Utah will get another chance to get back in the thick of the Big 12 title chase when the Utes face No. 21 Arizona State in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.The Sun Devils (4-1, 2-0) are the second Top 25 opponent to visit Rice-Eccles Stadium in three weeks. Utah struggled on both sides of the ball the last time it faced a ranked opponent, falling 34-10 to then-No. 17 Texas Tech on Sept. 20.Arizona State is in a four-way tie for first place in the conference, and Utah is in a four-way tie in the middle.The season looks a lot less bleak now for the Utes than it did after they got manhandled by the Red Raiders.Utah (4-1, 1-1) got back on track with a 48-14 blowout victory at West Virginia on Sept. 27 in the Utes’ most recent game. The Utes scored touchdowns on five of their first six drives and never punted. They totaled 33 first downs and averaged 6.9 yards per play.Defensively, Utah allowed the Mountaineers to gain 95 total yards before halftime and shut them out until deep into the third quarter. West Virginia went 4-of-14 on third down and had only 14 first downs.”No sign of a hangover,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “They came out and played exceptional from the start and finished the game like we were supposed to. (We) had some really good performances.”Facing Arizona State offers a shot at redemption. The Utes have not won a conference game on their home turf since joining the Big 12 last season, going 0-5. But the Sun Devils won’t make it easy.Arizona State allows an average of just 78.2 rushing yards per game, second only to Texas Tech among Big 12 teams. The Sun Devils are particularly adept at disrupting quarterbacks, leading the league and ranking fourth nationally with 3.8 sacks per game.
