TEMPE – Caleb McCullough had the game of his life in Arizona State’s 27-19 victory over No. 16 Utah at Mountain America Stadium on Friday, leading an outstanding defensive effort in an upset win.

ASU (5-1, 2-1 in Big 12) benefited from his 12 tackles and two interceptions, including one as Utah (4-2, 1-2) made its final attempt at a comeback.

“It meant a lot to me to know we got the win. I do what I can to win,” McCullough said of his game-ending interception. “I’m not really a stat player. … This is my last year in college, and my main goal is just to win.”

The linebacker is one of a handful of Sun Devils left from before Kenny Dillingham’s acquisition, and his determination to persevere and wait his turn paid off on Friday.

“I’ve put in a lot of work to get to this position and I just tell my family and everything that one day I’ll get my chance,” McCullough said. “If you get that opportunity, the work will show, and tonight it showed.”

The extra chance came when green spot linebacker Keyshaun Elliott sat out the first half after the targeting penalty from the week before. But even when Elliott returned to the field for the second half, McCullough remained on the field because of his production.

“Caleb is one of my favorite kids on the team because he just does whatever you ask,” Dillingham said. “He’s bigger than ever, he’s faster than ever and he’s playing better football than he’s ever played.”

“That’s a guy who was here through all the shit. He was here when all the bad things happened,” Dillingham added.

The head coach said that after each of the past three to nine seasons, he had begged McCullough to hold on, adding that the linebacker deserved a game ball for his contributions.

Where else did Arizona State’s defense shine versus Utah?

Arizona State’s defense showed plenty of poise as its backs were against the wall for the second week in a row, holding Utah without points on turnovers, just as they did against Kansas a week earlier.

Dillingham praised the group for how they held their own on home turf, holding off multiple Utah attacks and holding the Utes to four field goals and one touchdown.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham spoke in the week leading up to the game that red zone efficiency was a focus during their bye week, but it was the Sun Devil defense that came up big there.

While previous ASU defenses have relied on bend-don’t-break with mixed results, this was a performance that looked good.