Although the Utes may have been sleepwalking in the opening minutes against ASU, they eventually found their footing and were clicking on all cylinders. Behind a four-touchdown performance from Troy Williams, a 181 yard Joe Williams rushing game and 11 sacks from the defense, the Utes took down the ASU Sun Devils 49-26.
Troy Williams threw for 296 yards on 21-of-37 passing, and Raelon Singleton finished with receiving three touchdowns and 116 receiving yards. Joe Williams’ 181 yards came on 15 carries.
Hunter Dimick led the way for the defense with five sacks and Pita Taumoepenu followed with four sacks. Chase Hansen and Marcus Williams each had an interception and Hansen’s was a pick-six.
“We had excellent coverage,” Dimick said on Fox Sports 1 after the game.
The Utes didn’t have an ideal start to the game. Right off the bat, a bad snap resulted in a lost fumble. However, ASU didn’t do much better as Manny Wilkins threw an interception in the endzone, and Marcus Williams returned it to the 15 yard line.
Just a few minutes later, Troy Williams attempted to pitch the ball to Joe Williams. Joe Williams wasn’t able to haul in the ball and it resulted in another Utah turnover. ASU would put up three points on the board after the Utah defense denied them a touchdown.
Utah couldn’t get anything going offensively on its next possession, then behind a 46-yard reverse pass from N’Keal Harry to Fred Gammage, the Sun Devils were in the redzone and they eventually scored a touchdown to take a 10-0 lead.
ASU’s quarterback Manny Wilkins looked like he was going to be sacked on a third-and-long on, but instead he completed a pass to Kalen Ballage. ASU would go on to score another field goal and take a 13-0 lead.
Utah’s offense would then get into a groove and Troy Williams connected with Raelon Singleton for a 64-yard touchdown.
After Pita Taumoepenu sacked Wilkins for nine yards, the Utes got favorable field position. Soon enough, Troy Williams found Siaosi Williams for a 27-yard touchdown and Utah went up 14-13.
Towards the end of the first half, Harry evaded the Utah defense for a 31 yard rushing touchdown and ASU took a 20-14 lead. Utah would get one more opportunity before halftime, however, and they moved the ball all the way down the field. Troy Williams found a wide open Singleton for a 17-yard touchdown and Utah led 21-20 heading into the locker room.
Opening up the second half, ASU didn’t get anything on its first drive. Then when Utah took over, Joe Williams used his speed to rush for an 82-yard touchdown.
“Seeing Joe break away like that was very energizing for us,” Dimick said on Fox Sports 1.
Joe Williams would later break away for a 31 yard rush. Utah turned the ball over after an unsuccessful attempt at a fourth-and-short, however. ASU went on to score another touchdown and the Sun Devils went for the two point conversion, but they failed, so Utah held a 28-26 lead.
After a series of consecutive penalties, the Utes were facing a 1st-and-35, but Troy Williams completed a pass to Cory Butler-Byrd for 23 yards, and then he found Singleton for a 24 yard touchdown, and Utah had a 35-26 lead.
Later in the fourth quarter, Hansen intercepted Wilkins’ pass and he returned it 34 yards for a touchdown, giving the Utes a 42-26 lead. With just over three minutes left to play, Joe Williams would rush for a 40 yard touchdown.
Next up, Utah will face Oregon on Saturday Nov. 19
@kbrenneisen