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Utah coach Kyle Whittingham can't remember any of his teams committing 10 turnovers over the course of two games.
The Utes, in their first year in the Pac-12, couldn't have picked a worse time to hit the horrible mark.
Brock Osweiler passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns and No. 22 Arizona State forced five Utah turnovers to turn a close game into a 35-14 victory Saturday.
Sensing the frustration from a team that wasn't used to losing in the Mountain West Conference, Utah players and coaches held an impromptu team meeting after the game.
Whittingham refused to divulge details, but said, ''The theme of it was that we need to stick together while we get things sorted out. We need to hang tough because it doesn't get any easier.''
The Utes lost the ball five times against Washington last week and then duplicated the feat against Arizona State.
''We've been getting turnovers the last three or four games, and that's what it's all about. You look every year at the stats and the best teams are ahead in the turnover margin,'' Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said.
The defeat marked first time Utah has lost straight three conference games since 2002, Ron McBride's final year as coach.
''Seniors on our team have never had a losing record. We're all mad and frustrated,'' said Trevor Reilly, who had three of the Utes' eight tackles for loss.
Jon Hays, playing for the injured Jordan Wynn, threw three interceptions in his first major college start for the Utes (2-3, 0-3 Pac-12).
''I'm disappointed with how I played. I put the defense in some terrible spots,'' said Hays, who was 18 of 30 for 199 yards.
On the other side, Osweiler had the third 300-yard game of his career to lead the Sun Devils (5-1, 3-0).
Utah had taken a 14-10 lead with 10:32 left in the third quarter on Hays' 2-yard TD pass to tight end Dallin Rogers.
''We had the momentum but the wheels came off in a hurry,'' Whittingham said.
Arizona State then scored 18 straight points in less than four minutes to take a 28-14 lead. The Sun Devils turned Utah's fifth turnover of the game into another seven points, with Osweiler's 12-yard TD pass to Mike Willie capping a 10-play drive set up by Reggie Dunn's fumble with 14:12 left to play.
At the beginning of the season, many thought the Pac-12 South would be a three-team race between USC, Arizona State and Utah, a new member in the conference.
''We knew they were going to get everything from them,'' Erickson said. ''They gave it to us early and we fought back.''
Now everything is lined up for Sun Devils to claim the South. They already have big wins over the Trojans and now Utah.
Though they play at Oregon next week, they should be favored in the rest of their games - Colorado, UCLA, Washington State, Arizona and California. ASU does not play Stanford or Washington, which entered the weekend atop the North division standings.
Osweiler had done everything but win on the road against a tough defense. He turned the ball over three times in a road loss to Illinois, and entered Saturday's game with six interceptions on the season.
He played mistake-free ball Saturday in a game dominated by defense early.
''We look at it as game of missed opportunities,'' Ute linebacker Brian Blechen said. ''We're not getting turnovers to help our offense.''
Arizona State has now won eight straight against the Utes, which is learning the Pac-12 is a lot tougher than the Mountain West.
The original BCS buster has gone bust in Pac-12 play. Utah lost at USC, then committed five turnovers and allowed 185 yards rushing in a 31-14 loss at home to Washington.
''We obviously can play with all three of these teams but we've had too many turnovers. We feel like we belong, but we still need to prove it,'' Dunn said.
ASU was fortunate to be leading 10-7 at halftime.
Hays had Utah in scoring possession late in the second quarter, then threw two ill-advised passes. The second, on third-and-10 from the ASU 16, was intercepted by Eddie Elder in the end zone with 28 seconds remaining before halftime.
''He did some good things for a first-time starter against an athletic defense but you've got to take care of the ball. The interceptions really hurt us, but he's a tough kid and he'll fight back,'' Whittingham said.
