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Micah Bernard eclipses the century mark, but No. 16 Utes falls to Sun Devils on the road
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Micah Bernard eclipses the century mark, but No. 16 Utes falls to Sun Devils on the road

TEMPE, Ariz. – It was kind of a Micah Bernard night.

But Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo was better.

Bernard capped a 12-play, 79-yard drive late in the third quarter to give the Utes their first touchdown of the game, and a narrow 16-13 lead as the veteran tailback put an otherwise offensive offense on his back for No. .16Utah.

But Skattebo piled up 158 yards on 22 carries, including touchdown runs of 50 and 47 yards, as the Sun Devils cruised past the Utes 27-19 on Friday night before an on-field rush at Mountain America Stadium.

Utah (4-2, 1-2 Big 12) had a chance to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter, but a holding penalty pushed Utah back 10 yards, allowing starting quarterback Cam Rising, who made his return under center made, don’t do that. not picking up enough yards on third- and fourth-down throws.

Bernard finished the night with 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries – his fourth game this season eclipsing the 100-yard mark.

But outside of Bernard, nothing went right for Utah.

After a disappointing loss at home to Arizona and a bye week, Utah couldn’t get much going on either side of the ball. To make matters worse, Rising suffered a leg injury just over a minute into the match.

The seventh-year quarterback continued to make plays but struggled to connect with receivers or get out of the pocket to extend plays. He looked uncomfortable and had trouble moving the chains. But he kept playing and finished throwing for 209 yards and three interceptions, completing 16 of 37 passes and adding another turnover on downs in the second half.

On defense, Utah was without four starters — Connor O’Toole, Karene Reid, Sione Fotu and Keanu Tanuvasa — and couldn’t contain dual-threat quarterback Sam Leavitt. The Utes were able to get the Sun Devils into third, fourth and long situations, but the defense lost control and Leavitt easily picked up first downs.

Even as Utah’s offense started clicking and got into the red zone for the first time of the night, Rising threw his first interception of the game. The Utes pulled within 20-19 on Cole Becker’s 46-yard field goal with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter.

But the visitors couldn’t get any closer as Skattebo capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with a 47-yard score with 2:41 remaining to help Arizona State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) clear the rink freeze. game before Rising’s third pick.

This story will be updated.