Jake Fette prepares for first home start as a Sun Devil against Colorado

(Photo: Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)

On Monday, Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham dismissed a reporter’s question about whether he was interested in the Florida State head coaching job, which was vacated after the university bought out Mike Norvell — a former mentor.

“We’ve done this before,” Dillingham said. “I’m trying to find a way to beat Colorado.”

On the heels of the Sun Devils’ 27-20 loss at the hands of No. 8 BYU, all the attention is turned toward ASU’s (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) visitors from the Centennial State.

The Buffaloes (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) come to Tempe on ASU’s family weekend, when parents from across the nation fill Mountain America Stadium to the brim, reuniting with their kin for the first time since drop-off in August.

Much like many of the students hosting their folks for the weekend, first-year quarterback Jake Fette experienced drastic changes to his day-to-day life since August. Fette came into the season as the Sun Devils’ third-string quarterback, but after third-year Cutter Boley’s benching and sixth-year Mikey Keene suffering a knee injury against Kansas State, he was able to make his first collegiate start last week against BYU.

Dillingham announced on Monday that Fette will remain the starter against Colorado and for the foreseeable future.

Fette’s biggest issue against BYU was taking sacks. The young quarterback was brought down six times in the first half. However, after shuffling personnel across the offensive line — both tackle spots and right guard — Fette went untouched in the second half.

With the return of third-year interior offensive linemen Tana Alo-Tupuola and Wade Helton, both sidelined with injuries against BYU, ASU’s front five figures to be stronger heading into a matchup against a Colorado defense that ranks fourth in the Big 12 in sacks.

On the other side of the ball, Colorado’s offensive line will face an ASU defensive front coming off a dominant performance against BYU, in which the Sun Devils surrendered just 47 rushing yards.

The battle in the trenches on both sides figures to be another key storyline heading into Saturday’s matchup.

ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward spoke at the team’s Wednesday practice about Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marrion’s play-calling identity.

“(Marrion) takes a lot of pride in running the football and giving different looks, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us to be able to stop the run and keep the ball in front of us,” Ward said.

While Colorado may have taken a run-first identity lately amid quarterback inconsistencies, one wide receiver has still managed to separate himself.

Third-year receiver Joseph Williams has taken a huge leap in production this season for the Buffaloes. Williams’ numbers through eight games already dwarf his full-season totals from each of the last two seasons. So far, he has accumulated 732 yards and five touchdowns.

Williams filled the top receiver spot left open in the departure of fourth-year Omarion Miller. Coincidentally, Williams and Miller will be standing on opposite sidelines on Saturday.

Since coming to ASU, Miller hasn’t quite met the towering expectations Sun Devil fans gave him. The Colorado transfer only has one 100-yard game: the opener against Morgan State. Mostly utilized in screen passes early on, Miller’s role has expanded, having him look more like the player he was at Colorado as the season progressed. While recording only 37 receiving yards against BYU, Miller was the target of several deep balls from Fette, one of which resulted in a contested touchdown catch.

From the very beginning of the season, Miller has been outshadowed by the emergence of fourth-year wide receiver Reed Harris. The Boston College transfer is the 10th-leading receiver in the nation. His 804 yards and eight touchdowns also lead the Big 12.

Harris was slowed down against BYU, only recording one catch for four yards, but looks to rebound against a Colorado defense that allows nearly 250 yards through the air per game.

Saturday’s game presents itself as a step towards bowl eligibility for ASU. The Sun Devils need to win at least two of their remaining four games for a postseason opportunity.

Despite Colorado only having a single conference win in the last calendar year — last Saturday’s 27-24 overtime win over Kansas State — Dillingham is not treating the Buffaloes differently than any other opponent.

“This is a good football team,” Dillingham said. “So, I am 100% of the mindset of ‘let’s go play our best game versus Colorado.’”