Sun Devils seek history against No. 10 Texas A&M with trip to College Station

(Photo: Jack Simon/WCSN)

When the Arizona State football team walks out onto Kyle Field, they’ll be putting in their final preparations for what will likely be the team’s biggest test of the season against the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies.

ASU enters College Station without a road win over a top-10 team since it beat then-No. 7 UCLA in 2015, 38-23. Coincidentally, 2015 was the last time the Sun Devils played Texas A&M. Then, the Aggies won 38-17 in the Texas Kickoff, with current head coach Kenny Dillingham serving as a graduate assistant.

Eleven years later, Texas A&M enters the season looking to improve on a 2025 campaign where they went 11-2, ending in a first-round exit to Miami in the College Football Playoff.

Texas A&M retained multiple starters from last season, none bigger than fourth-year quarterback Marcel Reed.

In the buildup to this Week 2 test, Dillingham has routinely praised Reed’s ability as a quarterback. Last season, Reed finished with over 3,000 passing yards and a 25-12 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Against Missouri State in the season opener, Reed completed 21-of-30 passes for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Reed’s primary targets will look slightly different this season, as last year’s leading receiver KC Concepcion is now in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns. In his lone season with the Aggies, Concepcion had 61 catches for 919 yards and nine touchdowns.

However, returning third-year wideout Mario Carver was only two yards behind Concepcion with two fewer catches on the season. In the opener, Carver caught five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.

With Carver stepping into the No. 1 receiver role, head coach Mike Elko recruited fifth-year receiver Isaiah Horton from the transfer portal. Horton played his first three seasons of collegiate football with Miami, topping out at 616 yards in 2024.

Horton played his fourth collegiate season with Alabama, finishing with 42 receptions and 511 yards, along with an impressive eight touchdown receptions.

The Sun Devils lost multiple pieces from last season’s secondary, with Keith Abney beginning his professional journey with the Detroit Lions, and Javan Robinson transferring to Wisconsin. ASU revamped the unit by adding sixth-year safety Lyrik Rawls and fourth-year cornerback Ashton Stamps to defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s weaponry, which will likely need big performances to slow down Texas A&M’s vertical threat.

On the other side of the ball, Texas A&M finished 2025 allowing 21 points per game, 31st in the nation and seventh in the SEC.

Texas A&M was incredibly successful limiting teams through the air, holding opponents to 176 passing yards per game, 16th best in the nation.

However, last year’s defensive coordinator Jay Bateman took a job with Kentucky, opening the door to questions around this season’s defense. Lyle Hemphill replaced Bateman, as he was promoted from a senior assistant position.

Hemphill will be helped by retaining three starters in the secondary from last season – fourth-year Dalton Brooks, fourth-year Marcus Ratcliffe and fifth-year Dezz Ricks – and also the addition of fifth-year corner Rickey Gibson III from Tennessee.

Texas A&M’s defensive capabilities, specifically against the pass, pose the opportunity for third-year quarterback Cutter Boley to announce himself on the national stage with a strong performance.

Week 1’s game against Morgan State showed that Boley has the weapons across the board for him to get the ball to, but the game in College Station is a whole new level.

Yet even with the prowess of Texas A&M on the field, the biggest test for the Sun Devils might come off of the field.

A year ago, when ASU traveled to Starkville, Mississippi to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Dillingham’s team found itself distracted by the rowdy atmosphere of over 50,000.

Kyle Field’s capacity? The fourth-largest in the nation, with a capacity of 102,733; though the Aggies’ last home game against Missouri State recorded an attendance of 107,782, the program’s ninth-largest.

If the Sun Devils find victory in College Station, it would be the first time they’ve beaten a non-conference opponent who’s ranked inside the top-10 of the AP Poll.

While it is Week 2, this could be a much-needed resume booster come the end of the season for ASU, as it looks to return to the College Football Playoff.

This game also begins a lengthy road trip for the Sun Devils, as they head to London for the Union Jack Classic against Kansas, immediately following the game against Texas A&M.

With two pivotal road trips on the agenda for ASU, this stretch has the chance to set the tone for the season.