TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State freshman running back Cardae Mack spent much of the first four games of the 2026 season waiting for his name to be called. 

On a wet and sluggish Saturday night in Tempe that also happened to be Mack's 19th birthday, Hawaii defenders watched him race 67 yards toward the end zone.

Mack beat a defender and won a footrace down the middle of the field, scoring a touchdown that proved pivotal for his team and putting his name on the map. 

While Mack led ASU running backs in carries, yards and touchdowns, his breakout night was part of a larger effort. 

“We all work to get better as running backs,” Mack said. “I think us keeping building and making each other better every single day is the goal.” 

Mack’s 154 yards rushing, the most by a Sun Devil freshman since 2005, powered ASU (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) to a bounce-back 30-12 win over Hawaii (1-5, 0-3 MW) on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Mountain America Stadium. The birthday boy quickly brushed off any thoughts of last weekend’s loss, expressing confidence that the Sun Devils just had to stop beating themselves. 

“We just had to get back in our groove,” Mack said. “The only people that can stop this is us.” 

ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham made it clear in recent weeks that he wanted to give running backs more opportunities and was bullish about Mack’s breakout evening. 

“He played well, that’s what it is,” Dillingham said. “You know he’s gonna play well, he’s gonna get the ball more. That’s how it works.” 

Mack's first career touchdown came from the wildcat formation at the 1-yard line in the second quarter, creating the momentum he needed to become the feature back for the rest of the contest. 

While Mack’s momentum was just beginning to build, the game came to a halt. 

As players ran for the tunnels and fans ran for concessions at the end of the first half, a storm hit Tempe, bringing sideways rain and lightning, drenching the field and extending halftime by about 15 minutes as the teams waited out the mandated 30-minute lightning delay.

In a situation where timing was uncertain, and the rhythm could’ve been thrown off, Dillingham downplayed the potential impact, saying there wasn’t enough time to truly test his team. 

Once the delay was lifted and the second half kicked off, a running script took over for the Sun Devils, leading to Mack’s big evening, but for the Rainbow Warriors, their playbook was stuck on pass. 

Hawaii continued a trend from the first half of creating chunk plays downfield, which started on the very first play from scrimmage, as sophomore quarterback Micah Alejado found senior wide receiver Devin Alves deep over the middle for a 47-yard gain to open the game. 

Yet the big plays dwindled in frequency, as Dillingham said he saw something that ASU exploited after some first-half defensive miscues. 

“We were just trying to prevent him (Alejado) from extending,” Dillingham said. “We did bring a little bit more pressure in that second half.” 

While the pressure helped force incompletions and shorter throws, the biggest defensive play of the second half came with a little help from Mother Nature. 

Alejado rolled to his right in the third quarter while under duress from the Sun Devil pass rush before locating an open receiver in freshman Kainoa Carvalho, who had been sure-handed all evening. 

Carvalho dove for the football, and while it was in his hands for mere seconds, the wet ball squirmed out and right into the hands of junior defensive back Kyan McDonald, who returned it 23 yards and set up ASU’s offense with excellent field position. 

Junior linebacker Martell Hughes had a front-row seat not only to the game-changing interception but also to McDonald’s daily preparation for a moment like that to present itself. 

“Just proud of him and all the work he’s put in,” Hughes said. “Just being able to see him get his moment and obviously make a play that changed the game for us.” 

Sun Devil game changers were found on both sides of the ball in the contest, but what made the effort so special to players like Hughes was watching a freshman dominate.

Freshman defensive lineman Julian Hugo put up a big game, recording two sacks and making his presence felt everywhere he went. 

“He just shows up every day,” Dillingham said about Hugo. “He’s another guy who has passion. Watch him come off the sideline. Go watch the TV copy, you can feel it.” 

In a game with delays, rain, and the feeling of importance after a 36-point loss just seven days prior, passion was key, and it was evident in the team’s biggest leaders all the way down to their last player. 

Junior quarterback Cutter Boley faced criticism for his performance and the offense as a whole over the last three games, during which the team averaged 18.7 points per game. 

Boley received praise from Dillingham after practice this week, who said he had taken a big step in preparation for this game. 

Boley responded to his coach by going 5-for-5 on the opening drive and finding senior wide receiver Reed Harris on a slant over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown strike that opened the scoring for ASU.

After the play, Harris turned and watched as nine of his teammates ran towards him to celebrate, except the one who threw the pass. 

Boley looked to the ground and pumped both arms repeatedly, as if a thousand pounds had come off his shoulders. 

That celebration helped fuel Boley to a winning performance, throwing for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 31 attempts. 

Boley and the Sun Devils’ next opportunity comes next Saturday, Oct. 17, on the road against Big 12 rival and No. 11-ranked Texas Tech, the team ASU handed its only regular-season loss last year. 

Just like in 2025, ASU enters its matchup with the Red Raiders as underdogs, but Dillingham believes he has a team that can compete with anyone. 

“I think we can be a team that gets better and better,” Dillingham said. “A team that can beat anybody.”