Arizona State limps away from Salt Lake City after a forgettable Week 7 performance

Hopefully everyone in Sun Devil Nation has had ample time for whatever group therapy was needed to process last night’s 42-10 loss to Utah.

Not even our own panel of experts was prepared for the dismantling that took place at the hands of the Utes. As bad as this game was, it’s worth remembering that it could always be worse. Shoutout to Penn State and James Franklin, recent recipient of a $48 million buyout.

There was still a small degree of positive aspects to be found, giving way to even the most optimistic fans to have hope for the rest of the season.

The Good

Sun Devil Rushing (kind of)

Entering the game, the wide belief was that running the ball would be key to success for the Devils. While not ultimately as successful as hoped, the only touchdown for the Devils came on a 3 yard jet sweep by Jordyn Tyson. Raleek Brown averaged nearly 5 yards per carry, but 135 total rushing yards and 3.4 yards per carry was nowhere near enough to challenge the Utah defensive front.

Big 12 Standings

BYU did the Sun Devils a huge solid by pulling out a double-OT win down in Tucson, keeping Arizona in the bottom half of the standings (for now). With Sam Leavitt considered “week to week” now ahead of next week’s game, only time will tell how long the Devils can stay above water.

The Bad

Normally, there are multiple aspects that we’ll highlight as subpar for each game. This time, just about everything on both sides of the ball can be qualified as bad. We knew that we were getting a step back at quarterback with Jeff Sims. While he managed 124 yards, much of that yardage came late in the game against Utah’s backups. Add in his inability to hit open receivers early, the offense was never able to get started.

This would have been a prime game for the defense to step up and hold the Utes in check, but they missed the assignment completely. One comment that circulated among fan circles was that the defense “can’t stop a tumbleweed from crossing the line of scrimmage”, and I can’t think of a more accurate statement. Utah dominated the ground game with 279 rushing yards, led by Devon Dampier gashing the defense for 120 yards and 12 yards per carry. The three touchdowns from Dampier plus two touchdowns from NaQuari Rogers looked more like a varsity team going up in a scrimmage against freshmen.

The Ugly

With Sam Leavitt already week to week going forward, the Sun Devils suffered another massive hit when Ben Coleman left with an arm injury and did not return to the game. The clip of him returning with his arm bundled up does not bode well that he will be available in the near future, representing a huge loss for the offensive line.