Jake Fette wrote his name into the Arizona State record books on Saturday night, delivering a rare two-way performance that powered the Sun Devils to a 20-10 victory over Colorado in Tempe, abc15.com reported.
Making his first career home start, the freshman quarterback became the first ASU signal-caller to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same game since Jake Plummer achieved the feat in 1996. The historic milestone coincided with the university honoring that very same 1996 squad.
The Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) appeared firmly in control early, bouncing back from a narrow 27-20 defeat at No. 7 BYU by building a commanding 17-0 halftime lead. Fette orchestrated the first-half surge by firing a 34-yard touchdown pass to Reed Harris.
He then capped another drive by hauling in a 1-yard scoring toss from running back Cardae Mack, who took a direct snap and lobbed the ball into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal.
Arizona State football is pure entertainment. Jake Fette’s first career TD reception! pic.twitter.com/qQfubJJWs6
“I told the guys: the first half was us having all three phases in line,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said. “That’s the first time we’ve played good football in all three phases for a half. Let’s finish the game and play it for a whole game.”
Fette finished the night completing 13 of 19 passes for 187 yards, steadily commanding the offense through his second career start. Reflecting on his expanding leadership role, the freshman noted that playing the position requires vocal authority.
“As a starting quarterback, you can’t stand back there and be quiet and just lead the offensive unit,” Fette said. “I’ve been trying to build on that.”
While the first half belonged entirely to the hosts, the flailing Buffaloes (3-6, 1-5) clawed their way back into the contest after the intermission. Colorado’s defense stiffened, completely shutting down the Arizona State offense while the Buffaloes found a rhythm of their own.
Colorado narrowed the gap to 20-10 following a field goal and Isaac Wilson’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Williams. That scoring drive was aided by an ASU penalty for running into the kicker on a previous field-goal attempt. However, any hopes of a full comeback evaporated when Colorado turned the ball over on a failed fourth-and-magnitude attempt near midfield with 2:43 remaining on the clock.
“Didn’t see quit, didn’t see anybody being lethargic, didn’t see them giving up by any means, but it was way too late,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said. “I wish we had started off like that instead of end up like that.”
Sanders had lauded the Buffaloes earlier in the week for logging what he considered their best practice of the season, but those positive indicators failed to translate to the desert turf. Colorado struggled mightily in the opening two quarters, managing a meager 103 total yards of offense—62 of which came in the final 45 seconds before halftime.
The visitors did not record a single first down until the seven-minute mark of the second quarter, and that possession stalled out when Wilson absorbed a bruising 24-yard sack on fourth-and-6 from the Arizona State 34-yard line. A rare deep strike—a 74-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Ernest Campbell—was ultimately erased by an illegal man downfield penalty, compounding the offensive frustrations.
“We just couldn’t get anything going through the offense,” Sanders said.
Beyond the offensive fireworks from Fette, punting and field position played a role in preserving the win for Arizona State. Dillingham deployed a more measured approach on fourth downs than usual, allowing punter Nick McLarty and gunner Daquwan Dunn to pin the Buffaloes deep inside their own territory twice.
“I feel like the field position was a huge part of the game with us having them backed up,” Dillingham said.
With the victory secured despite a sluggish second-half showing, Arizona State shifts its focus toward next Saturday’s matchup on the road against UCF. Meanwhile, Colorado looks to regroup as they prepare to host No. 17 Houston.
