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Utah pounds Arizona State behind Devon Dampier's big night on the ground

Utes cruise by Sun Devils, 42-10, for win No. 5 on the season
Cole Forsman|
Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) runs for a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) runs for a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

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Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham admitted during his weekly press conference that he should’ve recruited Utah quarterback Devon Dampier harder when he was coming out of high school.

Saturday’s performance from the Saguaro High School (Arizona) only validated Dillingham's sentiment.

Dampier had his way with the Sun Devils defense, rushing for a season-high 120 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Utes to a 42-10 victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Heading into the pivotal Week 7 tilt, Dillingham noted how difficult it’d be to defend the Utes’ multi-layered offense. That much was true as well — Utah’s triple-option had the visitors searching for answers all night long, as Dampier and company racked up 276 yards and six touchdowns on the ground against the Big 12’s No. 2-ranked run defense.

The Sun Devils entered the night allowing just 78.2 rushing yards per game. Dampier exceeded that total himself, becoming the first Utah signal-caller to have 100 rushing yards in a game since Travis Wilson accomplished the feat in 2015 against Oregon. It was the seventh 100-yard rushing game of Dampier's career and his first since joining the Utes.

Meanwhile, the Utes' defense held strong against a Sun Devils squad that clearly missed Sam Leavitt’s services under center. Backup quarterback Jeff Sims was aggressive from the get-go but ultimately couldn’t establish a solid rhythm, finishing 18-of-38 through the air for 124 yards.

All-American wide receiver Jordyn Tyson was Sims’ favorite target, though Utah’s secondary was up to the challenge. Tyson finished with eight catches for 40 yards and had a rushing touchdown on a jet sweep.

The win for the Utes snapped their five-game home losing streak against Big 12 teams, while the Sun Devils had their eight-game win streak against conference foes broken.

Here is the live updates recap:

4TH QUARTER RECAP

Utes bend but don't break: Arizona State chewed about 7 minutes off the clock but couldn't score points up on the scoreboard to show for it, giving Utah the ball back on its own 3-yard line after back-to-back incompletions from Jeff Sims on third and fourth down. Utah even gave its opposition life earlier in the series, when Dallas Vakalahi was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty after slamming Arizona State running back Demarius Robinson to the ground on third-and-16 (42-10, 3:14).

Touchdown Utes!: Byrd Ficklin rushed to the right for a 4-yard touchdown, extending the Utes' lead while recording his third rushing touchdown of his young collegiate career (42-10, 10:05).

Byrd Ficklin in the game: Utah's backup quarterback subbed in for Devon Dampier to close out the fourth quarter (35-10, 11:49).

Three straight Utah sacks: After John Henry Daley collapsed the pocket and helped bring down Jeff Sims, Levani Damuni got to the quarterback on a blitz to force third-and-31. Henry Daley struck again on the ensuing play, resulting in a third consecutive sack for the Utes' defense (35-10, 11:49).

3RD QUARTER RECAP

Touchdown Dampier!: Arizona State's struggles against Utah's triple-option continued, as Dampier froze the Sun Devils with a potential pitch and instead kept it for himself for his third rushing touchdown of the night (35-10, 0:45).

Dampier crosses 100 yards: Utah's quarterback continued to gash Arizona State's defense on the ground, crossing the 100-yard threshold on a 22-yard keeper to set the Utes up on the Sun Devils' 11-yard line (28-10, 2:05).

Dallen Bentley on third down again: Devon Dampier finds his trusty tight end on third-and-8 to move the chains with an 11-yard gain. Utah improved to 3-for-6 on third down with that converison (28-10, 3:29).

Arizona State touchdown: Jordan Tyson took a jet sweep from Jeff Sims and beat Smith Snowden to the corner for his team's first touchdown of the night. The Sun Devils were set up with first and goal after the Utes were called for a delay of game penalty on fourth-and-1, as the defensive line simulated the start of a play and caused Arizona State's offensive line to jump, resulting in a fresh set of downs (28-10, 4:32).

Fumble?: The referee crew had trouble determining whether Raleek Brown fumbled after an 8-yard pick up, as one ref waved him down while another signaled Utah ball. Brown was ruled down upon further review, setting up the Sun Devils with possession inside the red zone (28-3, 6:36).

A near takeaway for Utah: Jackson Bennee nearly had his fourth interception of the season, but couldn't get his hands underneath Jeff Sims' errant pass over the middle (28-3, 8:35).

Touchdown Utes!: Devon Dampier pitched it to NaQuari Rogers with his left hand on a speed option, and the senior running back did the rest. Rogers' 2-yard touchdown extended the Utes' lead and capped off a five-play, 68-yard scoring drive (28-3, 11:00).

Big play through the air!: Devon Dampier patiently waited for Ryan Davis to break wide open off a double move, resulting in a 56-yard gain following a catch-and-run from the former New Mexico wide receiver. Utah had a first down from Arizona State's 13-yard line (13:14).

Utah forces three-and-out to start second half: Jeff Sims' pass to Chamon Metayer on third-and-4 fell incomplete, resulting in a three-and-out to start the second half. Utah started its ensuing drive on its own 32-yard line (21-3, 13:43).

HALFTIME RECAP

Ground and pound: Facing the No. 2 run defense in the Big 12, Utah imposed its will on the ground throughout the first half to take a 21-3 lead into the break. Led by Devon Dampier (7 attempts, 87 yards and two touchdowns), the Utes racked up 183 rushing yards against a Sun Devils team that entered the game allowing just 78.2 yards on the ground to their opponents.

