‘That can’t happen’: Arizona State miscues pile up in blowout loss to Utah

Arizona State couldn’t get out of its own way early in a 42-10 loss at Utah despite several chances to keep pace with an offense firing on all cylinders.

It also couldn’t get in the way of Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, who found running lanes seemingly every time he took carries to the tune of 87 yards on seven rushes and a 21-3 halftime lead, including two touchdowns where defenders couldn’t get a hand on him.

Utah rushed for 183 first-half yards, which is 64 more than ASU had given up in any single game this season. The Utes were manhandling ASU on both lines of scrimmage, where the Sun Devils also picked up a few holding penalties.

The only thing that worked for backup quarterback Jeff Sims and the ASU offense was the run game between Sims and Raleek Brown, including some very effective sneaks. But when ASU got in position to capitalize, it ran into a poor snap and hold on a short field goal that Utah blocked.

The Sun Devils also lost three yards on a second-and-14 at the end of the first quarter when they didn’t need to snap the ball at all, and it left head coach Kenny Dillingham bewildered.

“I don’t know what happened there,” Dillingham told ESPN reporter Stormy Buonantony at the quarter break. “That can’t happen, that second down play there can’t happen at the end of the quarter. The ball wasn’t even supposed to be snapped, so can’t do that.”

Sims had a few shot plays on the first drive ASU had, including one perfectly placed ball in the end zone to Malik McClain, who couldn’t hang on as his struggles continued.

ASU’s star skill players were held in check for the first half too, with Jordyn Tyson and Raleek Brown combining for 75 yards on 17 touches.

Follow along with the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.

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