Arizona State Football: 5 Things the Sun Devils Must Do to Beat Utah in Week 6

The No. 22 Arizona State Sun Devils are off to a 4-1 start, as well a 2-0 record within the Pac-12

This Saturday, Arizona State goes on the road for just the second time this season. They will be visiting the Utah Utes (2-2, 0-2) in their third straight Pac-12 showdown.

The Utes are new to the neighborhood, and the Sun Devils would love to give them a little Pac-12 whooping for a gift.

After Arizona State had close calls against USC and Oregon State, Utah is not much easier. It will be a true test for the Sun Devils, as they lost their last road match up to Illinois in Week 3.

Arizona State, although victorious, had a rough game against the 0-4 Oregon State Beavers. Expect the Sun Devils to be thankful for coming out of that game with a 35-20 victory, and they will learn from their mistakes going into Week 6.

If the Devils take care of Utah, they will be poised for a huge Pac-12 match up against the currently ranked No. 9 Oregon Ducks in Eugene.

These are the five things that ASU must do in order to beat the Utes.

Don't Turn the Ball over

Arizona State is lucky that Oregon State turned the ball over five times.

The Sun Devils didn't do much better, turning the ball over four times.

Three of those turnovers were Brock Osweiler interceptions. The other was a Brock Osweiler fumble.

As you can see, Brock just wasn't too pretty against OSU. It was perhaps his most inconsistent game of the year, so no reason to start bashing the junior quarterback.

Osweiler does need to control the ball better, and not allow the Sun Devils to turn the ball over.

OSU luckily wasn't able to produce much off the turnovers, but against Utah it could be a different story.

Keep the Ground Game Going

After Cameron Marshall busted out for 140 yards and three touchdowns in Week 4 against USC, he came a bit back down to reality with just 80 yards and two touchdowns against the Beavers.

Still, that is good production from the oft-injured running back.

The Sun Devils have a trio of ground options in Marshall, Jamaal Miles and Kyle Middlebrooks, so look for them to expose this game from all angles.

It is important, still, for Marshall to produce. 

Marshall has seven touchdowns so far this season on the ground, five coming from the last two games.

The Sun Devils need to keep this threat moving, and perhaps if Marshall was healthy, the Devils would be 5-0 right now.

Defense and Special Teams Need to Stay Alive

Arizona State has been nothing short of great on defense so far this season.

Being led by junior standout middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict, the Sun Devils have managed to force nine turnovers in just their last two games.

Many of those turnovers have led to either ASU defensive or offensive touchdowns.

The Sun Devils biggest focus must be on Utah running back John White, as he is averaging 103 yards a game over four games thus far.

The defense has been murdered with injury after injury, but hopefully it will continue to not put the Devils back in Week 6.

The loss in players has shown, as the Sun Devils have given up major yardage over their last few games, but when it matters most, the Sun Devils have been stopping their opponents.

The Sun Devils held USC 1-9 on third downs, and held Oregon State to just 4-15 on their third down attempts.

The special teams has been solid too, especially in Week 5 when Jamaal Miles returned a punt for 78 yards.

The defense and special teams have been consistent thus far, but they must keep it up. If they don't, the Sun Devils will have a tough time winning any game.

Continue to Keep the Penalties Low

Arizona State has been doing a great job as of late with their penalties.

In the past, the Sun Devils would get call after call, continually putting them into bad field position on both offense and defense.

Against Oregon State, the Sun Devils once again kept the flags in ref's pockets, only getting flagged six times for 74 yards.

Sure, it still isn't ideal, but it is much improved from the past.

The Sun Devils need to keep their team in the field position they deserve, and the only way they can continue to do that and put up points is by playing smart and avoiding penalties.

Balance the Attack

The Sun Devils play their cleanest and best football when they balance the attack.

Teams know that they have the ability to pass it down field and have many weapons for the screen pass, but many do forget that they have options in the backfield.

Cameron Marshall, who is known to be a great back, had a slow start to the season, so every game it is questionable in what he is going to bring.

The Sun Devils need to balance their passes and rushes, otherwise they become too obvious and turnovers occur like they did against Illinois and Oregon State.

With options like Marshall, Jamaal Miles, Aaron Pflugrad and Gerell Robinson, the Sun Devils are a dangerous team down field and in the backfield.

They just need to make sure they get the passes and rushes as close as possible, otherwise Utah will pick up on coach Dennis Erickson's past trends.

This is most important in establishing now because come Oregon next week, the Sun Devils can't rely on just their passing game.