ASU Football: Rapid reaction to the Sun Devils upset of No. 15 Utah

ASU football defeated another ranked opponent defeating No. 15 Utah behind a big second half performance by N’Keal Harry and the defense.

Arizona State knocked off their second No. 15 ranked opponent at home in the form of Utah, 38-20, to end the Utes four-game winning streak.

The Sun Devils were led by a steady ground attack as they finished with 251 rushing yards on 50 attempts to go along with a complimenting passing attack of 285 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Manny Wilkins.

Here are the biggest takeaways to ASU’s victory over No. 15 Utah.

N’Keal Harry is key

While this may seem obvious to those who follow Arizona State, it can not be understated. If you’re offensive coordinator Rob Likens you simply give Harry the ball and let him do his thing. And that is exactly what Likens did. Harry did it all from making a catch over defenders and reversing field for a 35-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter.

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The junior wideout finished with 163 yards on nine catches alongside three receiving touchdowns in his dominant performance.

Harry continued his dominating trend after finishing last week with a 92-yard punt return in which he once again reversed field to go along with 95 receiving yards a touchdown.

When Harry fails to go, so does ASU evident in the team’s losses to both Washington and Colorado where the junior receiver hauled in 20 and 62 yards respectively.

Supporting cast is crucial

When Harry has been limited throughout the year it has often fallen to the supporting cast on the Sun Devils to pick up the slack.

The supporting cast has done an excellent job throughout the year of doing this as Frank Darby has been the main contributor. The redshirt sophomore has two games over 100 yards with performances of 127, and 131 on the year.

ASU received support from another member of this supporting cast today in form of Brandon Aiyuk. The junior wide receiver came into the game with only 11 catches for 178 yards on the year and had six catches for 101 receiving yards in ASU’s victory over No. 15 Utah alone.

Another key performer on the offensive side of the ball was Eno Benjamin’s who had 27 rushes for 175 rushing yards two touchdown in a performance that cannot be overlooked. Benjamin has been the workhorse in head coach Herm Edwards run-heavy scheme and has been a crucial part to the team’s success during the season.

Defense is improving but not there yet

The young defense of the Sun Devils has been steadily improving throughout the year for ASU. In a new defensive scheme led by a group of core freshman, the Sun Devils were able to limit a Utes offense that has been averaging over 40 points per game during their four-game win streak to 20 points.

ASU was able to limit Utah behind three interceptions including a pair collected by two freshmen.

The two freshmen for the Sun Devils that came up with interceptions were safety Aashari Crosswell and linebacker Merlin Robertson who have been key players on the defense this season.

The third interception came from Kobe Williams and matched the season total of interceptions for ASU as they came in with three interceptions in their first eight games on the season.

ASU has a real chance at winning the Pac-12 South

After the chaos in the latter part of the Pac-12 race, Arizona State once again has a chance to win the Pac-12 South. After the victory against Utah, the Sun Devils put themselves in the driver seat to compete for a conference title.

While there’s an endless number of scenarios that involve ASU making the conference title game, the easiest and simplest is for the Sun Devils to win their remaining three Pac-12 games against UCLA, Oregon, and Arizona.

In a season that seemed to be over at times, ASU has prevailed and put themselves in a position to accomplish their goal: Winning a Pac-12 title. The Herm train will look to continue their journey to do just that.

The train is scheduled for a final stop in Tempe this season as the Sun Devils take on the Chip Kelly-led UCLA Bruins next Saturday.