by Justin Gaither, Sun Devil Athletics media relations intern
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Three ASU interceptions and a lot of N'Keal Harry touchdowns punctuated yet another upset at Sun Devil Stadium Saturday afternoon as the Arizona State Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) knocked off the 16th-ranked Utah Utes (6-3, 4-3 Pac-12), 38-20.
The offense was spearheaded by historic performances from sophomore running back Eno Benjamin, who once again racked up over 100 yards, recorded two scores, and reached the 1,000-yard mark for the season, and junior wide receiver N'Keal Harry, who had a monster game in which he found the end zone three times.
.@eno_benjamin5 has been putting in WORK this SZN ?? pic.twitter.com/e4J23gMPrD
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) November 3, 2018
"The passing game was efficient enough to when N'Keal got the ball in his hands, he scored," said ASU head coach Herm Edwards following the win. "Obviously our running back, Eno Benjamin, you can't say enough about him – two TDs again today and almost 200 yards rushing."
Benjamin got the first of his two touchdowns on the first drive of the game to give the Devils an early 7-0 lead over the high-flying Utes.
It was on the following Utah drive that the ASU defense made their first statement of the game. After allowing back-to-back first downs, Aashari Crosswell intercepted a deflected ball and returned it to midfield giving the offense great starting field position.
?NO FLY ZONE ? pic.twitter.com/wLd7W269R4
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) November 3, 2018
"The takeaways are critical," said Edwards. "When you can take the ball away, you give possessions to your offense. With almost 37 minutes of possession time and about 74 plays, you can win a lot of football games when you do that."
The offense took that momentum and ran with it, putting together another scoring drive that was capped off by N'Keal Harry's first touchdown of the game, doubling the Devils lead in the blink of an eye.
The touchdown reception marked Harry's 188th career reception, which tied him for third in program history with John Jefferson, a number he would later pass, giving him sole possession of third.
"No surprise really," said running back Eno Benjamin. "That's N'Keal, that's what he does. You guys know that as well. I think he played his role, I think we all did a great job playing our roles in this game."
?? 3 touchdowns
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) November 3, 2018
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The @NkealHarry15 show is the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! ???? pic.twitter.com/PY78qKwMYe
From there, the Utah defense began to heat up, keeping the Devils off the board for the next three drives while their offense managed to tack on 17 points and grab a three-point lead with just over two minutes left in the opening half.
As they have so many times this year, however, ASU showed resiliency, orchestrating a 77-yard drive in just over a minute to reclaim the lead with another N'Keal Harry touchdown grab right before half, making it 21-17 after 30 minutes of play.
That momentum carried into the second half as Merlin Robinson collected the team's second interception of the game on the opening drive, giving Wilkins and the offense prime field position.
"We told ourselves throughout the week that, no matter what, when we came in at halftime, we needed the energy in the locker room," said Wilkins. "We needed to be positive about everything and come out swinging. The defense did a hell of a job getting a turnover."
Although consecutive ASU drives failed to produce, the defense bent but didn't break, allowing just three points and giving the offense another chance to pad the lead halfway through the third quarter.
This time, the offense delivered in a big way. After a quick first down to start out the drive, Wilkins once again found his favorite target, N'Keal Harry, who took it 61 yards for the touchdown, giving the Devils a 28-20 lead one play into the final quarter.
Following another flurry of defensive stops and a Brandon Ruiz field goal, Benjamin picked up his second touchdown of the game on a 44-yard scamper that gave ASU their final margin of victory, 38-20.
A one-handed interception in the end zone by Kobe Williams with just minutes left put an exclamation mark on the game and when the clock read zeroes, the Devils had completed their second upset win of the season.
Kobe Williams out here MOSSING dudes ?? pic.twitter.com/jN5HotfI0x
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) November 3, 2018
"We kept our focus," said Edwards. "The congratulations have to go to the coaches and the players; they did a great job of really getting them ready to play this week."
The offense had one of its best performances of the year as the Sun Devils outgained Utah, 536-325 and recorded 25 first downs to Utah's 17.
The win moves ASU's win streak in home day games to eight straight and keeps the Devils in full control of their destiny with just three games remaining.
"We have to come back to work this next week with the same attitude that we had this past week," said Wilkins. "That mindset...Just stay the course."
Next week will also be a day game at Sun Devil Stadium with the UCLA Bruins coming to town. Kickoff for the annual Salute to Service game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. MST.