TEMPE – The Arizona State Sun Devils have already surpassed their win total from the previous two seasons, but still have a long way to go before they become a program like No. 16 Utah.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham has great admiration for Utes coach Kyle Whittingham, but his ASU football team lost 55-3 last year in its first attempt to beat the gold standard. Oregon defeated Utah 20-7 in Dillingham’s lone effort while he was offensive coordinator at Oregon a year earlier.

However, Friday will mark the first time Dillingham leads a team against Utah that feels like it’s his, instead of Herm Edwards’ Sun Devils or Dan Lanning’s Ducks.

That was evident in ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt’s comments on the TV broadcast after the win over Kansas and Cam Skattebo’s rush on Dillingham during the post-game press conference.

Whittingham has already gotten wind of the buy-in Dillingham has earned in his second season.

“They obviously believe in what he coaches,” Whittingham said on his weekly show on ESPN 700. “They’re just better in all areas. I don’t know how to say it other than that they have improved talent-wise, but they also perform better and just play better defense. I just upgraded everything they do.”

Dillingham said Monday that he has studied Utah’s blueprint, as he has tried to implement at ASU.

“Until the last few years, they never won recruitment, they were never in the spotlight. They signed the guys they thought were the best players to fit their team. And then they repeated it,” Dillingham said. “They just trusted what they thought they wanted, they didn’t care what other people thought and they signed those guys, and they built a culture of toughness.”

Dillingham also joked that he hopes Whittingham retires today so the two can have a long conversation about how Whittingham has retained his staff as well as he has.

But as much as Dillingham views Utah as a model, he made it clear this week that it’s all about the Sun Devils playing their own game. He’s not too concerned about the Utes’ unclear quarterback situation or plans to beat Utah’s stingy defense. Instead, he wants his players to execute the way they prepared.

On Wednesday, Dillingham said he sees the game less as an indicator of how good this year’s Sun Devils are and more as a reminder of the steps they still need to take. That will tell them how far they have to go to reach the level of consistency Utah has achieved in Whittingham after nearly two decades as a head coach.

What should ASU football expect from Utah’s offense and defense?

Regardless of whether Utah rolls out quarterback Cam Rising or backup Isaac Wilson on Friday, the Utes have a solid supporting cast on offense to make their lives easier.

Running backs are crucial to taking the load off a quarterback, and Utah has a good one in Micah Bernard. He has averaged 109.4 yards per game in his career and has multiple runs of over 60 yards.

Utah has dominated time of possession, even without Rising for all but two halves. It’s their identity, no matter who’s in the middle, and Bernard is a big reason for that.

Former Arizona Wildcat Dorian Singer is one of Utah’s best receivers, and there are also two veteran tight ends to keep an eye on. This could be especially difficult for ASU to do without linebacker Keyshaun Elliott for the first half after he was called for targeting in the win over Kansas.

Brant Kuithe is the next in a long line of tight ends in Utah, earning All-Pac-12 honors three times. Caleb Lohner is in his first year of football after four years of basketball at BYU and Baylor. Lohner has three catches for three scores so far, all in the red zone.

On defense, Utah likes to pack the box and play man coverage at the back. That could create one-on-one success for ASU’s passing game, similar to how the Sun Devils played with Jordyn Tyson in one-on-one late in the win at Kansas.

However, Arizona State’s run game will be crucial in unleashing a strong pass rush, including Utah pass rusher Van Fillinger, who has four sacks, two QB hits and four hurries in five games.

Whittingham praised both Leavitt and Skattebo early this week for the way they have led ASU’s rushing attack. Therefore, the offensive line is the group that Arizona State needs the most to have a good game in order to win. The line is having its best game of the season so far, allowing just two pressures on the Kansas defense.

How to watch, listen to Arizona State-Utah

The game kicks off from Mountain America Stadium on Friday evening at 7:30 PM MST.

Listen to play-by-play coverage on the Arizona Sports app, ESPN 620, 98.7 FM-HD 2 or online. Pregame coverage begins at 5:00 PM MST.

ESPN will provide the TV broadcast.