No. 13 Utah faces aggressive Arizona State defense

No. 13 Utah (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12, No. 15 CFP) at Arizona State (5-4, 2-4), Thursday 9:30 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)

Line: Utah by 5.

Series record: Arizona State leads 20-7.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

A must-win for Utah to keep up with No. 16 Colorado in the Pac-12 South and a chance for Arizona State to extend its school record of being bowl eligible to six straight seasons.

KEY MATCHUP

Utah RB Joe Williams vs. Arizona State's defense. Williams has been superb since un-retiring, running for at least 170 yards in three straight games. Arizona State plays an attacking defense and has had tackling problems, so the Sun Devils will need to stop the senior near the line of scrimmage so he doesn't roam free against their secondary.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Utah: QB Troy Williams. How the junior handles Arizona State's constant blitzing will determine how well the Utes do Thursday night. He will need to make quick decisions and handle the hits that are inevitably coming his way.

Arizona State: QB Manny Wilkins. Arizona State's offense has been at its best when Wilkins has been healthy, which hasn't been the case over the past month. The redshirt freshman was back working with the first-team offense this week and should add a needed dimension to the Sun Devils if he is healthy.

FACTS & FIGURES

Utah leads the nation in takeaways with 23 and in net punting at 45.05 yards per punt. Mitch Wishnowsky's punting average of 48.8 yards leads the nation as well. ... Arizona State is last nationally in pass defense, allowing 397.6 yards per game. ... Utah assistant head coach/running backs coach Dennis Erickson was ASU's head coach from 2007-11. ... Arizona State has not lost to Utah in Tempe since 1976.