Arizona State outlasts Utah in overtime win
It may not have been the flashiest win, but Arizona State's 19-16 overtime victory over Utah was a big one for the Sun Devils, as it put them in position to crack the College Football Playoff should they win out.
Offense was hard to come by in this Pac-12 South rivalry game as both teams struggled to consistently move the ball.
After an uninspiring first half in which they struggled to put up six points, the Utes battled back in the third quarter as quarterback Travis Wilson connected with Devontae Booker to knot the game at 13-13.
The kickers took center stage from there.
Down 16-13, Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly had an opportunity to give his team the lead halfway through the fourth quarter, but failed to score a touchdown in the red zone, instead settling for a 30-yard field goal that tied the game at 16s.
After four quarters of hard-nosed defense, this one needed overtime.
Arizona State won the coin toss and gave Utah the ball, choosing to defend first.
After two Booker runs and an incomplete pass by Wilson, Utah kicker Andy Phillips, widely considered one of the best kickers in the nation, failed to connect on his 35-yard field goal, opening the door for Arizona State's Zane Gonzalez to kick a go-ahead field goal for the win.
Other than Booker, who managed 146 yards on 37 carries in addition to a four-yard touchdown grab, the Utes failed to muster up much offense in regulation against a stout Sun Devils defense that yielded only 10 points to both Stanford and Washington.
In a game that can only be described as a defensive struggle, both Kelly and Wilson had arguably their worst performances of the season.
Kelly, who completed 18-of-32 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown with an interception, was marginally better than Wilson, who managed to complete 12-of-22 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
With the Utes hosting No. 5 Oregon and the Sun Devils hosting No. 10 Notre Dame next week, both teams will have to find a way to rectify their offensive deficiencies if they hope to compete against two of college football's elite programs.