Along with Utah, Arizona State was off this past weekend.
But both coaching staffs weren’t exactly enjoying a relaxing and rejuvenating week away from football as they prepared for each other.
Saturday’s after-dark showdown with an 8:15 p.m. MT kickoff underneath the lights at Rice-Eccles Stadium could be huge in the Big 12 title race.
Advertisement
The defending conference champion Sun Devils arrive in Salt Lake City with a 4-1 regular-season record, their only loss coming in nonconference play at Mississippi State. Arizona State is 2-0 in Big 12 play thanks to two last-minute kicks by Jesus Gomez to lift the Sun Devils to a pair of 27-24 victories over Baylor and TCU.
Utah also has a 4-1 record, its lone loss coming against now-No. 9 Texas Tech in the two schools’ Big 12 opener.
“Utah’s not undefeated, but their one loss was basically a unbelievably tight game versus Tech. I mean unbelievably tight game the entire time. In the first quarter they throw a touchdown and there’s an illegal man downfield that was really irrelevant to the play, calls it back and the game’s tied in the fourth quarter. If not for that one play with eight, nine minutes left, whole different football game,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said.
The Utes picked up their first Big 12 win with a 48-14 thrashing of West Virginia in Morgantown and can’t afford another loss, much less two, if it wants to be playing on Dec. 6 in the Big 12 championship game, making Saturday’s matchup extremely important.
Advertisement
With three other undefeated teams in conference play (Texas Tech, BYU and Cincinnati), Arizona State has a chance to get not only the biggest statement victory of its season, but perhaps cement itself as one of the favorites to make the Big 12 championship game.
The Sun Devils haven’t been without their flaws — especially in the red zone, where they are ranked No. 117 nationally, scoring touchdowns just 50% of the game — and haven’t been as dominant as they were in 2024 without running back Cam Skattebo.
ASU ranks No. 47 in total offense (423.2 yards per game) and No. 42 in total defense (321 yards per game), but have one of the best receivers in Jordyn Tyson, who is averaging 96.6 receiving yards per game.
Utah opened as a five-point favorite at home, and ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Utes a 69.6% chance of winning.
Advertisement
Thus far, Utah has taken care of business against teams that it was supposed to beat — UCLA, Cal Poly, Wyoming and West Virginia. In its only real test of the season, the Utes lost 34-10 to Texas Tech, but kept it close until midway through the fourth quarter despite the Utes’ defense not having support from their offense.
The Utes were unranked in Sunday’s latest AP Top 25 poll, but Dillingham feels like Utah is a Top 25 team.
“I think Utah should 100% be in the Top 25. I mean their one loss is to a Texas Tech team that could be a top-five team in the country. So I mean I think that we’re about to face a team that’s definitely a top 25 opponent in my opinion,” Dillingham said.
Utah’s offense has been shut down only once this season against a defense that is one of the best in the conference. The Utes’ offense ranks No. 18 in the country in yardage (469.2 per game) and their defense ranks No. 25 in yardage allowed (300.4).
Advertisement
ASU will be the Utes’ second-toughest test thus far, and a chance to prove to the Big 12 that they’re a contender.
Quarterback Devon Dampier has passed for 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns with three interceptions at a 72.5% completion rate, while adding 258 yards and two scores on the ground.
“Obviously they’re way more of a triple option, I would say. They kind of went back to the Alex Smith era in that era of Utah football, which is when you can run the ball and you have the O-line like they do,” Dillingham said.
“Dampier has played awesome this year and he’s athletic, he can throw the ball down field. It creates a plus-one run. And when you’re already good upfront and then you add a plus one, it makes you better. So different play with tempo this year.
Advertisement
“So it’s not as much ball control, which is a little different from that perspective. But they definitely put you in hard, hard spots schematically with what they do with the plus one runs and the zone read game and the boots and the shots and the screens and the funny formations. You don’t have a chance to prepare for everything they do.”
Powering the offense is an offensive line that has mostly been as advertised, though Texas Tech’s defensive front got the better of them. Aside from that game, Utah has been able to run the at will, led by offensive tackles Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano.
“They’re both first-round draft picks. That’s a pretty big challenge. They play offensive tackle and they’re good blockers. You usually don’t want to go vs. that,” Dillingham said, per Justin LaCertosa.
Dillingham recounted how he recruited both Fano and Lomu — Fano while he was the offensive coordinator at Oregon and Lomu, who is from Arizona, while he was at Arizona State.
Advertisement
“They’re both really good players, both really good families, both really good people, so I kind of wish we got them both,” Dillingham said.
Dillingham, 35, has long shared his admiration for Utah’s program and its coach, Kyle Whittingham, saying in 2023 that he felt like Utah was the “gold standard” for what he could do at ASU.
Almost immediately, Dillingham proved that he’s up there with the best coaches in the sport right now, turning around a reeling program and winning the Big 12 championship in 2024.
Now, Dillingham and the Devils are trying for a repeat of the conference championship and a second win in a row over the Utes.
Advertisement
“Obviously you guys know how I feel about Coach Whittingham. I think he’s one of the best coaches in this generation. His ability to continually win and adapt and change. It’s really incredible what he’s accomplished there and hopefully we’re getting closer and closer and closer to creating a program similar to theirs,” Dillingham said.