Utah's secondary passing its test: Despite inclement weather, the Sun Devils weren't afraid to let it rip with Jeff Sims under center. The sixth-year veteran completed 10 of his 18 pass attempts in the first half, six of which went to All-American wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. Even so, Utah's secondary — namely Smith Snowden and Blake Cotton — smothered Tyson during Arizona State's two trips to the red zone, limiting the Sun Devils to two field goal tries (one of which was blocked).

Arizona State not afraid of fourth down: Utah limited the visitors to 3-for-9 on third down, but that didn't stop Arizona State from converting three fourth down tries in the first half.

2ND QUARTER RECAP

Touchdown Utah!: The Utes leaned on the ground game toward the end of the first half and it paid off, as NaQuari Rogers took advantage of some great blocks by Utah's wide receivers to break off a 22-yard touchdown run and cap off a six-play, 75-yard drive. Five of those plays were runs, resulting in 71 yards and the third touchdown of the night (21-3, 1:12).

Dampier continues to torch Arizona State: Following a 10-yard rush on first down, Devon Dampier kept the rock for a 19-yard gain to set up the Utes on the Arizona State 39-yard line with 2 minutes left in the half. Dampier had six rushes for 74 yards and two touchdowns once the 2-minute timeout hit.

Utah stops Arizona State in red zone: After Smith Snowden played perfect defense on Jordyn Tyson to force an incompletion on third down, Jackson Bennee made an incredible individual effort to block Arizona State's 29-yard field goal attempt, keeping the Sun Devils off the board and giving Utah's offense the ball on its own 25-yard line (14-3, 3:05).

Sun Devils near the green zone: Jeff Sims snuck up the middle on fourth-and-1 to move the ball to the Utes' 28-yard line (14-3, 5:59).

Strange penalty on Smith Snowden: It didn't appear Smith Snowden made much contact with Malik McClain, but the referees thought otherwise and threw a flag on the Utes defensive back — much to the displeasure of the home crowd (14-3, 9:48).

Arizona State keeps drive alive: Jackson Bennee made an impressive play on Jordyn Tyson to force a third-and-1 situation, but the Sun Devils moved the chains courtesy of a 4-yard rush from Raleek Brown. Arizona State improved to 1-for-5 on third down (14-3, 10:21).

Dampier again!: Devon Dampier kept it himself on an option play and bursted up the middle for a 24-yard touchdown run, extending the Utes lead to double-digits (14-3, 11:27).

Utes pick up fourth down conversion: Devon Dampier kept the rock after faking a handoff to Daniel Bray, rushed left and picked up 5 yards on fourth-and-2 to keep Utah's third drive of the game alive (7-3, 12:21).

Utes force three-and-out: A couple of negative plays on first and second down, including a bizarre screen pass that went for no gain to end the first quarter, forced the Sun Devils into a third-and-long situation. Jeff Sims scrambled for a solid gain but was stopped short of the line to gain, resulting in a punt from Arizona State (7-3, 14:32).

1ST QUARTER RECAP

Utes have to punt: Arizona State didn't bite on the play action from Utah on third-and-5 and nearly made the Utes pay, as Adrian Wilson nearly picked off Devon Dampier on a pass intended for Dallen Bentley. Utah punted to Arizona State's 16-yard line on fourth down (7-3, 0:47).

Sun Devils get three points on the board: After a holding penalty knocked Arizona State out of the red zone and Jeff Sims threw two straight incompletions while targeting Jordyn Tyson, Sun Devils kicker Jesus Gomez made a 38-yard field goal on fourth-and-13, capping off a 13-play, 54-yard drive that saw two fourth down conversions from the visitors (7-3, 2:34).

Smith Snowden flagged: Utah's cornerback was flagged for pass interference while trying to defend a pass to Jordyn Tyson, giving the Sun Devils a new set of downs on the Utes' 18-yard line. (7-0, 4:08).

Arizona State moves the chains: Jordyn Tyson picked up just enough on a screen pass to move the chains on fourth-and-7, setting his team up on Utah's 33-yard line (7-0, 5:36).

Utah stuffs the run on third down: Raleek Brown got stuffed on third-and-9, setting up another go-for-it situation for the Sun Devils (7-0, 6:13).

Sun Devils get gutsy: It looked like the Utes forced a three-and-out, but the Sun Devils decided to keep the offense on the field on fourth down in their own territory before picking up a first down courtesy of Raleek Brown (7-0, 8:05).

Dampier touchdown!: Utah's quarterback capped off a 14-play, 75-yard drive that included three third down conversions and a successful fourth down attempt with a 12-yard score on fourth-and-2 to put his team on the scoreboard first. That was Dampier's third rushing touchdown of the season (7-0, 9:56).

Wayshawn Parker powers ahead: Utah converts its third consecutive third down try after Wayshawn Parker went up the middle for 5 yards down to the Sun Devils' 15-yard line (0-0, 11:36).

Arizona State jumps offsides: Keyshaun Elliott bit on the snap count, granting the Utes a free 5 yards and a new set of downs on third-and-5 (0-0, 12:30).

Dallen Bentley moves the chains: Devon Dampier completes his first pass of the game to his tight end on third-and-7 for a gain of 13 yards (0-0, 14:29).

Utah starts with the ball: Arizona State won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Utes offense a chance to put up points first.

PREGAME

Lightning threat has passed: Kickoff has been delayed to 8:25 p.m. MT, though the threat of lightning has passed. Arizona State players took the field for pregame warm-ups around 15 minutes before the latest weather update was issued, followed closely by Utah.

Pregame activities delayed: A status update is expected to come at 7:50 p.m. MT. For now, all pregame activities are in a weather delay.

Fans warned to seek shelter: Fans who are outside the stadium, with tickets, have been encouraged to enter the stadium to seek shelter on the concourse, or return to their vehicles.

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman has been a contributor with On SI for the past three years, covering college athletics. He holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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