Just how good was Utah’s defensive performance against ASU?
It’s hard to play better than Utah’s defense did on Saturday.
A week after being stymied by Oregon quarterback Bo Nix’s quick passing and dominant offensive line, Utah’s defense was licking its chops to get back to their usual selves against Arizona State.
The Sun Devils only traveled six scholarship offensive linemen due to injuries and started their third-string quarterback, Trenton Bourguet. ASU was down to its fourth-string quarterback, former BYU QB Jacob Conover, early in the game after Bourguet was knocked out of the game on the first drive.
So, it went about as expected for a hungry Utah defensive front against a wounded Arizona State offensive line.
Even with all of those caveats, it’s still pretty unheard of for a defense to do what Utah did on Saturday afternoon.
The Utes held the Sun Devils to just 83 total yards — 43 rushing and 40 passing — and kept Arizona State out of the end zone. The Sun Devils were just 1 for 15 on third down and had minus-1 passing yards through 26 minutes of game time.
Everything was working like a well-oiled machine, from the defensive front to the secondary.
“The front seven was outstanding. Back end was good, too. The completion percentage was way down. ... So we just played a complete game at all three levels. But it starts up front, we got good pressure from the get go,” Whittingham said.
“... We had some impact plays, sacks, we got the interception. That was a nice interception by Miles Battle, but when the defense is clicking and in sync and not on our heels like we were last week, we’re really good.”
Meanwhile, Utah’s offense exploded for 55 points and 513 total yards, including 352 rushing yards in a 55-3 blowout of Arizona State.
According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, Utah was the first team to gain over 500 yards and allow less than 100 yards in a Pac-12 game since at least 2000. It was the second-fewest yards gained by Arizona State in school history, per Chris Karpman of SunDevilSource.com. The worst was in 1946, when the Sun Devils gained 12 yards vs. Arizona.
For Utah, it was tied for the fifth-lowest opponent yards output in school history, matching the 2019 Cal game, when the Utes allowed 83 yards and shut out the Bears 35-0. The top four performances (42 yards vs. Utah State in 1950, 58 vs. Idaho in 1953, 59 vs. Weber State in 2018, and 78 vs. Denver in 1952) came against non-Power Five teams.
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Defensive end Connor O’Toole made his first start of the season, sacking Conover, and defensive end Jonah Elliss contributed 1.5 sacks — upping his season total to 11.5, second-best in the nation — and broke up two passes.
“Just the time and preparation that I put into it. I think I’ve spent a lot more time this year than I have in the past and I really just locked into being the best I can be,” Elliss said of his success this season.
Linebacker Levani Damuni, who has been slotted in the starting lineup since Lander Barton’s injury at USC, had a team-high 11 tackles and assisted on a sack.
Cornerback Miles Battle had a nice day in coverage, picking off Conover on an ill-advised across-the-body, across-the-field throw.
“Just being able to get the play and make the play was very satisfying,” Battle said.
Four-star Skyridge High School cornerback Smith Snowden got his first extended run on defense, playing 37 snaps, and teamed up with Damuni for a tackle in the first quarter.
“He just keeps getting better and better. He was set back by an injury. It was about a month he was out, not available, but since he’s been back for a few weeks now, probably three or four weeks now, he’s been a special teams staple for us and played on a lot on the special teams and had progressed so much in practice,” Whittingham said. “We said, ‘Hey, it’s time to get him on the field and see what he can add to what we’re doing.’ He certainly did add to what we were doing, he’s a really good football player.”
It was a fantastic defensive effort by the Utes, and they’ll take Sunday to enjoy it, but preparation for one of the nation’s most explosive offensives in Michael Penix Jr. and No. 5 Washington resumes on Monday.
