THE BASICS
Arizona State (3-3, 2-1) at UTAH (4-2, 1-2)
Kickoff: SATURDAY, 1:30 p.m. MT
Rice-Eccles Stadium (45,807)
FieldTurf
TV: FS1
Radio: ESPN 700AM
Series: Sun Devils lead 20-8
Weather: Sunny with temperatures in the low 50s.
THE STAKES
For Arizona State … The Sun Devils can seize control of the Pac-12 South with victories over Utah and USC the next two weeks.
For UTAH ... The Utes can ill-afford another conference setback. Their division title hopes are likely on the line from here on out.
THE TRENDS
For Arizona State … The Sun Devils are 0-2 on the road this season, losing at Texas Tech and Stanford — giving up a whopping 86 points over the two setbacks.
For UTAH ... The Utes enter the game on a two-game skid with losses to Pac-12 division leaders Stanford and USC. Utah does have two straight wins over ASU.
THE CRYSTAL BALL
Arizona State will win if ... The Sun Devils can continue the defensive mastery exhibited last week by holding Pac-12 favorite Washington to just seven points.
UTAH will win if ... The Utes are able to exorcise the Sun Devils as they have the past two seasons. They prevailed 34-18 in 2015 and 49-26 in 2016.
PLAYER TO WATCH
ZACK MOSS, Utah running back: The sophomore found his groove after rushing for a career-high 141 yards last week at USC?
KEY MATCHUP
UTAH’S OFFENSE VS. ASU’S DEFENSE: Regardless of who starts at quarterback — Tyler Huntley or Troy Williams — the Utes need to put a decent number of points on the board against ASU, just ask the Washington Huskies.
QUOTABLE
“Utah is a place that is very difficult to play because their fans do a pretty good job.” ”
— Arizona State coach Todd Graham
"They are coming off a big win, a huge win, against Washington. We have our work cut out for us this week.”
— Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
NEXT UP
Arizona State hosts USC next Saturday, while Utah is at Oregon.
UTAH SCHEDULE
Aug. 31 — NORTH DAKOTA, Won 37-16
Sept. 9 — at BYU, Won 19-13
Sept. 16 — SAN JOSE STATE, Won 54-16
Sept. 22 — at Arizona, Won 30-24
Oct. 7 — STANFORD, Lost 23-20
Oct. 14 — at USC, Lost 28-27
Oct. 21 — ARIZONA STATE, 1:30 (FS1)
Oct. 28 — at Oregon, 3:45 p.m. (P12N)
Nov. 3 — UCLA, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)
Nov. 11 — WASHINGTON STATE, TBD
Nov. 18 — at Washington, TBD
Nov. 25 — COLORADO, TBD
All times Mountain