Sun Devils Win Overtime Thriller Against Utes

We were given a great Pac-12 South game on Saturday night as Arizona State (7-1, 5-1) and Utah (6-2, 3-2) played even football after 60 minutes before a pair of missed field goals by Utah kicker Andy Phillips set up the Arizona State offense and Zane Gonzalez for a huge Pac-12 victory, 19-16.

Phillips, previously 17/19 on FGs on the season, missed a field goal to start the overtime period, but was bailed out after a timeout was called. He proceeded to miss his second chance as well however, giving Arizona State the chance for a win.

Arizona State moved the ball seven yards on their three offensive plays in overtime, setting up Gonzalez to be the hero. Gonzalez nailed his fourth field goal of the game in OT from 37-yards out and sent the Sun Devil Stadium crowd into hysterics.

It was the first overtime game at Sun Devil Stadium since a 37-30 ASU victory over Missouri in 2011. Arizona state is now 6-3 all-time in overtime contests.

Taylor Kelly finished 18 for 32 with 205 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also added 55 rushing yards to his totals with great field awareness on his read options.

Demario Richard, who won’t turn 18 until December, led the Sun Devils in rushing yards with 116 as he continuously picked up large chunks of yards at a time. DJ Foster chipped in with 10 carries for 53 yards on the ground as well.

The Utes were without their top receiving target in Dres Anderson and it definitely showed how prevalent Anderson is to the offense as Travis Wilson only accumulated 57 yards through the air. He tacked on 14 carries for 44 yards however as he seemed a lot more confident in the open field than he did in the pocket.

Tim Patrick was the leading receiver for Utah and he finished with a measly three catches for 33 yards. In fact, Patrick and Westlee Tonga were the only Utah receivers to total multiple receptions.

Devontae Booker had his fifth consecutive 100+ yard game as he totaled 137 yards in the game on 37 carries. Booker entered the contest as the 19th leading rusher in the nation. The Arizona State defense contained Booker all night as his longest run was only for 16 yards.

Arizona State out gained Utah 444 to 241. Both teams ran the ball efficiently, as the Sun Devils finished with 239 yards on the ground (most given up by Utah all season) and the Utes put up 184 rushing yards.

Utah came into the contest with 35 sacks in their first seven games to lead the nation and they added four more sacks to their season total. Arizona State sacked Wilson three times and to their credit pressured Wilson throughout the game.

Arizona State continues to hold sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 South. They control their own destiny the rest of the way in the South division.

The Sun Devils will host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish next Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium in a matchup of top-15 teams at the worst, with the potential of both teams moving into the top 10.