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Micah Bernard passes the century mark, but the No. 16 Utes fall to the Sun Devils on the road

Micah Bernard passes the century mark, but the No. 16 Utes fall to the Sun Devils on the road

TEMPE, Ariz. – It was a Micah Bernard-style night.

But Arizona State's Cam Skattebo was better.

Bernard capped a 12-play, 79-yard drive late in the third quarter, giving the Utes their first touchdown of the game and a narrow 16-13 lead as the veteran tailback led an otherwise offensive offense for No. 16 Utah.

But Skattebo racked up 158 yards on 22 carries, including touchdown runs of 50 and 47 yards, as the Sun Devils cruised past the Utes 27-19 on Friday night before the field stormed at Mountain America Stadium.

Utah (4-2, 1-2 Big 12) had a chance to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter, but a holding penalty pushed Utah back 10 yards and then starting quarterback Cam Rising, who returned under center, managed to collect Not enough yards on third and fourth down throws.

Bernard finished the night with 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries – his fourth game this season to eclipse the 100-yard mark.

But outside of Bernard, nothing was going well for Utah.

After a disappointing home loss to Arizona and a bye week, Utah couldn't do much on either side of the ball. To make matters worse, Rising suffered a leg injury just over a minute into the game.

The seventh-year quarterback continued to play but had difficulty connecting with receivers or crawling out of the pocket to extend plays. He looked uncomfortable and had trouble moving the chains. But he kept playing and finished throwing for 209 yards and three interceptions, completing 16 of 37 passes and adding another turnover on downs in the second half.

On defense, Utah was without four starters – Connor O'Toole, Karene Reid, Sione Fotu and Keanu Tanuvasa – and couldn't contain dual-threat quarterback Sam Leavitt. The Utes were able to get the Sun Devils to third and fourth-and-long situations, but the defense lost control and Leavitt easily picked up first downs.

Even as Utah's offense began to take hold and entered the red zone for the first time of the night, Rising threw his first interception of the game. The Utes came within 20-19 on Cole Becker's 46-yard field goal with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter.

But the visitors got no closer as Skattebo capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with a 47-yard score with 2:41 left, helping Arizona State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12). Get ice game ahead of Rising's third choice.

This story will be updated.

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