Utah was finally able to overcome its losing streak against ASU and beat the Sun Devils in Rice Eccles Stadium 34-18 on Saturday night.
A late fumble recovery by Tevin Carter led to an Andy Phillips field goal to make the score 27-18 in the fourth quarter. Then, running back Devontae Booker broke out with only a few minutes left in the game for a 62-yard rushing touchdown that secured the win for the Utes.
Booker finished the game with 118 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham thinks the players played up to par tonight, and is proud of the way they fought they entire game.
“They weren’t going to be denied tonight,” Whittingham said.
Things weren’t really going in either team’s direction early in the game. Neither team could get a first down on their first two possessions, but that changed on each team’s third possession.
Utah looked like it was going to get another three-and-out when ASU’s linebackers nearly got to Travis Wilson for a sack, but instead he found freshman Tyronne Smith to keep the drive alive. Wilson converted a couple strikes to get Utah in the red zone and then found Harris Handley for the touchdown to put the Utes up 7-0.
However, ASU answered back on the ensuing kick-off. The Sun Devils’ Tim White returned the ball 100 yards for a touchdown to even the score.
Opening up the second quarter with the Utes down 10-7, Wilson hit Kenneth Scott for a 42-yard gain, then again on the next pass for the touchdown — the final score of the half — giving the Utes the 14-10 lead.
The second half started out much like the first, with a couple of three-and-outs for both sides. On Utah’s second drive of the half, Wilson again found Scott, this time for 35 yards, but it was to no avail, as Wilson was sacked shortly thereafter, forcing the Utes to punt.
The Utah defense stood its ground on the ensuing ASU drive and held the Sun Devils to another field goal to stay on top, 14-13.
But then, the unthinkable happened.
On the ensuing kickoff, return man Britain Covey received a penalty for attempting to throw an illegal forward pass after receiving the kickoff in his own endzone. This resulted in a safety for the Sun Devils, who took the lead 15-14 and then scored another field goal after receiving the the kickoff from the safety to increase its lead to 18-14.
Covey felt discouraged by what happened on the field, but his teammates picked him right back up.
“I’m really overwhelmed,” Covey said. “When I came off to the sideline after that stupid play, I didn’t hear one negative thing from any one of my teammates so I just appreciate that.”
Whittingham knows his special teams is going to have work hard to make up for its poor performance.
“Special teams was atrocious,” Whittingham said. “Almost lost the game singlehandedly and that’s not like us, got to get that fixed.”
The Utes continued to play solid defense after Hackett pinned the Sun Devils deep in their own territory in the fourth quarter. When Utah got the ball back, Wilson found Booker for his second touchdown of the game to make the score 21-18.
Wilson finished the game 26-for-36 with 297 passing yards, as the Ute defense did its part the remainder of the game by holding ASU at its 18 points.
Aside from the special teams’ performance, Whittingham was pleased by the way Wilson played and was especially grateful to his defense. He praised his defense for coming up with five sacks and pressuring quarterback Mike Bercovici all night long.
“They were collectively the player of the game for us,” Whittingham said.
@kbrenneisen