Winning a football game requires a team to both limit their turnovers and execute for a full sixty minutes.
The Utah Utes did neither in Saturday’s 35- 14 loss to No. 22 ASU.
Despite taking a 14-10 lead early in the third quarter, Utah (2-3, 0-3 Pac-12) turned the ball over three times in seven plays and allowed ASU (5-1, 3-0) to score 25 unanswered second half points.
“"I was very surprised,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We came out with some resolve and scored on that first drive. Then when you start turning the ball over, most games will get away from you.”
Turnovers always swing the momentum of football games and this one was no different. For the second consecutive week, the Utes turned the ball over five times.
“The wheels came off and we started to turn the ball over,” Whittingham said. “We'll start winning games when we stop turning the ball over. That's the bottom line. Until that happens, it's going to be a long road, so that's our biggest issue right now.
“The defense hung in there very well as long as they could, but whatever spot you're put in as a defense, you have to try to rally up and make a stop. We just have to figure out a way to win our next game.”
Junior quarterback Jon Hays, who was making his first career start, completed passes to eight different Utes and threw for 199 yards, but inexperience was evident in his decision-making.
"He did some good things, especially for a first-time starter against a pretty athletic defense,” Whittingham said. “But we have to take care of the football, we had some interceptions that really hurt us and we turned the ball over in the red zone again. He's a tough and competitive kid. He has a strong arm and has some attributes that are positive. But we can't win any games with five turnovers."
Hays was also critical of his performance.
"I played okay, beside the turnovers,” Hays said. “The offense goes as I go and when I turn the ball over three times, it's not going to help. That pick at the end of the first half took three points off the board. I put the defense in a terrible spot. That could have been a 14-point swing. You never know what could have happened on that drive. I'm just disappointed in how I played."
Understandably the Utes were disappointed in their performance, but there were some positives as the run defense really stood out.
Utah held ASU to just 74 yards on the ground, which is 66 yards below their season average.
"We played the run pretty tough throughout the second half,” Whittingham said. “That was the problem last week. We played really well against the run in the first half then were very porous in the second half. (ASU) only ran for 74 yards on us. That will put you in the top 10 in the nation if you're going to do that every week. We have to do more than just stop the run, though."
Despite their winless conference record, Utah still believes they can win and feels they belong in the Pac-12.
"We are still confident in one another,” junior receiver Reggie Dunn said. “We're just going to continue to play hard the rest of the season. We're going to come in on Monday and watch the film then get ready to work and to play at Pitt. We're down because we lost, but we have to come back strong the next week.
“Obviously, we know we can play with these guys. You've seen that over the last couple of week against USC, Washington and Arizona State."
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
