3 Matchups That Will Decide Arizona State’s Week 11 Game Against Central Florida
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Devils. Knights. How will it unfold?
Here are the key matchups ASU must win for success in Orlando on Saturday afternoon:
Jake Fette vs. Banged-Up UCF Secondary
Through simple play calls and option plays with RB Cardae Mack, freshman quarterback Jake Fette hasn't been asked to do anything too complicated when it comes to throwing the ball.
However, two throws from Fette to Reed Harris and Omarion Miller stood out vs. Colorado, even being labeled as "Sunday caliber" throws.
Heading into Orlando, will ASU loosen the leash a bit on their true freshman?
Fette's completion percentage jumped from 52.4% vs. BYU to 68.4% vs. Colorado, with his quarterback rating jumping nearly 20 points higher.
For UCF, their injury report is lengthy, including three defensive backs being listed as out and one being probable.
The Knights like to get into shootouts with teams (Exhibit A: Their 39-31 2OT win over No. 2 BYU). With a weakened secondary, Fette might be tasked to try and deliver some big-time throws to keep up the pace on the scoreboard. Will ASU do it? Or will they stay conservative?
ASU Defense vs. The Run
Included on that UCF injury report is RB1 Duke Watson (Out) and QB1 Keyone Jenkins (Questionable).
If Jenkins is out or banged up, the Knights will likely try to utilize the run game with a stable of running backs behind Watson, rather than throwing their QB2 into the deep end.
No matter who is running the football, ASU's best victories have come with stopping the run, and their worst losses have come from being run through.
Since the Fette/Mack era began, ASU's defense has kept its opponents under 100 yards in each of the three contests, earning a 2-1 record.
Before that, ASU allowed 100 rushing yards or more in four of its first six games. Three of those were 179 yards or more, with Baylor and Texas Tech crossing the 250-yard rushing mark.
Does defense travel? It will have to if ASU wants a chance at a sixth win.
Arizona State vs. "The Bounce House"
Believe it or not, ASU has not won a road game this season.
Sure, you can count the London trip as a "road environment" if you want, even though ASU was technically the home team and it was a split crowd.
Looking at their home/road splits: ASU has nearly double the total yards (2,173 to 1,291) at home, over 100 more yards per game at home (434.6 to 322.8) and a 6.37 yards per play average compared to 4.66 on the road.
Of course, you have to factor in the cliental. At home, ASU has faced teams such as Morgan State and Hawaii. On the road, they have faced ranked teams like Texas A&M, Texas Tech and BYU.
ASU head football coach Kenny Dillingham touched on the topic this week:
"We've been good on the road in the past. I think we've played three road games, top-10 teams at the time. We haven't played our best football, but I think we'll continue to play better. But I don't think it's like an operational (issue)."
This may be ASU's best shot at a road victory, with their next and final road trip being a big-time rivalry matchup vs. No. 21 Arizona. Can they get it done?
ASU vs. UCF is set for Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1:30 PM MST.
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Dan Allison is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, graduating Cum Laude in Sports Journalism. He currently works for the Rio Rancho Observer and the Albuquerque Journal in New Mexico and has covering high school sports in both New Mexico and Arizona and he is a contributor to High School On SI. He began contributing to Arizona State Sun Devils On SI in 2026.