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Future of Arizona State football arrives in win over Kansas State
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- Future of Arizona State football arrives in win over Kansas State
The future of Arizona State football has arrived.
The Sun Devils took down Kansas State 28-17. It was a battle between two backup quarterbacks thrust into starting action — with Mikey Keene taking the job from Cutter Boley and Kansas State's Jacob Knuth filling in for an injured Avery Johnson — and ASU came out on top in a historic game from freshman running back Cardae Mack.
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Keene got off to a quick start and had the offense moving before getting hurt in the second quarter and being replaced by Boley. It was a rough outing for Boley, who was benched late in the third quarter for freshman Jake Fette. The offense picked up right away for ASU with Fette at quarterback, scoring on its next drive after Fette took over.
Coach Kenny Dillingham indicated that Fette will start next week against BYU if Keene isn't healthy.
ASU (4-3, 2-2) is back above .500.
The win puts ASU ahead 7-1 in the all-time series against Kansas State.
What went right for Arizona State
Mikey Keene comes out hot:Getting his first start for ASU, Keene's very first pass was a 51-yard bomb to Reed Harris. He completed his first three passes, finishing the first quarter 6-for-9 passing for 132 yards. Keene was injured in the second quarter and was replaced by Boley. There were a couple of dangerous throws from Keene during his stint, but overall the offense looked better than it has recently with him at the helm.
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Return of the Mack:Technically, this wasn't a return for Cardae Mack. He's played the whole season. But the freshman running back got his first career start and made the most of it. He scored all four touchdowns for ASU. Mack ended the game with 26 carries for 159 yards. He tied a freshman school record set in 1955 by Leon Burton. Mack is the first ASU running back to score four touchdowns in a game since Kalen Ballage had seven against Texas Tech in 2016.
Reed Harris Show continues:Harris has been dominant this season, and that continued against Kansas State. It was a blistering start for Harris, who had four receptions for 116 yards just in the first quarter. Harris finished with six catches for 147 yards.
Fette provides the juice:The true freshman took over late in the third quarter and provided a spark for the offense. The running game immediately opened up, with Fette making the right decisions on multiple read options for Mack as defenses were forced to respect Fette's dual-threat ability. Fette had a pass of 14 yards to wide receiver Omarion Miller on third down and then hit Harris on a nice back-shoulder throw for a gain of 22 on ASU's last scoring drive. The future for ASU football has arrived, with Fette and Mack.
Run defense improves:After getting gashed on the ground by Baylor (244 yards) and Texas Tech (260) in the last two losses, the run defense looked far better against Kansas State. Heading into the game, Kansas State was ranked sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game (239.8). But the Sun Devils were stingy all afternoon against the run. Kansas State only had 84 yards.
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What went wrong for Arizona State
Special teams woes continue:Carson Smith's first kickoff went out of bounds, giving Kansas State ball at the 35-yard line. With the short field, the Wildcats scored quickly after to take a 7-0 lead. Kansas State also pinned ASU at its own 3 on the second drive of the second half. Right after that, the ASU punt unit gave up a return to its own 21, with the Wildcats scoring again to go ahead 17-14. Jessiah McGrew also had an interference penalty on a punt. There was some good, with punter Nick McLarty getting two punts inside Kansas State's 10.
Boley struggles:It was another rough game for Boley, who was 1-for-5 passing for 7 yards in limited action. The ASU offense punted on its first drives to start the second half with Boley starting. Then, Boley was benched at the 2:57 mark in the third quarter and replaced with freshman Jake Fette. That now means Boley has been benched twice in the same week.
Chunk plays given up:There was a 31-yard gain on Kansas State's first scoring drive. The Wildcats had a 20-yard gain on their second scoring drive. There was a 27-yard punt return down to ASU's 21, which led to the third scoring drive for Kansas State. Knuth scored on a 10-yard run to go ahead 17-14.
