Pac-12 South semifinal? Arizona State Sun Devils host Utah Utes

It’s been a really long time since the Utah Utes have experienced a football victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

In fact, it’s been 38 years since the Utes’ last win in the series — a 31-28 triumph in Tempe.

Sometimes, history matters in a college football rivalry. That’s not the case this week as 18th-ranked Utah visits 14th-ranked Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium Saturday, mostly because this is not your typical Utah team.

Kyle Whittingham’s Utes are one fourth-quarter collapse away from being 7-0 heading into this contest. Utah led Washington State 27-14 midway through the final quarter, but Connor Halliday threw two touchdown passes, including an 81-yarder to Vince Mayle with under five minutes to play, to take the win. It was a crushing loss for Utah, considering they held an early 21-0 lead.

But the Utes have bounced back nicely. They’ve followed that loss to Wazzu with close wins at UCLA, at Oregon State and against USC.

Arizona State has also rebounded from their lone loss of the season. Since getting a 62-27 drubbing handed to them by UCLA, the Sun Devils have reeled off wins over USC, Stanford and Washington.

In terms of the Pac-12 South standings, many are looking at this contest as an unofficial division semifinal (with Arizona-UCLA being the other).

When ASU has the ball

Good news for ASU — QB Taylor Kelly is good to go after taking a hard shot at the end of the Devils’ win over Washington. Kelly returned from a three-game absence to engineer an ugly 24-10 win over the Huskies in windy Seattle last Saturday.

Despite win, Kelly wasn’t satisfied with his play.

“It felt great to be back. I’ve got to get better. It’s not what I want to be. I have high goals for myself and so I didn’t play very well,” Kelly said Thursday. The senior completed 14-of-25 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns while running for only seven yards in 15 attempts against UW. The combination of gusty conditions and rust made things tough for Kelly to get the offense going.

The Sun Devils’ offensive line will look different this week as well. Left guard Christian Westerman is out with an injury, so redshirt sophomore Stephon McCray steps into the starting lineup.

“Stephon is very big, very physical and very, very smart,” ASU head coach Todd Graham told Doug and Wolf Friday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “He’s prepared himself, so we have 100 percent confidence in him.”

McCray and the rest of the ASU O-line will have its work cut out for it against a terrific front seven for Utah. The defensive end combo of sophomore Hunter Dimick and senior Nate Orchard has combined for 18 sacks on the season. The linebacking corps, comprised of Jason Fanaika, Gionni Paul and Jared Norris, has another seven sacks and four interceptions to its credit. And the secondary, headed up by hard-hitting safety Brian Blechen, has big-time playmaking ability as well.

Utah ranks second in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (112.1 yards allowed per game), so it should be tough sledding again for ASU running back D.J. Foster, who has been stymied in the last four games. Foster is averaging just 34.5 rushing yards per contest in that span, although three of those opposing defenses — Stanford, Washington and USC — all rank in the top half of the conference’s rushing defenses.

When Utah has the ball

Is there a hotter player in the conference right now than Utah running back Deontae Booker? The junior has been THE Utah offense over the last month, averaging 29 carries for 166 yards in the last four games. In fact, against Washington State, UCLA, Oregon State and USC, Booker has been responsible for 51 percent of Utah’s total yards from scrimmage and 75 percent of their offensive touchdowns. If ASU can find away to slow Booker down, they’ll likely win the game.

Quarterback Travis Wilson doesn’t put up pretty numbers. The junior has thrown for only 1,027 yards and eight touchdowns this season, but he doesn’t make mistakes. After throwing 16 interceptions last season, Wilson had yet to be picked off in 2014. He’s also an emotional leader who frequently puts his body in harm’s way to gain extra yardage or fight into the end zone.

Wilson won’t have his top receiver for the rest of the season as Dres Anderson, who was averaging 16 yards per catch, suffered a knee injury that will effectively end his career.

ASU’s defense comes into this game riding high following two impressive performances. In wins over Stanford and Washington, the Devils have allowed only one offensive touchdown, 26 percent on third-down conversions and they’ve forced four turnovers.

This is the third straight game that a young Sun Devil defensive unit will face an offense that could be described as “challenged.”

Special Teams

Utah has a big advantage here, and that’s not a knock on ASU. The Utes have one of the best special teams units in the country. Punter Tom Hackett and kicker Andy Phillips make up the best kicking duo in the nation, while punt returner Kaelin Clay, who figures to be a bigger factor on offense in Anderson’s absence, has been electric. Clay has taken three punts back for scores and also has a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown

ASU punter Matt Haack has been much better in recent weeks, including averaging 46.6 yards per punt last weekend in the treacherous conditions in Seattle. Placekicker Zane Gonzalez is about as steady as they come in college football — he’s hit 10 of 12 field goal attempts this season.

The coverage teams have done a better job as well, allowing opponents to average just 18 yards per kickoff return and 3.5 yards on punt returns in the last two weeks.

What to Watch For

• Red Zone Efficiency – ASU has been good in the red zone this season, getting points on 88.2 percent of its trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. That’s good for 28th-best in the nation. The Devils need to keep that up, because Utah doesn’t allow opponents to get there very often, only 17 times this season. Opportunities are at a premium, ASU has got to make the most of them against a stout defense.

• Non-offensive touchdowns – Utah already has seven non-offensive touchdowns in 2014, including at least one in five of their seven games. In three games, Utah has opened the scoring with a defensive or special teams score, including last week’s win over USC. Todd Graham preaches 100 percent ball security each week, and it’s even more important this week with a ball-hawking Utah defense lurking.

Follow @Vincemarotta