After a week off, the Utah football team will be facing the ASU Sun Devils on the road in Phoenix.
ASU also had a bye week, so both teams should be entering the game with a refreshed mindset. Head coach Kyle Whittingham hopes that his players will be rejuvenated for this last stretch of the season. The Utes only have three games to play in the rest of the regular season and the players know that if they want a shot at playing in the Pac-12 Championship game in Santa Clara, Calif. and another shot at the Washington Huskies (Utah dropped its last game to Washington 31-24), they will need to win out.
They are taking it one game at a time, however, and they are approaching each game like it is their own “Super Bowl.”
Troy Williams hasn’t been producing the type of numbers that many expected he would at the beginning of the season, but he’ll do whatever is necessary for his team to get the win. ASU has been prone to giving up big plays, however, Williams is focused on putting the team first and he’s not going to force anything that isn’t there.
“I’ll take [the deep shots] when they’re there, but I’m not going to go into the game trying to make every big play,” Williams said. “I just have to take what the defense gives me, and if it’s a big play opportunity then so be it. But if it’s not, I just have to take what I get.”
With the additional week off, the Utah squad had more time to watch and study film of the Sun Devils and they think they can expose some of ASU’s weaknesses.
Joe Williams has been carrying much of the workload the past three games. He thinks the Utes have an effective game plan in the works. While the team is focused on the rest of the season as a game-by-game basis, Joe Williams is looking at this game as a play-by-play basis.
“You know they’re going to get their opportunities based off of their blitz packages, and we’re going to get ours,” Joe Williams said. “We got a game plan this week just to exploit their mismatches and some of the holes in their defense based off previous opponents that they’ve faced. I feel confident in our offense this week that we’re going to get the job done.”
Looking at the Sun Devils’ offense, ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins has spent a few games on the sideline because of an injury, but the Utes are preparing to see him out on the field, because they recognize what he can do for the Sun Devil offense.
The Utes have dealt with their own fair share of injuries as well. Marcus Williams has sat out a few games, but Whittingham is hopeful that the senior will be able to return for this final stretch of the season. Whittingham was not 100 percent sure on whether or not Marcus Williams would be ready for the game, however.
Another player the Utes are hoping to get back is tight end Harrison Handley. Evan Moeai has been filling in for Handley for the time being, but Whittingham would like to see both of them out on the field together.
“They’re both big parts of our offense this year,” Whittingham said. “They’re a really good one-two punch. They complement each other. [They are] different types of players, Harrison has more size, 6-foot-5-inch and 250 [pounds] plus, whereas Evan’s a little undersized for a tight end, more of an H-back. They both bring positive things to the table.”
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
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