A Leavitt-less ASU has no answers on the road for a hard-nosed Utah squad
SALT LAKE CITY – When Arizona State visited Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov 4, 2023, it faced a No.17 Utah team in the first year of head coach Kenny Dillingham’s tenure, and the lopsided 55-3 affair was the worst loss in Dillingham’s head coaching career.
So when ASU, coming off a Big championship and a College Football Playoff appearance, traveled to Salt Lake City for a Saturday night matchup with Utah, memories of that 2023 blowout faded into the background.
“Our growth has been exponential,” ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward said following Tuesday’s practice. “We’re a different program now, with different players. The motivation is 100 percent there. That memory lingers, but this team is ready to handle it better.”
Despite fielding a roster vastly different from the 2023 squad, No. 21 ASU (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) was overpowered by a Utah (5-1, 2-1) team dedicated to controlling the line of scrimmage, surrendering 276 rushing yards in a decisive 42-10 loss Saturday night.
“This feels like Deja vu,” Dillingham said, walking up to the podium for his post-game interview.
The Sun Devils struggled to keep pace with Utah’s high-powered offense, which found the end zone in every quarter. Part of this challenge stemmed from the injury to sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt, first sustained against Baylor in Week 4, and lingering for nearly a month.
Leavitt was listed as doubtful on Thursday night’s Big 12 Injury report, then on Friday afternoon, he was officially ruled out, leaving six-year senior quarterback Jeff Sims to start in his absence.
Sims, however, played the part, converting 18-of-38 passes for 124 yards passing and 52 on the ground. He produced no touchdowns and no turnovers.
“I thought he played pretty well,” Dillingham said regarding Sims. “There are throws I’d like to have back, like every quarterback, but he extended plays. Early in the game, it was raining, so I think it’s hard to judge throwing the ball in 15-20 mph winds and rain, but in the second half, he threw a couple that were pretty good.”
Leavitt’s status is being monitored on a “week-by-week basis,” according to Dillingham post-game.
Without Leavitt’s aid, ASU fell behind quickly, trailing 14-3 early in the second quarter. Sims led the offense on a 15-play 63-yard 8-minute-22-second drive while completing 3-of-4 passes. The offense had the chance to make it a one-score game with senior kicker Jesus Gomez standing over a field goal.
That was until sophomore safety Jackson Bennee changed the game in a single play.
On a 29-yard attempt, Bennee beat his man at the line of scrimmage and blocked Gomez’s field goal. Utah’s Blake Cotton dove on the ball, and two minutes and one second later, the Utes had tacked on another touchdown, and the potential one-possession game was a gaping 21-3 deficit at the half.
“That was a turning point 100%,” Dillingham said on the blocked field goal. “We’re about to go down an eight-one score game if we do that. Maybe get a stop, even if we don’t, we’re only down two possessions going into the half.
“That was absolutely catastrophic.”
Less than two hours before kickoff, Thunderstorms in the wake of Tropical Storm Priscilla left the game with a cold, wet, and windy playing surface. This played into the hands of Utah and punished ASU.
The Utes pounded the run through the storm, notching six rushing touchdowns for the first time since 2021 when it beat Stanford 52-7. The aforementioned 276 rushing yards were the root of all problems. Junior quarterback Devon Dampier led the way with 12 carries for 120 yards, but three running backs each posted over 41 yards as well.
“They just dominated the football game,” Dillingham admitted. “Gotta give credit to them … They put in a big O-lineman as their tight end, and they say ‘we’re going to move you the other direction’ and they moved us the other direction.
“They do a good job schematically; they read our three-technique on a play that scored a touchdown. That’s a coaching touchdown, good scheme by them.”
Utah’s high-level ground attack is no surprise when identifying its offensive line personnel. Junior Spencer Fano is projected as the No.4 player in the 2026 NFL draft by The Athletic and the consensus No.1 offensive lineman in the nation.
“They just ran the ball right at us,” Dillingham noted on Utah’s run game. “We couldn’t stop them.”
“42 rushes 276 rushing yards, that’s pretty good. When (Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham) says that’s the best offensive line he’s had, that’s all you need to know.”
Despite ASU coming into the game with the fourth most sacks per game in the nation, averaging 3.8 a contest, including six last time out against TCU, the defensive front couldn’t find a way to get Dampier off his game. The dual-threat signal caller was never tackled for a loss, and the Utes only lost four total yards all game.
“They outcoached us, outplayed us, absolutely whooped our butt,” Dillingham said. “The first time we’ve gotten whooped like that in a long time.”
The offense couldn’t generate much against a steady Utes defense either, despite being targeted 16 times; the junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson made just eight grabs for 40 yards, a season low.
Tyson’s numbers as a byproduct of a lack of rhythm at ASU had all game, totaling just 247 yards of offense, nearly 200 less than the 424.4 average the team’s carried through six games.
Despite this, the offense managed to generate good drives until the formidable red zone props its head up again.
The Sun Devils have struggled in the red zone all year, entering the game with the second-worst percentage in the conference, having scored 11 touchdowns on 22 red zone entries. Saturday, ASU would score just one third-quarter touchdown courtesy of Tyson on four red zone trips.
“Getting stopped in the red zone twice on two 14-plus play drives (hurt),” Dillingham elaborated. “I would think ‘we’re in this thing’ if you had told me the scenario. Three drives in the first half, two of them went for 14 plays, but that was not quite the scenario, because we got our butt kicked in the red zone.”
The road ahead gets no simpler for a wounded ASU team. Dillingham claimed there will likely be “a few guys missing for an extended period of time” after the game concluded, and its opponent next week is the hottest team in the conference, No. 9 Texas Tech.
“We just have to be better,” Dillingham relayed. “We got outphysicalled, we got outcoached, you’re not going to win a ton of football games if you’re not the most physical football team.
“If you want to beat, probably a top-five team in the country, in Texas Tech. Texas Tech played (Utah) and they won, and they won the line of scrimmage, which tells you what their front is like on both sides of the ball.”
The undefeated Red Raiders made their own trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Week 4; however, the high-flying program from Lubbock was able to pull away in the fourth quarter and leave with a commanding 34-10 victory.
For Dillingham, shaking off this game and preparing for Texas Tech with a clear mind is the most critical way to bounce back and prepare for an intimidating affair Next Saturday.
“I’m glad it’s only worth one,” Dillingham said on Utah’s loss. “The challenge is, can you flush it enough to make it only worth one game. That’s the hard part: how do you get it out of your system?”
