TEMPE — Arizona State leaned on two true freshmen to beat Kansas State 28-17 on Saturday and stop a slide that had put the season in jeopardy, Arizona’s Family reported.
Running back Cardae Mack rushed for 159 yards and four touchdowns, several of them out of the wildcat formation. Quarterback Jake Fette came off the bench in the second half after starter Mikey Keene was hurt on the last play of the first half and backup Cutter Boley struggled.
ASU’s defense held Kansas State, which entered with one of the country’s top running games, to 84 rushing yards. The Wildcats were playing a backup quarterback, Jacob Knuth, who threw a touchdown pass on the opening drive.
“I thought our guys brought better energy,” coach Kenny Dillingham said after a week of criticism from fans following a lopsided loss. He said the players felt “a little bit disrespected.”
The Sun Devils are now 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12. They play at BYU next week. Keene’s status was not immediately known.
Sources: Arizona’s Family. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: User Geographer from the English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