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Limited pressure:For a backup getting his first start, Knuth had way too much time in the pocket. ASU had zero sacks and only three quarterback hurries in the first half. The first sack for ASU came midway in the third quarter, courtesy of Blazen Lono-Wong. There should have been more with a backup playing. The front seven has struggled to generate pressure this season, and that was on display again.
ASU's Cardae Mack (25) stiff-arms a Kansas State defender on Oct. 24, 2026, in Tempe.
Personnel notes
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Running back Cardae Mack got his first college start, taking over for Kyson Brown.
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Wide receiver Derek Eusebio and tight end Anthony Miller also got starts.
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Offensive lineman Wade Helton, who started against Texas Tech on Oct. 17 after missing the previous three games, was injured and missed the Kansas State game. Helton moved to center for Texas Tech, with Tana Alo-Tupuola switching to right guard. Alo-Tupuola stayed at right guard against Kansas State, and Makua Pule played center.
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Safety Lyrik Rawls, injured against Baylor earlier in the season, was ruled out, with Kyan McDonald replacing him.
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Offensive lineman Luke Baklenko, wide receiver Harry Hassman and defensive back Jalen Williams were out as well against Kansas State.
Grades
Offense (A-):Mack could not be stopped, running for 159 yards on 26 carries. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry in a game where he nearly ran the ball 30 times. Mack had six explosive plays in the game and scored all the touchdowns for ASU. The offense looked much more fluid with Keene operating as the starter. After falling behind 7-0 quickly, ASU immediately responded with a quick four-play scoring drive that only took 55 seconds. Keene established a connection with Harris that was on a record-breaking pace until Keene was injured. Keene was 10-for-20 passing for 160 yards in almost two quarters of action. Then the offense came to a halt with Boley as the starter. That changed once Fette was inserted. He got the running game going again with read-options and made some impressive throws. Dillingham indicated that Fette will start against BYU next week, depending on Keene's health.
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Defense (A-):The rushing defense was spot on, shutting down one of the best running teams in the NCAA. The pass defense played well too, holding Knuth to under 200 yards and just one touchdown through the air. But the lack of pressure was apparent. Two of ASU's three sacks came when Kansas State was in desperation mode at the end of the game. The front seven should have been able to make Knuth more uncomfortable earlier in the game.
Special teams (C+):It was a mixed bag. There was some good, with punter Nick McLarty getting two punts inside Kansas State's 10-yard line. All the extra point attempts were made. But there was some bad. The first kickoff went out of bounds, giving Kansas State favorable field position to take a 7-0 lead. The ASU punt unit gave up a return to its own 21, with the Wildcats scoring again to go ahead 17-14. Jessiah McGrew had an interference penalty on a punt as well.
They said it
Dillingham on inserting Fette:"We just wanted some energy. We felt like there was a lull. You could see it with the guys on the sideline. We're a team that can't get in those lulls. We can be suffocated by them at times. Jake's got that look in his eye. Jake's got that swagger, the confidence. We just wanted that spark there with Jake."
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Cardae Mack on his big game:"Just following the game plan our coach put in. My O-line executing everything they needed to do. That was really it. (Blocking's) been amazing. The technique, the schemes that (offensive line) coach Saga (Tuitele) puts in for the guys and them executing it, it's perfect."
Martell Hughes on stopping the run:"Trusting the guys around you. Doing your one-on-11 defense, that's what we live by. That's what (defensive coordinator Brian) Ward preaches. Just trusting each other and doing our one-on-11's. "
Up next
ASU travels to Provo, Utah, to take on current No. 2-ranked BYU on Oct. 31. The game is at 11:30 a.m. MST. The teams last played in 2024, with ASU winning 28-23 in a game that featured two field stormings when officials put one second back on the clock after fans initially thought the game was over.
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BYU (6-1, 3-1) is coming off a 39-31 double-overtime road loss to UCF.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Future of Arizona State football arrives in win over Kansas State
