Arizona State vs. Utah: 3 bold predictions

Arizona State football looks to capture the elusive PAC 12 upset, this week at Utah May just be the perfect opportunity they have been waiting for.

The Arizona State Sun Devils travel to Salt Lake City, Utah this week to take on the Utah Utes. The Sun Devils have looked better this season than many expected, and have given a few of the top teams in the conference a scare, including the Washington Huskies a few weeks back.

Meanwhile, the Utes have been injury-stricken for the majority of the season and have not lived up to the preseason hype at this point. They seem to have finally landed on Bryson Barnes to be the quarterback the rest of the way, although there have been some struggles. Here are some predictions I have for how this matchup will go on Saturday.

1. Utah football will rush for less than 100 yards.

The Arizona State football rush defense is no picnic, and the Utes’ rushing attack has been less than impressive given their inability to open up the field with the passing game. This seems like another game where they will be running into an 8-man box quite often, and unless Barnes can make some solid plays, will have difficulty getting anything going on the ground.

Throughout the season, Utah has had 3-4 guys rotating through the backfield. In some cases, this would be fine as it can help keep players fresh. In this case, though, it seems to be due to the idea that they don’t have an elite running back option. I see them having a hard time moving the ball on the ground in this matchup.