Meet Your Insider
Hi, Sun Devil Nation, and welcome to The Cover Window! I'm Skylar Vanterpool. Yes, I'm the girl by the pool in the giant maroon sunhat, and yes, I also have a master's degree in sports science, so I will talk your ear off about recovery windows and sweat rates. I travel with this team and live with this team. Fair warning: about every 90 seconds I'm going to remind you to drink some water. It's not a bit. Okay, it's a little bit a bit. My motto is simple: "Hydrate and dominate." When we win, I cannonball into a kiddie pool on set. When we lose, it's "Hydrate, reflect, recover," and then a well-earned nap. Every week I'll bring you the players, the coaches and the matchup, with plenty of sunshine and zero sunburn.
The School in 60 Seconds
Sun Devil football has a Rose Bowl ring to it. On Jan. 1, 1987, quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst led a comeback as Arizona State beat Michigan 22-15 in Pasadena. More recently, the Sun Devils won the 2024 Big 12 championship, beating Iowa State 45-19 in the title game. Home is Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, listed at a capacity of 65,870. This team also gets around: in Week 3 it beat Kansas 24-17 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, in the Union Jack Classic. Sip of water. Okay, moving on.
The Coach and the Scheme
Kenny Dillingham became Arizona State's 26th head coach on Nov. 27, 2022, and took the Sun Devils to the Big 12 title in his second season. The 2026 numbers say this offense lives through the air. ASU throws for 276.7 yards a game and has 15 passing touchdowns, against 7 on the ground. It averages 31.3 points and 420.3 yards a game, and runs on about 48% of its plays at 4.42 yards a carry. The defense is where we need some shade and electrolytes: ASU allows 32.0 points and 373.2 yards a game, and 4.80 yards a carry. Two more things to fix are 15 sacks allowed and 10 turnovers lost against 6 forced. After last week, Dillingham said, "We almost gotta double down on that, because we're doing a lot well."
Players to Know
QB Cutter Boley (junior, Kentucky transfer): the season starter. One preview lists him at 1,229 yards, 12 TD and 3 INT, though that snapshot may not include the most recent game. At Texas Tech he went 5 of 10 for 124 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions before he was benched at halftime.
QB Mikey Keene (sixth-year): 25 of 34 for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the second half at Texas Tech. He's on the Pat Tillman Leadership Council and has played at UCF, Fresno State and Michigan.
WR Reed Harris (senior): 34 catches, 590 yards and 7 TD in the same preview snapshot.
WR Raiden Vines-Bright: caught a 74-yard touchdown at Texas Tech. WR Derek Eusebio: led the team with seven catches for 89 yards last week after an injury-slowed start.
RB Cardae Mack (freshman): seven carries for 27 yards and a touchdown catch at Texas Tech.
I could not find current, dated season defensive leaders, so I'm leaving them out rather than guessing.
The Conference Picture
Arizona State is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, 2-1 at home and 0-2 on the road, plus the Wembley win at a neutral site. The Sun Devils are not ranked this week. The league losses were 55-19 at home to Baylor and 53-25 at Texas Tech. The top two Big 12 teams meet in the championship game, and both teams in this one are 1-2, so this is a big afternoon in the desert.
This Week: Kansas State (4-2) at Arizona State (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 12:45 p.m. MST (3:45 p.m. ET) · Mountain America Stadium · ESPN2. It's K-State's first visit to Tempe since 1989.
Last week: ASU trailed Texas Tech 43-10 at halftime and lost 53-25. Kansas State came from behind to beat Kansas 35-24, with 568 yards of offense and 359 on the ground.
Our offense vs. their defense: K-State allows only 136.3 passing yards a game and has 13 sacks. Our pass protection gave up a season-high six sacks last week, even with center Tana Alo-Tupuola and guard Wade Helton back from missed time.
Their offense vs. our defense: the Wildcats run the ball well, at 6.23 yards a carry. Quarterback Avery Johnson has 462 rushing yards to go with 1,301 passing, and running back Joe Jackson ran for 159 yards against Kansas. Our run defense allows 4.80 a carry, so tackling is the whole story. Arizona Sports pointed to tackling as a problem at Texas Tech.
Series: Arizona State leads 6-1 and won the last meeting, 24-14 in Manhattan in 2024.
Availability: I found no official availability report for either team as of Oct. 18, 2026. Dillingham said he would "assess all personnel" after watching the tape and has not named a starting quarterback. Johnson was shaken up against Kansas but said he only had the wind knocked out of him.
What decides it: (1) Boley or Keene, and how quickly that quarterback gets settled. (2) Whether our front can win at the point of attack against K-State's run game. (3) Protection. Six sacks can't happen again.
And to Hattie Brandvold, K-State's insider: welcome to Tempe, sweetie! I left a cold water bottle at your seat. It's a dry heat, but your crops will still wilt.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
Watching in Tempe? Grab a seafood lunch at Casey Moore's Oyster House on South Ash Avenue before kickoff.
My call: Kansas State Wildcats 32, Arizona State Sun Devils 27.