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.
Keene got off to a quick start and had the offense moving before getting hurt in the second quarter, 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.
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.
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.
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.
What went wrong for Arizona State
Special teams woes continue: Carson Smith’s first kickoff punt 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.
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.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Future of Arizona State football arrives in win over Kansas State
