The Arizona State football team needed a boost after a loss last week that many deemed the most disappointing in the Kenny Dillingham era. The Sun Devils got it — sort of.
The Sun Devils (3-2) still weren't clicking on all cylinders, but it was good enough to chalk up a 30-12 win over visiting Hawaii (1-5) on Oct. 10 at Mountain America Stadium.
Now the trick is to build on the positives and keep working on remedying what wasn't successful. Coach Kenny Dillingham said he's still looking for the right tweaks.
“I learned their guys are going to fight," Dillingham said. "They worked their butts off all week, and I like our football team. I know I've said that before, but I really like our football team
The game marked the end of a streak of 10 straight
sellouts that dated back to the end of the 2024 season. The bad game last week was likely a factor, but students were on fall break, and the Valley was plagued by inclement weather much of the day, with light rain falling for 15 minutes, 30 minutes before kickoff. There was also a 40-minute rain and lightning delay at the half.
What went right
Harris and Miller can be a lethal combination: Omarion Miller was considered the biggest get in the transfer portal, but it has been Reed Harris with the most success thus far. He added another nine catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Miller had six catches for 78 yards. He had a 49-yard reception that helped set up ASU's touchdown in the second quarter that made it 14-3. It was one of the few times Boley got him the ball downfield and in position for him to use his athletic ability.
Running game got a boost from Cardae Mack: Dillingham has talked a lot about the contributions of his true freshmen, and the birthday boy Cardae Mack heads that list. He finished with 154 yards on 13 carries, for his first 100-yard game. The highlight was a 67-yard run that boosted the ASU lead to 24-6 in the closing seconds of the third quarter. His 154 rushing yards were the most for an ASU freshman since Keegan Herring’s 197 against Northwestern in 2005.
Better in the trenches: Creating a pass rush was a focus this week, and the Sun Devils got three sacks, two by true freshman Julian Hugo. Offensively, the line did a better job protecting Boley and giving him a clean pocket from which to work.
Cutter Boley managed the game: He was 21-for-31 for 189 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He didn't make any poor decisions with the ball and even ran for 40 yards on eight attempts.
What went wrong
Special teams struggle continues: Punter Nick McLarty averaged 41.2 yards on four punts, getting two down inside the 20, but he had one blocked. Another was nearly blocked. Kicker Carson Smith made a field goal from 47 yards to improve to 8-for-8 on the season, but later missed a 37-yarder. Jalen Moss was the punt return man, and instead of making a fair catch, he let two different punts roll dead inside the 5.
ASU struggled on third down: The Sun Devils were just 3-for-10 on third downs. This has been a problem all season. They started the night 129th out of 138 FBS schools in that department. Meanwhile, Hawaii converted 7 of 19.
ASU could not put the game away: This is a game the Sun Devils should have dominated, and they didn't. Each time it looked like ASU was going to put the game away, it didn't. A penalty here, a bad coverage there. The Sun Devils only led 24-13, and the Rainbow Warriors were driving to potentially make it a one-score game. The defense managed a key stop, and the Sun Devils got a touchdown late to keep the last several minutes from being tense. So while there was some improvement, there are tougher foes ahead, and the Sun Devils will have to fare better in every facet of the game.
Personnel notes
ASU was missing two starting offensive linemen. Center Tana Alo-Tupuola was not with the team last week in practice and is out for "personal reasons," according to Dillingham, who did not offer any timeline as to when his center might return. Makua Pule started in his spot. Right guard Wade Helton was out for the third straight game with a lower leg injury. He was replaced by Leni Lapuaho. Senior Montana Warren got the start at strong safety Lyrik Rawls, injured in last week's loss to Baylor.
Grades
Offense (C+): The Sun Devils racked up 420 yards on 61 plays (6.9 ypp). The failure on third down and a couple of blown red zone opportunities were the difference in not awarding a B. Dillinghan surrendered play-calling duties back to offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and said after the game he was pleased with the end result.
Defense (C+): Hawaii managed 316 yards but was held to just 64 on the ground. The back end of the defense was shaky. Three of the five penalties called on ASU were by the secondary and came on the same drive. There were three sacks and an interception, which are marks of progress from last week, as were nine quarterback hurries. Martell Hughes and Owen Long each had 10 tackles, while Kyan McDonald had an interception.
Special teams (F): The issues here were already explained, but this is an area that has to get drastically better if the Sun Devils are to beat better teams. Jaren Hamilton had 67 yards on three returns and was close to breaking two for even more yardage.
They said it
ASU coach Kenny Dillingham, on where he saw improvement: “Defensively, communication. We communicated better, like no open people. They maybe win on a rep or something like that, but no busts, right?"
ASU running back Cardae Mack on his big game: “Just truly a blessing. Everybody did their part. I have been practicing hard, doing everything right in practice; it’s paying off.”
ASU linebacker Martell Hughes on dealing with adversity: “Big plays are going to happen. It's part of the game. Just going in and taking play-by-play is the biggest thing. Watching that first play and then going in there and being able to go into that next play with a different mentality and playing together.”
Up next
The Sun Devils go back on the road to take on Texas Tech (5-0, 2-0), a team they upset at home last year, 26-22. ASU was the only team to beat the Red Raiders in the regular season.
ASU is 3-3 against Texas Tech all-time. Texas Tech did not play this week.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU football showed improvement. Here's what we saw
