by Scott Funk (@scottfunk0)
SALT LAKE CITY – After back-to-back losses to Stanford and USC, the Utes (4-2,1-2) are looking to bounce back this Saturday up at Rice-Eccles Stadium when they welcome the Arizona State Sun Devils (3-3,2-1) to town.
Troy Williams got this second start of the year last week in the loss to USC, and could be the starter again this week against ASU in place of the injured Tyler Huntley. Last year when Williams faced the Sun Devils he threw for a career high 296 yard and four touchdowns.
The starting QB has yet to be announced, as coach Kyle Whittingham continues to keep injuries undisclosed unless the injury is season ending. However, Huntley did take his first reps and practiced for the first time since his injury earlier this week.
When asked how Huntley played during practice and his possibility of playing this week coach Whittingham had this to say:
“Everyone practices really well on this team. This is a good practicing team. There’s always a chance [Huntley] could play Saturday. Until they tell me he’s ruled out, theres always a chance.”
All eyes will be on the sideline tomorrow afternoon to see if Huntley is dressed and ready to go. As a starter, Huntley is 4-0 and has thrown for 966 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions. He is also Utah’s second-leading rusher with 52 yards per game for 208 total yards on the season and is tied for a team-high three rushing touchdowns. After being sidelined for the 2 weeks Huntley said he is “itchy” to get back on the field.
“I go in every week hoping that I get the chance to play,” Huntley said. “I haven’t ever been injured where I was out for the game. It was a little crazy, but I learned from it and took it to heart, and I’m just ready to play now. I took a couple reps [today], and thats about it, but it felt good to be back out there. I’ll be 100 percent ready to play on Saturday if they give me the go. If they give me the go next week then Ill be 100 percent. They won’t let me on the field until I’m 100 percent.”
Regardless of which QB plays, the Utes need to be ready to play on Saturday. ASU is coming off a huge win last week after knocking off then No. 5 in the country and undefeated Washington in Tempe 13-7 and are coming into Salt Lake riding their momentum.
The Utes haven’t had the best luck in years past when facing the Sun Devils. The Sun Devils hold a 20-8 overall record against the Utes, but have dropped the last two. The last game featured a Utah beatdown over ASU as the Utes won 49-26, after falling behind 13-0 in the first quarter.
For this weeks game, the Utes come into the game ranked eighth in the Pac-12 with 431.5 ypg in total offense including 162.2 on the ground and 269 through the air.
The Utes also rank third in defense in the Pac-12 allowing 350.3 ypg including 119.7 rush yards and 230.7 passing yards per game.
ASU comes into the game ranked 1oth in the Pac-12 in total offense with 403.2 ypg including 114.5 on the ground and 288.7 through the air.
The Sun Devils are also ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in total defense by giving up 441.8 ypg with 174 rush yards, and 267.8 passing yards per game.
The Utes will look to get just their second home win over the Sun Devils since 1973 on Saturday afternoon and get back in the winning column on the year. The game is scheduled to kick-off at 1:30 pm MDT. The game will be televised on FS1 and can be heard on ESPN 700.
