While the scoreboard would suggest the ASU football team's 49-26 loss to No. 15 Utah was decisive, the path to the end was anything but.
The Sun Devils (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12) squandered opportunities to take control throughout the game and could not force Utah to do the same from the jump.
On the first play of the game, Utah junior quarterback Troy Williams misplayed the snap, resulting in a fumble and an ASU recovery at the 24-yard-line.
However, just a few plays later, redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins was intercepted in the end zone, handing the ball back over to the visitors with nothing to show for the takeaway.
"It was a climb route down there in the end zone and I didn't see the guy come back across," Wilkins said. "I just have to know that we have points there regardless and we have the best field goal kicker in the nation. I just have to throw that away or get what I can get and get down."
Instead of the field goal, ASU went away with nothing and, while Utah could not score on its next drive, the damage was done.
On their next three possessions, the Sun Devils scored 13 points, sandwiching a touchdown between two field goals and snatching a lead.
That advantage didn't last long, as ASU was outscored 21-7 in the second quarter, including a last second touchdown pass from Williams to a wide open sophomore wide receiver Rae Singleton to snatch the lead.
Head coach Todd Graham said he wasn't overly concerned in the locker room based on first quarter results.
"If we wouldn't have turned the ball over in the end zone, we would have went into halftime ahead," Graham said.
After the break, the teams traded touchdowns, but a failed two-point conversion put ASU's deficit at nine points as the third quarter crept towards its conclusion.
That's when the game slowed down due in no small part to a flood of penalty flags hitting the turf, much to the chagrin of ASU's head man.
On Utah's next drive, the ASU defense could not get off the field, as senior cornerback Bryson Echols and sophomore cornerback Kareem Orr were both assessed questionable pass interference penalties on third downs to extend the possession into ASU territory.
While head coach Todd Graham did not comment directly on the fouls, he did say they "were not good."
The flags weren't finished, though, as the Utes committed three consecutive penalties to set themselves up with first-and-35 from the ASU 47.
Unfazed, Utah breezed through the ASU secondary in just two plays for what would go on to be a game-sealing touchdown.
"For them to convert after we push them back and they get 40 yards," Graham said. "That was very frustrating."
Wilkins was intercepted for a touchdown on the ensuing ASU possession, ending any threat of a comeback and sending the home crowd out of Sun Devil Stadium in a hurry.
Following the game, Graham and Wilkins insisted that the Sun Devils should have won the game, but too many "critical errors" kept them from doing so.
With four losses in a row saddled to his record, Graham's frustration with results has hit a high, relying more on the big picture than the details.
"We've just got to get better," Graham said. "That's it."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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