Zack Moss, No. 13 Utah Earn Crucial 21-3 Pac-12 Win over No. 17 Arizona State

No. 13 Utah won an important Pac-12 matchup on Saturday after beating No. 17 Arizona State 21-3 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

Edge-rusher Bradlee Anae's three sacks paced a dominant Utes defense that allowed just 136 yards from scrimmage.

Offensively, running back Zack Moss' 177 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns led the Utes. The senior also became the school's all-time rushing leader.

Running back Jaylen Dixon scored the other Utah touchdown:

Arizona State forced four Utah turnovers, but the Sun Devils could not capitalize.

Utah moved to 3-1 in the Pac-12 South. Arizona State fell to 2-2 in the Pac-12 and 5-2 overall.

Notable Performances

ASU QB Jayden Daniels: 4-of-18, 25 passing yards, 1 INT

ASU RB Eno Benjamin: 15 carries, 104 rushing yards

Utah QB Tyler Huntley: 12-of-19, 171 passing yards, 1 INT; 4 carries, 32 rushing yards

Utah RB Zack Moss: 25 carries, 99 rushing yards, 2 TD; 3 receptions, 78 receiving yards

Arizona State's Jekyll-and-Hyde Season Continues

Is there a more inconsistent team in the country than Arizona State?

The Sun Devils have road wins over Michigan State and Cal, who were ranked 18th and 15th in the AP Top 25 poll, respectively, at the time of those victories.

On the flip side, they struggled to beat Division I-FCS Sacramento State 19-7, snuck by the only Pac-12 team without a conference win entering Saturday in Washington State and lost at home to Colorado, who sits last in the Pac-12 South.

A road matchup against No. 13 Utah was the Sun Devils' toughest test yet, but they could not pull through on a night where the offense simply couldn't get anything going.

Jayden Daniels completed just four passes in the midst of facing relentless pressure. Four of their first-half drives ended in three-and-outs.

Arizona State tried to reshuffle their offensive line multiple times to counter, per Doug Haller of The Athletic:

But nothing worked, and now the Sun Devils will enter Sunday looking up at three teams in the Pac-12 South race for a conference championship game bid.

The rest of the Pac-12 slate won't be easy. A home game against No. 12 Oregon looms, as does a matchup with a USC team that beat Utah and only lost to No. 8 Notre Dame by three on the road.

But the Sun Devils team that showed up against Michigan State and Cal and earned crucial road wins can beat anyone left on the slate.

It might be too late for a shot at the Rose Bowl with Utah now a game ahead in the standings, but Arizona State can still finish strong if it's more consistent.

Utah's Defense Stifles Sun Devils Attack

The night of Sept. 20 is in the Utes' rearview mirror.

On that evening, Utah visited a USC team that turned to third-string quarterback Matt Fink after backup Kedon Slovis suffered a game-ending injury in the first quarter.

All Fink did was complete 21 of 30 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns.

The vaunted Utah defense took a massive hit, but to the Utes' credit, they've turned it up since that loss.

One week later, Utah held Washington State to just one touchdown and a pair of field goals in a 38-13 win. Washington State averaged 52.75 points through four games. Utah then nearly shut out Oregon State before allowing a last-minute touchdown in a 52-7 win.

The defense only improved on Arizona State, highlighted by an excellent first half.

Utah outgained Arizona State 235-42 in the first 30 minutes and took a 14-0 lead into the third quarter. The scoring disparity may have been greater if not for two Utah fumbles deep in Arizona State, ending a pair of drives.

Anae was a serious problem for a maligned offensive line, as this sack showed.

He left some analysts quite impressed.

But the entire Utah defense gave the passing game fits:

Utah is getting hot at the right time and controls its own destiny for a Rose Bowl bid. A road game against No. 25 Washington awaits on Nov. 2, but if Saturday is any indication, the Utes defense is more than ready to exact some revenge on the team that beat them in last year's Pac-12 title game.

What's Next?

Utah will continue its Pac-12 slate against Cal at home on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. Arizona State will visit UCLA on the same day at 7:30 p.m.