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ASU Football: Defense showcases long-term potential vs. Utah

By Sam Ficarro

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 18: Aashari Crosswell #16 of the Arizona State Sun Devils tackles Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal for a loss of yardage in the first quarter of the game at Sun Devil Stadium on October 18, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 18: Aashari Crosswell #16 of the Arizona State Sun Devils tackles Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal for a loss of yardage in the first quarter of the game at Sun Devil Stadium on October 18, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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ASU football was in a high-scoring battle but in the second half, the defense showed its long-term potential limiting Utah to three points.

At halftime, it looked like Arizona State and Utah were going to be in a shootout.

The Sun Devils led the Utes 21-17 as both offenses combined for 488 yards.

In the second half, the Sun Devils defense made the necessary adjustments to stymie the Utah offense.

Utah lost starting quarterback Tyler Huntley to what appeared to be a serious injury as he was carted into the locker room. In total, Utah tallied just 108 yards of total offense in the second half.

“Defensively, in the second half, I thought we adjusted real well. We have to give credit to the players and coaches for that,” head coach Herm Edwards said. “We did a real nice job keeping them out of the end zone and taking the ball away was big for us. That’s the type of defense we would like to become.”

Running back Zack Moss had a strong first half rushing for 71 yards and one touchdown. While Moss rushed for 61 yards in the third quarter, he was limited to one carry in the fourth quarter.

“First half, first quarter I didn’t like what I was watching. A little bit was we had bad eyes. We had dirty eyes. We were not playing our gap responsibilities. I knew that was going to happen,” Edwards said. “It happens when you have a bunch of young guys. I thought in the second half, the eyes got cleaned up, started tackling and then we got the lead.”

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After recording four interceptions against Huntley last season, the Sun Devil defense recorded three interceptions against Huntley and backup quarterback Justin Shelley.

Aashari Crosswell, who’s come really close in recent weeks of snagging an interception, got one on Utah’s opening drive. That interception led to a touchdown and an early 14-point lead for the Sun Devils. After the game, he was reveling in acquiring his first interception of the season.

“I’ve dropped too many (interceptions) so this first one is special,” Crosswell said. “Manny (Wilkins) told me to enjoy this one so I’m enjoying it right now.”

Linebacker Merlin Robertson recorded an interception in the third quarter as he continues to be a leader for the defense.

“I can imagine what he’s going to be in the next few years. He’ll be fun to watch. He’s going to be one of the leaders,” Edwards said. “He’s already one of the leaders in the room. Big interception today. He’s been one of our most productive players.”

Overall, there’s a lot to like about ASU’s defense. Six starters will be back next season including Robertson, Crosswell, Chase Lucas and Kobe Williams, who grabbed the third interception of the game.

Wilkins pointed out how this defense can be special with more experience.

“They’re going to be real special in the next few years. They just got to continue to trust the coaching, trust what they are telling them, believe in it,” Wilkins said. “When you believe in it, that’s when you start to execute and do well. I think they’re starting to get their head on their shoulders the right way and playing fast, playing hard and doing the right things.”

Edwards agreed with that sentiment.

“It’ll be fun to watch this defense the next few years. The whole defense in the second half balled out,” Edwards said. “They played tough, they played angry, they played fast.

With the victory, the Pac-12 South has become very attainable for Arizona State. If they hope to get to Santa Clara, they will need the defense to keep churning out strong performances.

Edwards isn’t look ahead though with UCLA up next in the final home game of the season next Saturday.

Next. ASU Football: N’Keal Harry’s big day leads Devils to upset win over Utah. dark

“UCLA will come here. They’ve got some talented players. (Chip Kelly) is a good football coach and have a lot of respect for him,” Edwards said. “They’ve got some talented athletes and they’ve improved since the beginning of the year. We’ll enjoy tonight but tomorrow we got to work on the Bruins.”

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.

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