Pressure has helped Arizona State dominate Utah

TEMPE, Ariz. — Some of the games have been close, like last season’s 19-16 overtime win. Some of them haven’t been close at all, like Todd Graham’s first season as coach when ASU beat Utah 37-7.

Whatever form of measurement you want to use, however, there’s no denying this simple truth: The Sun Devils have owned the Utes. Arizona State has won 11 straight games in the series, dating to 1977.

The Utes have not won in this series since a 31-28 at Sun Devil Stadium in 1976 when ASU played in the Western Athletic Conference. To put that in perspective, ASU has hired seven new coaches since it last lost to Utah.

Stretching that streak to 12 will be a major challenge for ASU (4-2) on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The Utes are 5-0, ranked No. 4 in the nation and already own wins over Michigan, Oregon and Cal.

“The team I’ve seen on film this year isn’t anything like the team last year and they had a very good team last year,” ASU coach Todd Graham said. “They’re very deserving of their ranking and where they’re at. The volume of what they do and how well they’re coached is pretty impressive.”

Utah first opened eyes this season when it defeated Oregon, 62-20 at Autzen Stadium; the most points the Ducks have ever allowed in a home game. The win itself has been diminished by Oregon’s subsequent struggles, but the Utes are offering no apologies for taking care of business every week to date.

To reach the midpoint of the season at 6-0, Utah will have to do something coach Kyle Whittingham says it hasn’t done yet against ASU.

“They’ve given us a high dose of pressure and we haven’t been able to handle it very well,” he said. “That’s really what it boils down to. They’re a high-pressure defense. They bring a lot of heat. You’d better be able to block it.

“It’s not like it’s a form of trickery. They run the same set of blitzes over and over. We just didn’t handle them very well at all the last couple of years and that’s got to change if we’re going to have a chance.”

Last season, the Devils posted three sacks but moved quarterback Travis Wilson off his spots and disrupted his timing. He finished 12 of 22 passing for 57 yards. The year before, they sacked Wilson four times and intercepted him twice in a dismal 6-for-21 passing performance. In 2012, they had four sacks, an interception and held Utah QBs to 117 yards.

ASU defensive coordinator Keith Patterson understands that pressuring Wilson will be more difficult this season against an offensive line that has allowed a Pac-12 best two sacks, but it isn’t always about sacks.

“It might be not allowing him to throw on timing. It might be making him move his feet off that spot,” Patterson said. “If you let them get in a rhythm whether they’re just faking the run, throwing the ball to the perimeter, now you’ve got problems.”

Graham noted Tuesday that ASU has also limited Utah’s big plays the last few years. The Utes didn’t have a pass play over 13 yards against ASU last season. That, too, will be a challenge for the Sun Devils against a vastly improved offense.

“Any time we do bring that pressure we put an enormous amount of stress on our secondary,” Patterson said. “Everyone’s eaten up with the pressure so now you’ve got DBs out there, a lot of times, in single coverage. We did a tremendous job of that the last two years and we have to execute the same thing.”

Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter

Follow @craigsmorgan