Time, Place and [Radio Waves in] Space • The Utes’ second Pac-12 home game of the season will take place at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. You can watch on FS1 or listen on ESPN 700 AM, Sirius 83/XM 83.
Line • Utah is a 9.5-point favorite as of Friday.
Opposing coach • Todd Graham is in his sixth season at Arizona State. He won the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award in 2013. Their 39 wins in the previous five years were the most in a five-year span for the program since 1978-82. His prior head coaching stints included Pittsburgh (2011), Tulsa (2007-2010) and Rice (2006).
Utah ties • Graham got hired by Steve Kragthorpe as defensive coordinator at Tulsa in 2003. Steve Kragthorpe is the son of former BYU coach and former Utah State player and administrator Dave Kragthorpe. Steve is also the brother of current Tribune sports columnist Kurt Kragthorpe.
Pregame quotable • ASU coach Todd Graham: “Obviously, [Tyler] Huntley is the guy that maybe – just from what we’ve seen on film – they feel a lot more confident in him throwing the ball down the field. So he’s a guy that’s going to see a lot more passes than with Troy [Williams]. Just different things, more [run-pass option] stuff with Huntley. They’re very similar. They don’t change the system much. They’ve both very very athletic and both very very strong arms. I’ll tell you the thing I’m impressed with is how well they throw the ball down the field.”
Media guide nugget • ASU defensive backs coach T.J. Rushing was a member of the Stanford track and field team from 2003-04 and competed in the 100 meters, 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay. He ran the lead leg on of the 4x100-meter relay team in 2004 that broke a long-standing school record with a time of 39.71 seconds.
Telling stat • Arizona State is the least-penalized team in the Pac-12 and has the fourth-fewest penalty yards per game in FBS (32). The Utes have struggled with penalties all season. They head into this weekend averaging more than double (77.83 penalty yards per game) ASU’s average, and only UCLA and Oregon give up more penalty yards per game.
Sun Devils offensive outlook • Seven starters return from last season, including all three interior offensive linemen. Quarterback Manny Wilkins ranks 10th nationally with a 92.5 QB rating under pressure. He enters this week having completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,697 yards (282.8 ypg) and eight touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver N’Keal Harry earned Freshman All-America honors form Scout, Pro Football Focus and Campus Insiders last season. This season, he already has 555 yards on 43 catches. ASU ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game (288.7). Senior running back Kalen Ballage, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound Colorado native, rushed for 14 touchdowns last season. This year, he leads the team in rushing yards (303) while sharing carries with Demario Richard (216 yards). The duo has combined to averaged 93.7 rushing yards per game.
Sun Devils defensive outlook • Five starters return from last year’s defense, four of them among the front seven. This defensive unit recorded five sacks last week and held previously-unbeaten Washington to 230 yards of offense and seven points. Defensive lineman Tashon Smallwood already has four sacks after having had three all last season. Last year’s leading tackler DJ Calhoun, a senior linebacker, has 54 tackles this season. Redshirt junior linebacker Christian Sam has a team-high 58 tackles. ASU has two interceptions this season.
Sun Devils special teams outlook • ASU has replaced both last year’s kicker and punter. Freshman kicker Brandon Ruiz has gone 8-for-12 on field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards. Redshirt sophomore punter Michael Sleep-Dalton, a resident of Australia, has averaged 39.10 yards per punt and has four punts of 50 yards or more.
Injury report • ASU: Senior linebacker Koron Crump has not played since Sept. 16 due to a knee injury. He’s been ruled out indefinitely. Defensive lineman Alani Latu (leg) and wide receiver Ryan Jenkins (arm/shoulder) have also been sidelined recently. Jenkins is not expected to play on Saturday. Utah: Quarterback Tyler Huntley (shoulder) returned to practice this week after having missed the past two games (three weeks). Safety Chase Hansen (shoulder) and defensive ends Bradlee Anae (leg) and Kyle Fitts (ankle) all finished last week’s game sidelined as did wide receiver Raelon Singlerton (shoulder). The Utes do not provide injury updates and practices are closed to media.
Three Big Questions
1. Will Tyler Huntley return to the Utes starting lineup and if so, how will the offense look with him playing for the first time since September 22?
The Utes played slightly more than one quarter against a Pac-12 opponent with Huntley at the helm of the new offense installed by offensive coordinator Troy Taylor. If Huntley returns, can they pick up where they left off or will Huntley be limited by health or a higher-caliber opponent? A case could be made for either. Rust could also be a factor for the sophomore who has four career starts.
2. Does the Utes’ secondary have the will, skill and athleticism to slow Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry?
The 6-foot-4, 216-pound Harry is a matchup nightmare. The Utes are coming off of a game in which they gave up 358 yards passing to USC. With a defense that traditionally requires its defensive backs to play a lot of man-to-man defense, Harry could put a lot of pressure on the Utes secondary and potentially come up with multiple big plays. He had 170 yards on seven catches against Oregon earlier this season. He’s got 263 of his 555 yards after the catch this season.
3. Is Sack Lake City going to put itself back on the map?
The Utes defense has gone back-to-back games without a sack. Part of the problems have clearly had to do with injuries to Anae and Fitts, but the Utes have also come up short when bringing blitzes after the quarterback. The Utes have given up more sacks (12) than they’ve accumulated this season (11). They currently rank ninth in the Pac-12 in sacks.