Utah already has a win over a ranked opponent this year, sending Stanford home unhappy last month. The Utes would love nothing more than to get a second -- and with Arizona State coming to town, they’ll get their chance to do exactly that. Coming off a bye, Utah will be well rested and at home in trying to make the upset attempt.
How to watch Arizona State vs. Utah: Preview, TV time, odds and more
Rice-Eccles Stadium is not to be underestimated.
Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
For the Sun Devils, who have won three straight with 50-point outputs each time, the goal will simply be to take care of business. Taylor Kelly may be the best Pac-12 quarterback nobody is talking about, and he is quietly having a strong season with 23 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions.
The numbers
Rankings and records: Arizona State reached the ranks of the ranked this week, creeping its way up to No. 22. The Sun Devils are 18-6 all-time against Utah and have won nine in a row, the last two of which have come since Utah joined the conference.
Vegas: The Sun Devils opened as seven-point favorites.
Weather: Sunny with a high of 59 in Salt Lake City.
Three names to know
Mike Norvell (Arizona State offensive coordinator) -- In a conference with far more decorated offensive minds -- think Mark Helfrich, for example -- Norvell has quietly been fantastic. Now in his second year with Arizona State, he leads the 10th-ranked offense in the country, which is putting up 46.6 points per game.
Dres Anderson (Utah wide receiver) -- The only real offensive threat for the Utes, Anderson has as many receiving yards -- 642 -- as the team's next two most productive receivers put together. He has five touchdowns on the year.
Carl Bradford (Arizona State defensive end) -- With Will Sutton quieter than usual -- or perhaps directly benefiting because Will Sutton has been quieted -- Bradford has stepped up his game tremendously, leading the defense with 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Two things at stake
Atop the Pac-12 South at 4-1, the Sun Devils are very much in control of their own destiny, holding a one-game lead over Arizona and UCLA. A visit to the Rose Bowl still awaits, but if ASU wins out, it’ll be the South’s representative in the Pac-12 Championship Game. A loss here would not doom the Sun Devils, as they would still lead the division, but it would certainly be a huge blow for a team that just made the BCS rankings this week.
Utah is looking for bowl eligibility in these last four games, but will face Arizona State this weekend and No. 3 Oregon the next, meaning the matchups against Colorado and Washington State are essentially must-win games for the Utes. If they could sneak an upset here, it would certainly give them more leeway to reach the magic number of six.
How to witness
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks
Radio: Utah football radio affiliates | Arizona State broadcast: 92.3 FM KTAR
Stream: Pac-12.com; XFINITY subscribers can watch the game here.
Further reading
More reading on ASU at House of Sparky, including an analysis of the remaining schedule and a recap of last week’s win against Washington State. If you’d like the Utah perspective, visit Block U, where they’ve got some perspective on the ASU game. They’d prefer not to remember Utah’s last game against USC.
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