ASU football's stout run defense stormed into Salt Lake City and neutralized one of the top running threats and a Top 5 Heisman candidate in Utah senior running back Devontae Booker.
And yet, it wasn't enough, as the Sun Devils mustered a measly 15 rushing yards and couldn't mount a late comeback after surrendering a fourth quarter lead and 20 unanswered points in ASU football's 34-18 loss to the No. 4 Utes (6-0) at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday night.
Booker was held to 51 yards on 17 carries and was kept out of the end zone until breaking through with 10:41 to go in the fourth quarter for a 25-yard touchdown on an option pitch from quarterback Travis Wilson.
To put the game even further out of reach, Booker exploded for a 62-yard touchdown run.
The Sun Devils (3-3) scored all of their points via special teams on Saturday, including three Zane Gonzalez field goals, a 100-yard Tim White kick return for a touchdown, and a safety that occurred when Utah's return coverage team attempted an illegal forward pass in the end zone on a kickoff.
With 6:35 to go in the fourth quarter, running back Kalen Ballage fumbled immediately after receiving the handoff.
Utah quarterback Travis Wilson finished with 297 passing yards and completed 26 of 36 attempts, two of them for touchdowns.
The Sun Devils converted on 23 percent of their third down attempts (5/18) and outside of White, their offensive skill players were kept off the scoreboard.
ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici finished 20 of 41 with 242 passing yards and threw an interception to Cory Butler-Byrd as time expired.
The Utes snapped an 11-game losing streak with the win and remain in the thick of the College Football Playoff hunt and have a clear path to win the Pac-12 South.
Reach the sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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