Redshirt junior Taylor Kelly passed the ball to redshirt senior Kevin Ozier during the game against Washington. The Sun Devils are ranked No. 22 in the BCS Standings and go on to play Utah this weekend. (Photo by Diana Lustig)To this day, Todd Graham remains gracious of how Dennis Erickson passed on the ASU head football coaching job back in December of 2011.
“I asked him for the opportunity of visiting him, and he visited me,” Graham said. “He gave me the lay of the land, and I have nothing but respect from him in my standpoint.”
Graham is in year two of his coaching stint at ASU and Erickson is Utah’s co-offensive coordinator under coach Kyle Whittingham.
When the No. 22 Sun Devils (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) visit the Utes on Saturday, it will be the first battle between ASU’s incumbent coach and his predecessor.
Utah is coming off a bye week while the Sun Devils are coming off more than a week of extended rest after defeating Washington State 55-21 last Thursday.
Some of Erickson’s former recruits are still Sun Devils and most of them are the team’s leaders — like redshirt junior quarterback Taylor Kelly, senior tight end Chris Coyle, redshirt senior defensive end Will Sutton and senior safety Alden Darby just to name a few.
“It’s exciting, because I’ve never went against him,” Darby said. “I’ve never seen him as an offensive coordinator.”
The Sun Devils, looking for their second road win of the season, know Rice-Eccles Stadium is not an easy place to play in on the road.
Despite losing to Oregon State and No. 19 UCLA at home earlier this season, the Utes handed No. 5 Stanford their first loss of the season on Oct. 12. Rice-Eccles Stadium stands just under mile-high elevation and winter temperatures are expected for Saturday’s game.
“They’re very capable,” Darby said of the Utes. “Well-coached, play well at home and have a good home crowd. They beat Stanford and a lot of their games are close. They’re a good team.”
Graham has praised the Utes' toughness throughout the year, something he cited after their win against Stanford earlier this season as an example of how competitive the Pac-12 is.
“Utah is dramatically improved offensively in what they’re doing and how they’re doing it,” Graham said. “Coach Whittingham and his coordinators got his guys playing with a spirit. That’s how you got to play this game.”
Utes sophomore quarterback Travis Wilson has been battling an injury on his throwing hand for the past couple of games but ASU is expecting him to play on Saturday.
“When he’s healthy, he’s a really good player,” Graham said.
Hardly anything about Utah stands out this season statistically, and the Utes are in the middle in almost every category. The Utes are second in the Pac-12 in sacks with 27 but last in the Pac-12 in interceptions with two.
Graham again mentioned the attitude the Utes play with but still found one weakness.
“They’re very good,” Graham said. “Very solid on special teams; they get after it, attack on defense. The only thing you see on film that’s hurt them is turning the ball over.”
As the Sun Devils are headed into their ninth game of the season, Graham’s approach toward each game hardly changes. He believes ASU has a winning formula, and it’s just a matter of execution.
“We got to go and do the things we do to win football games," Graham said. "That’s taking care of the ball, win on special teams and don’t give them cheap ones,”
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
