The Arizona State Sun Devils will look to strike a blow against the mighty SEC when it treks to Texas for a showdown against No. 10 Texas A&M.
Both teams coasted in their opening games, with A&M defeating Missouri State, 50-0, and ASU routing Morgan State 70-7.
ASU coach Kenny Dillingham was pleased with his team's showing in the opener but knows it must take it up a notch to win this one on the road.
Texas A&M is 46-4 in nonconference home games since 2010.
"We haven't done anything yet on the road or versus a Top 10 opponent in the country," he said. "I think our team has confidence that we can go out there and execute, but now we gotta go execute on the road. We gotta be crisp on the road."
Let's take a closer look at the matchup:
Arizona State (1-0) at Texas A&M (1-0)
Time/site: 9
a.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, Kyle Field, College Station, Texas.
TV: ABC (Tom Hart, Jesse Palmer, Kris Budden). Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. (Tim Healey, Jeff Van Raaphorst, Kevin Turner, Jeff Munn).
Last meeting: This will be the second meeting between the teams. The Aggies won the first, 38-17, in 2015 in Houston. That year, Texas A&M had a backup quarterback named Kyler Murray. Mike Bercovici led ASU. That A&M team featured more than 25 future NFL players, including eventual No. 1 overall draft picks: Murray and Myles Garrett, and starting NFL receivers Christian Kirk and Josh Reynolds.
Storylines
No. 10 Texas A&M enters 2026 following an 11-2 season, highlighted by the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance. The Aggies won their first 11 games before losing to Texas, 27-17, in the regular-season finale. They were matched up against Miami in a first-round CFP game and lost, 10-3.
The Sun Devils will likely play in front of the largest crowd in a true road game in program history. Its largest thus far was 92,746 at Georgia in 2009. ASU’s only six-digit crowds in program history both came during the team’s Rose Bowl appearances, with a program-record 103,168 watching the Sun Devil victory on Jan. 1, 1987, over Michigan and 100,635 on Jan. 1, 1997, against Ohio State.
Coaching matchup
Mike Elko, Texas A&M (third year, 20-7 at school, 36-16 overall): Elko, 49, came to College Station after serving as the head coach at Duke in 2022 and 2023. He served as defensive coordinator at Texas A&M from 2018-21 and got the job as head coach after Jimbo Fisher was fired. Elko, a native of South Brunswick, New Jersey, was a safety in his playing days at Penn (1995-99).
Kenny Dillingham, ASU (fourth year, 22-17): Dillingham, 36, took the team from 3-9 to 11-3 and Big 12 Conference champion in just one year. The team has won 19 games in his past two seasons, raising the standard of what is expected. He is the third-youngest head coach at an FBS school.
Arizona State will win if . . .
It can handle a hostile atmosphere: There are few places tougher to play in than College Station. It will likely be the biggest crowd most of the ASU players have faced. The Sun Devils need to hold their own early. Dillingham's teams have shown tenacity and the ability to pull out close games late, but they'll need to be in a position to do so.
The offensive line holds up: The Sun Devils gave up two sacks last week to Morgan State, with other instances where Boley was pressured. The tackle positions seem to be most problematic. Senior Luke Baklenko and junior Champ Westbrooks are manning the left side for now, while Jalen Klemm starts on the right side.
It can use the running and short passing games: This is what the Sun Devils did to perfection in the opener, but the challenge will be to replicate that against an elite foe. It will be interesting to see if the ASU offensive line can hold up long enough for Boley to look deep. If not, he'll have to rely on shorter throws to short and intermediate distances. Last week, RB Grayson Rigdon had two catches for 110 yards, and 99 of those came after the catch. WR Omarion Miller had eight catches for 102 yards, with 80 after the catch.
Texas A&M will win if . . .
It contains that ASU short passing game: The importance of that for the Sun Devils was detailed above, so the Aggies should try to make their opponent go more vertical. The Aggies are also strong in the back end of the secondary, so those defenders against the Sun Devils receivers would make for a competitive matchup.
It contains the ASU running attack: Last week, ASU netted 249 yards with all seven backs factoring into that total. If the Aggies make the Sun Devils one-dimensional, this probably won't be a close game.
Marcel Reed has a good game: The senior quarterback threw for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns (with 12 interceptions) a year ago, playing a tough schedule. He also rushed for 496 yards and another six touchdowns. He was stellar in the opener, too, throwing for 233 yards on 21-of-30 passing, including touchdown passes for 15 and 12 yards.
