this time at the ASU 33.
Andy Phillips booted a 43-yard field goal to put the Utes up six.
Then the offense pulled out a revolver and fired it right into its own feet. Mike Bercovici and Kalen Ballage couldn’t complete a handoff on a read option play, the ball hit the turf and Bercovici failed to cover it up. Utah’s Tevin Carter recovered at the ASU 23. Phillips added another field goal, this one from 35 yards to make the score 27-18.
After another failed drive by the Sun Devils, Booker padded his stats with a 62-yard touchdown run to make the final margin look a lot worse than what actually happened.
Utah broke an 11-game losing streak to ASU which dated back to 1976, and more importantly, stayed undefeated and now has a two-game lead over everyone else in the Pac-12 South.
The Good: ASU’s defense, particularly the run defense, was very good for three quarters. Booker had 16 yards rushing through three quarters — he finished with 118 yards.
The defense also sacked Wilson five times. Utah had given up only two sacks all season heading into the contest.
Receiver Devin Lucien played well, catching six passes for 118 yards.
The Bad: The offense. Everything was a struggle tonight for the Devils. Dropped passes — in particular, two that could/should have been caught in the end zone (one by Kody Kohl, one by D.J. Foster) loomed large.
Foster continues to look lost in the offense. You would have expected the senior to carry a big load in the absence of Demario Richard, right? Wrong. Foster was never a factor in the game, getting four touches on offense for a total of six yards.
He Said It: “Our guys really played stellar against the run.” – Todd Graham.
What’s Next: The Devils are off until October 29 when they host the Oregon Ducks in Tempe in a nationally-televised Thursday night tilt on ESPN.
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