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Carson Smith congratulated by his teammates after hitting one of four field goals in the 26-13 win.Carson Smith congratulated by his teammates after hitting one of four field goals in the 26-13 win.

The ASU victory…

  • Improved the Sun Devils to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big 12.
  • Extended ASU’s series lead over UCF to 3-0 in its first trip to Orlando.
  • Gave ASU consecutive victories for the first time this season.
  • Gave Arizona State its first victory on an opponent’s home field this season.
  • Secured bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season for the first time since 2017-19

Bits and pieces

  • It was the first time that Arizona State has allowed 0 sacks and not committed a turnover since Oct. 28, 2023 vs Washington State.
  • The 14-play, 81-yard drive that stretched from the end of the third to the beginning of the fourth quarter and took 7:16 was the longest drive of the season by both plays (14) and time (7:16). It put the Sun Devils up 23-7 with 13:39 left in the fourth quarter.
  • The Sun Devils converted 10-of-19 third down attempts, the most conversions in a regulation game since it had 10 against Oklahoma State on Nov. 2, 2024. 
  • C.J. Fite, Owen Long, MIkey Keene and Reed Harris were team captains on Saturday.
  • Owen Long continues to inch closer to 300 career tackles. After collecting nine more tonight, Long now has 296 in his career, which is the Top-10 among active Division I players. 
  • The Sun Devils started their eighth different combination along the offensive line today with Luke Baklenko slotting in at guard for the first time this season. Arizona State entered the weekend with the most starting line combos in the country with seven.
    • Baklenko’s effort was especially notable as he was not viewed in any team periods practicing at guard during the week while he continued to rehab from a lower body injury.
    • Even with the revolving door along the offensive line, the Sun Devils did not allow a sack for the first time this season. 

Getting defensive

  • Arizona State’s defense has now allowed 17 points or less in six games this season and they are 6-0 in those games. It is the first time the Sun Devils have accomplished the feat since the 2021 season.  
  • ASU held UCF to only 54 rushing yards on 23 carries, completely neutralizing the Knights’ ground game. It marked the fourth game in a row holding an opponent under 100 rushing yards, the first time accomplishing the feat since a four-game stretch from Sept. 26-Oct. 17, 2015. 
  • Entering the night, opponents had converted just 36.36 percent of their fourth downs against ASU (8-of-22), the 17th-lowest rate nationally and fourth in the Big 12. ASU ranked 59th last season with a 51.35 percent rate allowed. The Sun Devils held UCF to 0-for-2 on the night to improve to 8-for-24 on the season. 
  • ASU has held opponents to 400 or fewer total yards 34 times in 49 games (69.4 percent) under Kenny Dillingham and Brian Ward. Since 2018, it has done so 63 times in 104 games (60.6 percent), compared with 24 of 65 games (36.9 percent) from 2013-17.
  • ASU has held opponents to 30 points or fewer 38 times in 49 games (77.6 percent) under Kenny Dillingham and Brian Ward. The Sun Devils have done so 72 times in 104 games since 2018 (69.2 percent). They allowed 30-plus points in 32 of the 43 previous games (74.4 percent) from 2013-17.
  • Opponents have scored touchdowns on just 19-of-36 red-zone trips against ASU (52.78 percent), which will rank in the Top-40 in the FBS at the conclusion of the weekend. UCF managed just one touchdown on three red zone trips on Saturday. ASU finished 44th in the category a season ago as well (55.77) after ranking 91st in 2024 (64.10).

Time and time again

  • ASU is 20-10 under Kenny Dillingham when leading in time of possession and 8-11 when trailing.
  • The Sun Devils have held the ball for more than 32 minutes in 21 of 49 games (42.9 percent) under Kenny Dillingham, compared with 17 of 55 games from 2018-22 (30.9 percent). 
  • They held the ball for 37:45 on Saturday, a season-high and the ninth-highest total for a single game since the 1996 season. 

Reed-iculous

  • Thanks to a 7-catch/80-yard day, Reed Harris is now just 13 receiving yards shy of posting a 1,000-yard season.
  • With 987 receiving yards, Harris is now just 118 shy of entering the Top-10 in single season program history (Shaun McDonald, 1,104 in 2001)
  • He now has 2,148 receiving yards in his career, which is tied for 21st among active Division I players.
  • Harris has 59 catches so far through 10 games, 12 shy of cracking the Top-10 in single-season program history (Elijhah Badger, 70 in 2022)

Burnie Mack  

  • Freshman running back Cardae Mack continues to put together a historic first season in Tempe.
  • For the fourth time this season, he reached the 100-yard mark on the ground.
  • He finished with 111 yards on 25 carries, rushing for his eighth touchdown of the season.
  • Mack now has 714 yards on the season, which puts him just 156 shy of breaking Keegan Herring’s single-season freshman rushing record set in 2005.
  • Mack now has 855 total yards (141 receiving) on only 142 touches (6.02 yards per touch),
  • Mack’s 98 carries over the last four games are the third-most by a FBS true freshman since the 2021 season (Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins had 109 in 2022 and Iowa’s Caleb Hawkins had 105 in 2025)

Start Strong

  • Arizona State held an opponent scoreless in the first quarter for the second-straight game. Previously, ASU had given up at least a first quarter touchdown in six of the first eight games in the season. 
  • Arizona State has held four consecutive opponents under 180 yards of first-half offense, allowing 150.8 total yards and 35.3 rushing yards per first half during that stretch. UCF had 159 total yards, including 38 rushing yards, at halftime.
  • Over the last three games against BYU, Colorado and UCF, ASU has allowed 141.3 total yards and 27.7 rushing yards per first half. The Sun Devils allowed 205.0 total yards per first half over their first six games.

Carson Daily

  • Carson Smith kicked his first 50-yard field goal of the season with his 51-yarder with 4:18 remaining in the first half. It was the fourth 50-yard field goal of his career. 
  • He is now 17-for-18 on field goals this season for a 94.4 mark that figures to rank in the Top-5 nationally upon completion of all the weekend’s FBS games.
  • Smith kicked three field goals in the final 4 ½ minutes of the first half, and finished with his second four-field goal game of his career (both coming this season).

Carson Smith 2026 field goals (17-of-18)

37 at UCF
28 at UCF
51 at UCF
41 at UCF
21 vs. Colorado
31 vs. Colorado
44 at BYU
24 at BYU
30 at Texas Tech
37 vs. Hawaii (miss)
47 vs. Hawaii
40 vs. Baylor
36 vs. Baylor
32 vs. Baylor
46 vs. Baylor
39 vs. Kansas (London)
35 at Texas A&M
30 at Texas A&M

Hit the Sack

  • Three sacks in back to back games and three or more in four of the last six (didn’t have more than two in any of the first four games).
  • The Sun Devils have four or more sacks in back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 2 and Oct. 8, 2021 against UCLA and Stanford in which the team had four and five, respectively.
  • Senior defensive lineman Jalen Thompson (7.0 sacks) is the first Sun Devil lineman to record seven sacks in a season since Alani Latu had seven in 2017.