By the numbers
3 — Number of ranked opponents ASU will play on the road this season. This is the first of those; then come No. 13 Texas Tech (Oct. 17) and No. 15 BYU (Oct. 31). The Sun Devils also play rival Arizona on the road, and the Wildcats were in the receiving-votes category.
6 — The Sun Devils have won six straight games vs. ranked teams in the regular season, the best mark in the nation entering 2026. At 6-6 overall against AP Top 25 teams, Dillingham is the only active coach in the Big 12 with at least a .500 record against ranked opponents. The Sun Devils have won six straight games over Big 12 teams ranked in the Top-25 (2-0 last season), which is tied for the sixth-longest streak in Big 12 history.
10 — Number of returning starters from a 2025 team that went 11-1. That includes QB Marcel Reed, RB Rueben Owens II, WR Mario Craver, WR Ashton Bethel-Roman and C Mark Nabou Jr. On defense, Texas A&M returns five starters; S Marcus Ratcliffe, CB Dezz Ricks, FS Dalton Brooks, LB Daymion Sanford, and DE T.J. Searcy.
35 — Number of career starts for Texas A&M safety Marcus Ratcliffe. That's the most by any Aggie entering the 2026 season.
107,782— Attendance for Texas A&M for last week's game against Missouri State. It was the largest season-openingcrowd in Kyle Field history and the ninth-largest crowd all time. It was also the 12th consecutive game that Kyle Field has hosted 100,000+ fans.
Cross connections
ASU OL Tana Alo-Tupuola was a teammate of Texas A&M DE Sam M’Pemba and CB Dezz Ricks at IMG Academy (Florida).
ASU CB Rodney Bimage was teammates with Texas A&M offensive lineman Tyler Thomas at Dickinson High School in Texas.
ASU DB Kyan McDonald and RB Kyson Brown were both teammates of Texas A&M OL Isendre “Papa” Ahfua and OL Mark Nabou Jr. at O'Dea High School in Washington.
ASU SB Caleb Chester was a teammate of Texas A&M TE KK Johnson at Marshall High School in Texas.
ASU WR Derek Eusebio was a teammate of Texas A&M WR Chase Burton at Parish Episcopal High School in Texas.
ASU LB Zyrus Fiaseu was a teammate of Texas A&M safety Marcus Ratcliffe and DE Ryan Henderson in 2023 at San Diego State.
ASU WR Jaren Hamilton was a teammate of Texas A&M DE Kendall Jackson at Buchholz High School (Florida).
ASU QB Mikey Keene was a teammate of Texas A&M TE Richie Anderson III from 2023-24 at Fresno State.
ASU WR Omarion Miller was a teammate of both Texas A&M DT Brandon Davis-Swain and S Tawfiq Byard in 2025 atColorado.
ASU DB Joseph Smith was a teammate of Texas A&M WR Mike Brown at Legacy School of Sports and Science in Texas.
ASU CB Ashton Stamps was a teammate of both Texas A&M OL Coen Echols and DB Justin Echols at LSU in 2025.
ASU DB Maurice Williams was a teammate of Texas A&M P Alex Abbott in 2024 at Houston.
Dillingham and Texas A&M Associate Head Coach (Defense)/Linebackers Coach Travis Williams were both on the 2019Auburn coaching staff together.
They said it
"I would say coach Elko has a tree. He has his own system of how he does things, and a lot of people have been very successful taking that blueprint that he has and running it. He's constantly adapting it because he has such a comfort in this scheme and he knows where the weaknesses are, he knows how to lead guys, and I think that's why he's had so much success." - ASU coach Kenny Dillingham on Texas A&M coach Mike Elko
"I think he's a really bright football guy. He's got a great football mind, and he's got a really charismic personality. People gravitate to him. You can see it in how they play. One of the things that jumps out on tape is how hard those kids play. That's usually a good sign of culture and leadership and what he demands in the standard he demands, and for him to have the success he's had so quickly at Arizona State, which was not a place that had been winning a lot of football games before he got there, that's always a testament to a guy is when he's outdoing the standard at a program." - Texas A&M coach Mike Elko on Kenny Dillingham
Who will win and why
Texas A&M 35, Arizona State 25: You can pipe in as much crowd noise as you want; you can't simulate what it's like to play in front of 100,000. It's not just the home crowd. The Aggies are a quality team that will likely be able to exert their will at the line of scrimmage. That will be the difference.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football braces for challenge facing SEC contender on road
