TEMPE - Arizona State got the win it needed against Hawaii, but Kenny Dillingham wasn’t in the mood to celebrate too much.
“Blah.”
That was the first word out of the ASU coach when asked how satisfying Saturday’s 30-12 victory felt. Dillingham made it clear he wanted more from his team, even after a response that steadied things following last week’s 55-19 loss to Baylor, the program’s largest defeat since joining the Big 12.
“I want to play better,” he said. “I think we’re better than that.
I think we can get better. I think this is a team that can continue to grow, and we’ve got to find a way to win games while we’re growing.”
The Sun Devils did enough against a Hawaii team ranked 129th out of 138 FBS teams in scoring offense and 88th in scoring defense, but the bigger picture matters with a tough run coming up. ASU is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play, and the next three opponents are all waiting with far more bite.
There were still clear signs of progress, starting with the offense. After taking back playcalling duties from himself and returning them to offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo, Dillingham liked what he saw.
“There’s some things that we have to clean up throughout the week, but I thought the game was called really well,” Dillingham said. “I was supportive of basically everything that was happening.”
The offense responded with its best yardage output since week one, piling up 420 yards. Freshman running back Cardae Mack was the headliner, and he turned 19 in style with 154 rushing yards and two touchdowns. That was the most by an ASU freshman since Keegan Herring ran for 197 in 2005.
Mack’s night began with a score from ASU’s “Sparky” formation, the team’s term for a wildcat look. He lined up at quarterback, took the snap and powered in from a yard out. Later, he broke loose for the kind of run that changes a game fast, taking a handoff from ASU territory and racing untouched for a 65-yard touchdown on a 67-yard scoring burst.
Afterward, Mack said the win helped reset the offense.
“We just had to get back in our groove and find ourselves,” Mack said. “Who we are is who we are. The only people that can stop us is us.”
Dillingham said Mack’s mother was a big part of the day, noting that she asked before the game whether her son was going to play. Dillingham’s answer was yes, and Mack ended up with 13 carries on what amounted to a birthday gift in workload.
“He’s the person he is because of his mama,” Dillingham said. “She did a great job raising him.
He played well. He’s going to play well, he’s going to get the ball more.
That’s how it works.”
The freshman’s emergence also fit into Dillingham’s broader point about where the program is headed.
“It just shows the progress of the program,” Dillingham said. “You’re not just going to recruit those types of kids when you show up. You have to build and have success to get in the door.”
ASU’s ground game was the story of the night. The Sun Devils ran for 231 yards, more than 100 yards better than their next-best rushing total against an FBS opponent this season, and they finished with a 167-yard edge over Hawaii on the ground. Dillingham saw that as a major key.
“If you win the rushing battle, you know you’re probably going to win most games,” Dillingham said. “We won the rushing battle, and it was clear.”
The passing game did enough to keep things moving, too. Quarterback Boley went 21-for-31 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, and his connection with Reed Harris continued to carry real weight. Harris caught eight passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
Boley looked more comfortable behind a cleaner pocket than he’d had in previous weeks, and he worked efficiently from the start. His first drive included an 18-yard completion to Harris, setting the tone for a night in which he limited mistakes and found his receivers in space.
ASU also showed it could sustain drives rather than rely only on explosive plays. Two of its four touchdowns came on marches that lasted more than five and a half minutes. Both covered 79 yards, with one taking 10 plays and the other nine.
Junior linebacker Martell Hughes said the defense responded well after the Baylor game, when ASU gave up its highest total since 2023. Hawaii managed only 12 points, the fewest the Sun Devils have allowed against an FBS opponent this season.
“I felt like we did good at that,” Hughes said. “I feel like we all played with energy, played off of each other, and were able to make each other right.”
For Dillingham, the larger takeaway was effort and intent. He said he saw the difference in practice before the game and again once the ball was kicked off.
“I learned the guys are going to fight,” Dillingham said. “They showed up and they had a really good week of practice.
They worked their butts off all week. … I know I’ve said that before, but I really like our football team.
“I really think if I can get this team to operate on all cylinders, we can be a team that gets better and better and better throughout the year.”
That chance will be tested immediately. ASU heads to Lubbock, Texas, to play No.
11 Texas Tech, then returns home for Kansas State before traveling to Provo, Utah, to face No. 8 BYU.
Dillingham liked the way his team handled Saturday, but he wasn’t pretending the finished product is here yet.
“Our guys were a lot more intent in how we played,” he said. “I thought we played harder.
I thought that was clear. I still think there’s a little bit of trying to figure us out, though.
That’s just being transparent.
“There’s a little bit of us still figuring us out, but I thought we were closer to where we need to be today.”
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