This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

TEMPE, Ariz. • It all was laid out there in front of them like a pretty stretch of green turf taking them to the promised land.

With USC losing to Stanford last week and Oregon State upsetting UCLA earlier Saturday, the Utah Utes were in prime position to take control of the Pac-12 South with a win over Arizona State.

Utah instead was tossed onto the pile of losers almost like a Pac-12 afterthought by the Sun Devils, who looked like the real contender Saturday against the Utes.

ASU took advantage of three straight Utah turnovers to turn a close game into a 35-14 win when these teams met last year. The Sun Devils didn't need any such help Saturday. They dominated the Utes on both sides of the ball and enjoyed a 31-7 halftime lead.

That the Utes had trouble moving the ball against ASU wasn't too much of a surprise, given Utah's ineffective run game this season with John White's ankle injury and ASU's solid passing defense.

The eye-opener of the night was the way in which ASU was able to chew up huge chunks of turf against Utah's defense.

Defensive end Joe Kruger missed the game with a foot injury, but his absence was little excuse for the Utes, who allowed the Sun Devils to score on their first three drives in seven plays or fewer.

By the time the first quarter ended, the Utes were down 21-0 and looking like a team desperate to avoid an embarrassing rout, forget showing any potency that would make it a South title leader.

White started the game for the Utes, but the running back struggled, gaining just 17 yards on eight carries. A fumble by White midway through the first quarter was recovered on Utah's 34-yard line to set up ASU's third scoring drive.

The lone bright spot in the half was running back Kelvin York, a junior college transfer who has struggled to live up to his billing until Saturday.

York, who replaced White in the second quarter, bulldozed his way through the Sun Devils' defense to key the Utes' second-quarter scoring drive.

He was responsible for 70 of Utah's 83 yards rushing in the first half.

Quarterback Jon Hays, who played one of the best games of his career against BYU, was 6 of 8 for 73 yards and was sacked three times in the first half.

By comparison, Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly was 13 of 17 for 259 yards and three touchdowns. —