Cardae Mack emerges as ASU grinds out win against Hawaii through weather delay

TEMPE — Arizona State didn’t have the smoothest game in its 30-12 win over Hawaii on Saturday, but it may have found an answer to its running game woes.

The ASU offense had moved just 24 total yards across its first three second-half drives following a roughly 40-minute weather delay at halftime, at which point freshman Cardae Mack made quite a case to be the new lead running back.

He got ASU moving with runs of four, nine and 16 yards before breaking one open for a 67-yard touchdown. Only one pass was attempted on the drive, and quarterback Cutter Boley’s throw fell incomplete.

cardae mack deserves primary touches at this point.

had runs of 4, 6, 9 and 67 yards for the touchdown after the sun devils had 24 combined yards in the second half across three drives before. pic.twitter.com/unJ9OKj49S

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) October 11, 2026

“Just truly a blessing. Everybody did their part,” Mack said of his big night.” I’ve been practicing hard, doing everything right and it’s just paying off.”

Until Mack’s big-play touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter, ASU had put up the fewest points on Hawaii of any of its opponents this season.

The freshman got his first college touchdown in the first half on a one-yard rush out of the wildcat package.

He was coming off what was previously his best college game in the loss to Baylor, in which he totaled 72 scrimmage yards to lead ASU running backs.

Mack began the ensuing series with an 11-yard rush before offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo, who’s back to calling plays after head coach Kenny Dillingham handled it for the previous five games, went away from him for the rest of the drive.

Two of Boley’s three passes on that series were missed before ASU had to punt, which was a missed opportunity to chew clock in the fourth quarter.

Mack was the running back ASU turned to when it needed to dominate time of possession later in the fourth, indicating he had earned the top role. He finished with 154 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns in the win.

It was the most rushing yards by an ASU freshman since 2005, per the team.

“A lot of football is momentum and just, like, swagger. Like, we’re going to run the ball,” Dillingham said of how the rushing attack turned a corner. “The mindset of a team is so important. … For them to get some confidence tonight and be like, ‘OK, we can do this.’ … Those are positive things, so hopefully we can just build on it.”

The head coach said Mack is “going to get the ball more” going forward.

“he’s the person he is ‘cause of his mama. she did a great job raising him.”

kenny dillingham on the historic night from birthday boy cardae mack had (while praising his upbringing) and his increasing role as a result: pic.twitter.com/korp4G5tj7

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) October 11, 2026

Boley was solid in the first half, as he completed 15 of 20 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown to Reed Harris on a play very similar to a drop he had the previous week against Baylor.

But the quarterback’s efficiency took a major dip in the second half, which has become a trend for him in his five games in an ASU uniform. He went 6 of 11 for 27 yards and a touchdown in the second half.

While a lot of the defensive performance was still lacking and the Sun Devils benefited from several Hawaii miscues, it was a much better effort than when it allowed 55 points to Baylor. The Rainbow Warriors found the end zone just once, after ASU had gone up 24-6.

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