Utah uses strong fourth quarter to beat Arizona State and remain undefeated
Utah’s road to the College Football Playoff has fewer obstacles after the Utes used a 20-point fourth-quarter to secure a 34-18 win against Arizona State and stay undefeated.
It wasn’t pretty, but Utah’s defense helped get the Utes into the fourth quarter with a slim 18-14 deficit and the offense, which has been pedestrian in the past two games, used great field position to run away with the win.
Arizona State did everything it could to pull off the upset, but it was unable to dig Utah a deeper hole after the Utes were called for a safety that resulted in the 18-14 score. Moreover, poor special teams and a fumble led to three of Utah’s four fourth-quarter drives stating at the Arizona State 33-yard line or closer.
Every time Arizona State started to get offensive momentum, the Utah defense, especially its defensive line, was there to stem the tide. The Utes even ended the game with an interception.
Utah had 369 yards of total offense, but its running game, the part of its offense that has been dominant all year, was quiet. Booker finished with 21 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns, but the bulk of those yards came on a 62-yard touchdown run with 1:11 remaining, which was by far Booker’s longest run of the night.
But as Utah learned last week in its win against Cal, winning ugly doesn’t matter as long as the Utes win. With the victory, the Utes have a two-game lead on the next closest team in the Pac-12 South. Still, things don’t get easier next week against a USC team that’s desperately looking for a win and a chance to ruin another team’s season.
The Utes will have to get its offense back in sync for that contest. But for now, the Utes will continue to hold on to their spot near the top of the rankings as we inch closer to the first release of this year’s College Football Playoff standings
For more Utah news, visit Utezone.com.
For more Arizona State news, visit ASUDevils.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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