Texas A&M’s first nonconference test against a Power Four opponent comes with plenty to sort through, and Gigem 247’s Jeff Tarpley thinks Arizona State will bring enough to make Saturday interesting before the Aggies separate late.
Tarpley joined Your Afternoon Stretch with host Glenn "Stretch" Smith to size up the Sun Devils ahead of their trip to Kyle Field. Smith opened by asking for an early read on what Kenny Dillingham’s team looks like, and Tarpley pointed first to how Arizona State has built itself.
"He's a very competent guy, very functional guy. He doesn't ask his players to do too much.
He seems to know what he wants when he goes out and gets players from the transfer portal. They brought in 25 transfers.
Like A&M, they kind of needed an opener to work out some kinks and get some of the newness out of their system so they could come back and play a better game in their second game of the season."
One of the biggest concerns for Texas A&M, Tarpley said, is what Arizona State can do through the air. He highlighted two transfer receivers, Reed Harris and Omarion Miller, as players who can stress the Aggies downfield.
"They're bigger targets and they can get down the field. They combined for 14 receptions in their season opener. I think they're going to challenge A&M a bit in that respect, and if they can get the ball down the field then that is going to cause some problems for the Aggies."
Tarpley also pointed to the Sun Devils’ size in the middle of the offensive line, describing those interior linemen as massive bodies that can create problems in tight spaces. On defense, he singled out linebacker Owen Long and nose tackle C.J. Fite as solid pieces, while also saying Arizona State may not have elite front-seven talent overall.
"The corners should be pretty good as they've got some experience. One of them is a transfer and one of them has come up through ASU's system. Both of them are going to go out and try to compete with A&M's receivers which is another matchup to watch."
The environment at Kyle Field is another layer Arizona State has to absorb. Tarpley said the crowd size matters, and he expects the 100,000-fan setting to be a real adjustment for the Sun Devils.
"I have tried to talk to some of the ASU people about this. It's a lot different playing in front of 100,000 people than it is 80,000 people. Another 20,000 people really makes an impression on you."
He also noted the early start time, saying Texas A&M’s 11:00 AM kickoffs may not be popular, but the 9:00 AM start for Arizona State could be an even tougher hurdle.
The quarterback situation is another shift for the Sun Devils. Tarpley said Sam Leavitt, who "played so well for LSU Saturday night," gave Arizona State mobility and RPO flexibility that Cutter Boley, a Kentucky transfer and drop-back passer, does not provide.
"In terms of his ability to escape pressure, in terms of running RPOs the same way that Levitt did, they're not going to be able to do those things. I think those are disadvantages for Arizona State."
He closed by flagging Arizona State’s offensive tackles as rangy players who could run into trouble against A&M edge defenders Marco Jones and Anto Saka, the Northwestern transfer. Tarpley’s view was not that the Sun Devils will get blown out early, but that their tackles could be forced backward and put their quarterback under pressure.
Even with those concerns, Tarpley still sees a game that could be tighter than some Texas A&M fans expect.
"Having said all that, this may be a tougher game than what A&M fans think it's going to be. It may be lower scoring too. However, that probably just means that A&M eventually pull away and wins by double digits."
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