This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah Utes have downsized their goals for the 2011 season. No longer are they talking about competing for the Pac-12 title.
Their goal now is much simpler — just hang onto the ball.
For the second week in a row, turnovers were the most glaring reason the Utes lost a game, as Utah was blown out by Arizona State 35-14 in front of 45,089 at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday.
A week after committing five turnovers in their loss to Washington, the Utes (2-3, 0-3) committed five against the No. 22 Sun Devils (5-1, 3-0).
Backup quarterback Jon Hays threw three interceptions in his first start for the Utes and Utah fumbled the ball away twice.
Arizona State scored three times after Utah turnovers in the second half, helping the Sun Devils erase a 14-13 deficit to lead by 21 points in 11 minutes.
"We were doing some good things and then the wheels came off when we started turning the ball over," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We'll start winning games when we stop turning the ball over, that is the bottom line."
Hays finished 18-for-30 for 199 yards and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dallin Rogers, but his mistakes overshadowed his effort. He threw two interceptions in the second quarter, the last of which came in the final minute of the half, when he led Utah from its 20-yard line to ASU's 16-yard line in the two-minute drill.
But just when it looked like the Utes, who were trailing 10-7 at the time, would at least even the score, Hays underthrew a pass that was intercepted by ASU's Eddie Elder.
"Throwing that pick at the end of the first half, I put the defense in a terrible spot, you never know what can happen," Hays said. "I'm just disappointed in how I played."
Still, the worst was yet to come as the Utes committed three turnovers in a seven-minute stretch in the second half.
Running back John White fumbled, Hays threw an interception and receiver Reggie Dunn coughed up the ball.
All the turnovers were followed by ASU scores. ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler finished 25-for-41 for 325 yards and three touchdowns and Gerell Robinson had seven catches for 101 yards, but the big gains were more about Utah's turnovers than a subpar effort by Utah's defense.
"We came out with a lot of resolve and then all of a sudden we start turning the ball over," Whittingham said. "Games get away from you most weeks when you do that."
Now the Utes must prevent the season from getting away from them. The Utes, who play at Pittsburgh next, held a team meeting following Saturday's loss to air out issues.
The Utes haven't lost three games in a row since 2005, when Utah finished 7-5 in Whittingham's first year as head coach.
This year's team doesn't want to replicate that losing streak by getting down on themselves, the players said.
"Things needed to be said," linebacker Brian Blechen said. "We can't hang our heads. We're not used to being down like this, but we have to keep moving forward. We said some things like that."
The Utes feel they have to stop Utah's downward slide now before the season, like the ball, slips away.
"Most of the seniors have never had a losing record," defender Trevor Reilly said. "It's something we have to fight back from, and we'll rally around each other."
Twitter: @lyawodraska —
Storylines
R In short • ASU scores 25 unanswered points to come from behind and beat the Utes Saturday.
Key moment • The Utes turn the ball over with an interception at the end of the first half instead of scoring, leaving the Utes trailing 10-7 at the break.
Key stat • The Utes are 0-3 in conference play for the first time since 2002, when they finished 5-6 in Ron McBride's last year.