Video by Stefan Modrich | Assistant Sports Editor
On the first possession of overtime, the Utah football team lined up for a 35-yard field goal to take a three-point lead. Sophomore kicker Andy Phillips, nicknamed "Automatic Andy" for his kicking prowess, backed away from his holder. As the ball left his foot, it did not feel good.
Wide right.
But, luckily for Phillips, coach Kyle Whittingham had called a timeout prior to the snap, giving the star kicker another chance. Once again, Phillips approached and kicked again. No dice.
The Utes (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) fell to ASU 19-16 in overtime Saturday night. They were outgained 444-241 in the game, but the defense was able to make plays when it needed to.
Phillips made three of his four attempts in the game, but misjudged the last kick and left the field defeated.
"It was just a misjudgment on my part," Phillips said. "The wind was going right to left so I played the first one right and coach called the timeout. And I thought that the wind didn't push it too much, so I'm going to play it a little more left and the wind caught a hold of it."
Whittingham said that, despite the miss, Phillips is still a player he will rely on in the future.
"Well he's a heck of a kicker and we're not even in the game if it's not for his, I think he hit a couple of 50-yarders and a couple of long 40-yarders," Whittingham said. "He's a heck of a weapon for us and he'll be back. He's one of the best kickers in the country."
Utah junior quarterback Travis Wilson hands off the ball to junior running back Devontae Booker in a game against ASU in Tempe on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. ASU won against Utah 19-16. (Photo by Alexis Macklin)For most of the game, Utah relied on Phillips and junior running back Devontae Booker to carry the team. Booker carried the ball 37 times for 146 yards for the Utes, accounting for 63 percent of the offense's yardage. Booker gained 80 yards in the second half and scored the lone touchdown on a pass from junior quarterback Travis Wilson.
The missed kick was not the only mistake to cost Utah in the game. One of the biggest plays of the game came in the fourth quarter with Utah ahead in the game. Redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly threw a pass that should have been intercepted by sophomore defensive back Dom Hatfield, but Hatfield let the ball slip out of his hands. Hatfield said after that he should have been paying more attention.
"I just got to bring it in and focus more," Hatfield said. "During practice, get on the jugs a little bit more and look the ball all the way in. That's about it."
This is the fourth straight game that Utah has played with a difference of six points or less and Whittingham believes that his team will be able to overcome the loss moving forward.
"That's a tough group of guys we have in our locker room, both physically and mentally," Whittingham said. "They slug it out all the way to the final play and it's just unfortunate that we came up short."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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