Arizona State left Kyle Field with a 38-20 loss to No. 10 Texas A&M, but the box score told a messier story than the final margin.
For long stretches, the Sun Devils matched the Aggies more than the scoreboard suggested. Arizona State finished with a 369-255 edge in total offense, won the first-down battle 16-14 and held the ball for 30:04. The Sun Devils also ran for more yards, 115-92, and passed for more, 254-163.
Still, the game kept tilting toward Texas A&M because Arizona State kept giving it away.
The Sun Devils turned it over four times, committed nine penalties and added two damaging special teams errors. Texas A&M made those mistakes pay over and over, then finished the job with a fourth-quarter surge.
Arizona State’s first major test of the 2026 season became a lesson in how hard it is to survive against a Top 10 team when you keep handing over extra chances.
The Sun Devils were never physically buried. In fact, they spent much of the afternoon hanging around and creating real pressure on the Aggies. ASU trailed only 17-10 at halftime and answered a third-quarter Texas A&M touchdown with a 58-yard strike from Cutter Boley to Reed Harris, trimming the deficit to 24-20.
That set up a chance for Arizona State to enter the fourth quarter within one score of the nation’s No. 10 team, despite all the self-inflicted damage already piling up.
Instead, the mistakes caught up.
Corey Butler’s muffed punt in the first quarter gave Texas A&M the ball inside the ASU 10, and Rueben Owens II scored soon after. Late in the second quarter, a failed fake punt handed the Aggies another short field and led to a field goal right before halftime.
The fourth quarter brought the biggest swings. Texas A&M forced two more turnovers, including Marco Jones’ 55-yard interception return for a touchdown that helped open the game wide.
In total, the Aggies scored 27 points after five Arizona State turnovers or turnover-on-downs situations.
Boley’s final line - 21 of 34 for 254 yards and two touchdowns - doesn’t fully capture how he played. His two fourth-quarter interceptions, including the pick-six, will stand out.
But before the game slipped away, he looked comfortable in his first road start for Arizona State. He led an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive after ASU fell behind 7-0 and repeatedly connected with Harris on big gains.
He also ran for 31 yards on six carries.
His best answer came after Texas A&M pushed ahead 24-13 in the third quarter. Boley immediately found Harris for that 58-yard touchdown, pulling the Sun Devils back within four and briefly shifting the tone.
That Boley-Harris connection was the clear bright spot for Arizona State.
Harris caught nine passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the Sun Devils’ passing production. He finished with 21 yards per catch and gave ASU the explosive element it needed against a strong SEC defense. His first touchdown finished Arizona State’s 75-yard response to Texas A&M’s opening score, and his 58-yard score in the third quarter brought the Sun Devils right back into the fight.
Omarion Miller also caught nine passes, but those receptions produced just 29 yards. Harris was the one consistently stretching the field.
Against Morgan State, the Boley-to-Harris connection already looked dangerous. Against a Top 10 opponent on the road, it held up again.
Arizona State’s defense did not play like a unit that gave up 38 points. The Sun Devils limited Texas A&M to 255 total yards, just 92 rushing yards on 35 carries and a 2.6-yard average per rush. The Aggies converted only three of 12 third downs, and Marcel Reed finished with 163 passing yards and 17 rushing yards.
ASU even opened the second half with Lyrik Rawls intercepting Reed on Texas A&M’s first snap.
But Reed settled in and eventually threw three touchdown passes, including two to Isaiah Horton. The Sun Devils also made their own defensive work harder by piling up penalties.
They were flagged nine times for 62 yards, while Texas A&M had just one penalty for five yards. Two third-quarter penalties for 25 yards helped extend an Aggies touchdown drive, including a holding call on fourth down that kept the series alive.
Arizona State walked out of College Station with plenty to fix. It also walked out knowing it moved the ball, limited Texas A&M for long stretches and still lost by 18 because the game kept turning on mistakes.
You do not have to be overwhelmed to lose big. Sometimes you just have to give away too much.
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