Utes face ASU in key Pac-12 South game
No. 16 Utah’s important Pac-12 South matchup with ASU in Tempe this Saturday will feature two of the best running backs in the Pac-12 — Utah’s Zack Moss and the Sun Devils’ Eno Benjamin.
Moss ranks second in the Pac-12 with 120.5 yards rushing a game while Benjamin is third at 117.2.
Utah, which will attempt to extend its four-game winning streak when it plays ASU, recruited Benjamin but he would not be able to co-exist with Moss in the Utes’ one-back scheme.
Moss, a junior, ranks No. 6 nationally with 964 yards in eight games and is on track to break Utah’s single-season rushing record after running for a career-high 211 yards in last week’s 41-10 win over UCLA.
Benjamin, a sophomore, is right behind him with 938 yards. Each player has scored 11 touchdowns.
“(Benjamin) is a solid back; he’s consistent,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said during his weekly news conference Monday. “There’s not a lot of wasted motion with him. We really liked Eno out of high school and recruited him hard, but didn’t end up getting him.”
Benjamin will face the nation’s No. 3-ranked rushing defense that allows only 81.1 yards per game. The Utes, however, will be missing one of their best defensive players in the first half. Senior safety Marquise Blair was penalized for targeting in the second half of last week’s 41-10 at UCLA.
“Certainly, we are constantly reminding them, teaching, drilling the proper way to tackle, what you can and can’t do,” he said. “And Marquise is an ultra-aggressive player. I mean, he’s as aggressive a player as we’ve ever had come through here. He just wants to hit everything that moves.”
Utah’s defense has a difficult task trying to stop ASU quarterback Manny Wilkins, receiver N’Keal Harry (one of the top NFL draft prospects in the nation) and Benjamin.
Against stout defenses, Benjamin has struggled. He had only 48 yards on 26 carries against Michigan State and San Diego State in September.
Benjamin ran for a school-record 312 yards vs. Oregon State and 185 yards in last week’s 38-35 win over USC.
Utah faces Oregon and Colorado after playing ASU. The Utes’ 2-5 against the Sun Devils is their worst mark against any South rival in their eighth season of Pac-12 membership.