"I saw a team come out and punch us in the mouth and we didn't really respond," ASU quarterback Mikey Keene said. "It's not on the coaches, it's on us."
Confidence has been the name of the game, and an Achilles' Heel, for the 2026 Arizona State Sun Devils.
It's what caused the Sun Devils to unravel against Texas Tech and Baylor. It's what ASU head football coach Kenny Dillingham says he needs to instill more of in his team. And it's what ASU second-string quarterback Mikey Keene, not starter Cutter Boley, said held the Devils back from finding a response in Lubbock.
"As a leader on this team, and all the work we did this offseason, that's the most disappointing part: we failed to respond," Keene said.
While there usually aren't many positives to take away from a 53-25 loss, Keene's second-half play after Boley's benching and his postgame comments sparked positive feedback from the Sun Devil faithful. Leading to the question: Should Keene become the starter?
After Cutter Boley was benched after going 5/0 with two interceptions, including a pick-six, the reins of the offense were handed over to Mikey Keene.
Starting in the second half, Keene promptly led ASU on a scoring drive.
Keene finished the day on 25/34 passing (73.5%) for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Now, the QB2 was facing a lot of "prevent" defense and soft zones as the Red Raiders were up by a sizable margin, but the stat line is still respectable considering he was thrust into a less-than-ideal situation.
After Boley's struggle joined the long laundry list of why ASU's chances were buried early, fans clamored (and are still clamoring) for Keene to take over the starting job full time.
One way to have confidence as a team? Playing for your quarterback.
It's one thing that is not very apparent when Cutter Boley leads the offense onto the field, and the writing on the wall may have been in front of us the whole time.
Harrison Fuller of Cronkite Sports brought this to light: When Boley was announced as the starter in late August, Sun Devil Source spoke to several players about the decision.
Their thoughts were, let's say, not very wholehearted.
"I'm happy for the guy, I'm happy for all the guys. I know Mikey is going to do a great job. He's got all the knowledge that we could ask for in a backup quarterback, so, we're going to be safe no matter what. I hope Cutter comes out and does his thing." - WR Reed Harris
"Either choice would've been good. I think we would've been straight in both hands. I think, if Mikey was the starter, we wouldn't have no issues, just as much as Cutter is. I love both guys, they both equally come in to play and compete, and it's just been fun watching them compete all fall camp." - OL Tana Alo-Tupuola
"Whoever it was, we were comfortable with, so if that's our guy, we're rolling with him. We're going to be behind him the whole time, and the whole quarterback room is talented, so like I said, we were comfortable with any guy he (Kenny Dillingham) chose." - DL CJ Fite
Of course, players don't want to favor one teammate more than the other, but the overarching theme of Keene's name being mentioned before Boley is definitely interesting.
Perhaps the team believes the wrong choice was made in August, and now could be the time to rewrite that wrong.
At his Monday press conference, Dillingham did not touch the topic of who would be starting this week.
The reason? Not showing his hand to Kansas State.
"I just think this week in particular, I don't know if we need to disclose that. If there was an injury, I would 100% come out and say it, and we would put it on the report, but it not being an injury, to me, I don't think that would do anything for us," Dillingham said. "Our players will know. Everybody else will know. So who knows? It may leak. I don't know. I hope not. But you know, just not something I need to get into depth on."
Mikey Keene and Cutter Boley both got plenty of reps during Tuesday practice. However, it could be the words, rather than the plays, that are the most telling from the midweek session.
"Mikey is a vocal guy," Reed Harris said after practice. "He's got a lot of different sides. In the locker room, he's probably one of the funniest guys on the team, so everybody knows his voice, and everybody understands what he's saying, especially in the serious moments when he's directing us. He's got a great voice for the position he is in now with the team."
Even going back to Dillingham's Monday presser, the fourth-year head coach potentially tipped his hand a bit on which way he will go this Saturday.
"I think there's a lot of guys who are leading in their own way, and everybody's way to lead is different," Dillingham said, after being asked about his leaders on this team, compared to 2025 and 2024. "I think they're leading in their own way. I think Mikey's definitely a guy who is more in that mold from that perspective that you're describing (vocal). I definitely think he fits that style. If you're looking for that type of leader."
Will Dillingham be looking for that type of leader against the Wildcats? Time will tell when the Sun Devils face Kansas State this Saturday, with a 12:45 p.m. kickoff at Tempe's Mountain America Stadium.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arizonastate as 'It's On Us': Examining How Mikey Keene Could Help Save Arizona State's Season .
