SALT LAKE CITY — As the final seconds ticked late Saturday night, a familiar and frustrating truth emerged for Arizona State fans: When it comes to this football program, nothing is easy.
Once in control against Utah, the No. 18 Sun Devils were outscored by four touchdowns in the second half, face-planting to a 35-21 loss in front of 51,724 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium, seemingly every last one sticking around to savor every last second.
Arizona State fell to 5-2 and 3-1 in the Pac-12, both losses coming in this, the 45th state. Four weeks earlier, the Sun Devils slipped just 45 miles down the road at BYU. Both games appeared winnable, but both times Arizona State couldn’t get out of its own way. It committed 16 penalties against BYU. It committed 13 for 115 yards against Utah.
Nothing would’ve been more fitting for the Sun Devils had the team bus been pulled over for speeding on the way home. Why not one more for the road? “I have no idea,” coach Herm Edwards said when asked about the penalties. “I wish I could tell you. It just reared its head again.”
Arizona State lost control of its destiny in the Pac-12 South, and Utah (4-2, 3-0) assumed divisional pole position, but that isn’t so bad. Very little in this sport is won two weeks before Halloween. The Sun Devils have five more regular-season contests. They have time to reach their goals.
That said, this felt like something bigger. After it was over, defensive end Tyler Johnson stood motionless on the sideline, staring off into the distance, his helmet at his feet. Sacked four times (it seemed like twice that many), quarterback
