Arizona State’s season opener produced more than a blowout. It gave the Sun Devils a new headline act at quarterback.
Cutter Boley, the junior transfer from Kentucky, was named Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after a record-setting debut in ASU’s 70-7 win over Morgan State. Boley completed 21 of 27 passes for 387 yards and six touchdowns, setting the program’s debut records for both passing yards and passing touchdowns. His 82.0 quarterback rating ranked sixth among Big 12 quarterbacks in Week 1.
“That’s awesome,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Cool for him.
That’s last week, but we’re about to move on. Awesome to see him have success.
I’m glad he’s here. He’s a great person.
He’s awesome to coach on game day. He’s got great energy.”
Boley’s numbers were boosted by a pair of veteran transfer receivers who made their own kind of first impression. Omarion Miller and Reed Harris combined for 239 yards and three touchdowns, with Harris finishing as ASU’s leading receiver with 137 yards and a score on six catches. Harris is the highest-rated transfer in program history, and the two wideouts helped turn Boley’s debut into the kind of performance that reflected the Sun Devils’ offseason plan: spend less on chasing a quarterback and load up on weapons around him.
The result was ASU’s biggest offensive outburst under Dillingham and its highest point total since 2020. The 387 passing yards were the most by a Sun Devil quarterback since 2022, and it was only the third time under Dillingham that Arizona State topped 300 passing yards in a game.
“I could see confidence pregame,” Dillingham said. “Him throwing the football pregame was the best he's probably thrown the ball since he's been here.
Every throw was on the money, and I think that translated to the game. He was very accurate in the football game, the perimeter screens, the glance throws that we were throwing, the home run posts that we threw.
He was very, very accurate in the football game, and I think that stemmed from the confidence he had in the plan.”
Now the challenge changes fast. Arizona State goes from Morgan State to No.
8 Texas A&M on Saturday in College Station, Texas. Boley already has experience in big spots; he earned SEC All-Freshman honors at Kentucky last year as a redshirt freshman and completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,584 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions against conference opponents.
“A lot of our guys have played in high-profile games,” Dillingham said. “Cutter's played high-profile games.
For some of the guys, it'll be their first high-profile game in this environment, and it will be surreal for them. There is no way to prepare...it takes practice in those environments, and you can try to practice it, but nothing is like the game.
The key is: it can be fun, it can be exciting. It can be loud, but I can listen to the loudest music I want and still think how I want to think.”
In Other News...
Arizona State's Offensive Explosion Put The Rest Of The Big 12 On Notice
Arizona States offense spent the afternoon looking like a unit that could score from anywhere on the field, piling up six passing touchdowns and four more on the ground in a performance that will travel well beyond one Saturday. The Sun Devils also cleared 400 passing yards and 200 rushing yards, a blend of volume and balance that has been rare even by the standard of explosive modern offenses.
Morgan State was left to absorb the full force of it, as Arizona State reached 70 points in a result that will get attention around the Big 12 for more than just the final margin. The bigger question now is whether this was simply a perfect matchup for a hot offense, or the kind of outburst that starts to say something larger about what the Sun Devils can be when everything is clicking. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Just Added Another Recruit Big 12 Fans Will Notice
Arizona State kept building momentum on the recruiting trail with a commitment from Howard Williams, a 6-foot-7 power forward from Dynamic Prep in Dallas who is already drawing national attention. The Class of 2027 addition gives the Sun Devils another high-end frontcourt piece after an official visit and adds to a group that is starting to look much more formidable for the future.
Williams is regarded as a top-50 prospect nationally, and his pledge marks the second top-50 commitment for Arizona State in this class. For a program trying to position itself in a crowded Big 12 landscape, that kind of early talent accumulation matters, especially when the player profile suggests both size and long-term upside in the paint. [Read more 🡒]