The Arizona State Sun Devils, who were breaking in a lot of new players, including a quarterback, made a strong 2026 debut.
The Sun Devils cruised past visiting Morgan State 70-7 on Sept. 5 at Mountain America Stadium, in front of 54,004 fans. The points scored by ASU tied for the second-most points ever scored in a game. The No. 1 mark is 79 points scored against Colorado State in 1961.
ASU scored on seven of eight possessions in the first half and took a 49-7 lead into the locker room.
Coach Kenny Dillingham pulled most of his starters early in the third quarter. Five minutes were also taken off the clock to start the fourth quarter. The request was made to the officials by Morgan State coach Damon Wilson, and Dillingham agreed. Afterward, he said
he had never been part of a game where that had happened.
It marked the ninth straight home sellout. That streak dates back to the last game of the 2024 season.
What went right
Boley had a strong debut: It all starts with your quarterback, and Boley was solid, going 21-for-27 for 387 yards and six touchdowns. He reached those totals despite exiting early in the third quarter. There weren't a lot of shots downfield, but a lot of safe throws in the 10- to 20-yard range that were extended by the backs and receivers for big yardage. The only flaw was a fumble when he was sacked for the only time in the game.
A lot of contributors: Getting a big lead allowed Dillingham to use a lot of players. Three quarterbacks saw action. Eleven different players caught passes, and all seven running backs factored into the rushing total. The starters played the first half and just one or two series in the second. Eight different players scored touchdowns.
Blocking by the wide receivers: When Hines Ward is the position coach, this aspect is expected to excel. Dillingham made a point of crediting his receivers in the postgame press conference. The coach especially singled out Raiden Vines-Bright, who had just one catch, but had at least two blocks that sprang his teammates for big yardage.
Clean game: ASU was only penalized four times for a total of 22 yards. That's notable any time, but even more so in a game with so many new starters. There were few missed tackles. Generally, it was a clean game with very few sloppy moments, which has to please Dillingham.
What went wrong
Lost the turnover battle: Scoring 10 touchdowns makes this a non-factor. But it's going to be a big deal against the caliber of competition ASU will see next. There was just one turnover: a fumble by Boley, but ASU didn't have a takeaway.
Grades
Offense (A-): ASU tallied 681 yards in the shortened game. It was 5-for-10 on third down and 4-for-5 on fourth down. More importantly, it went 5-for-5, with five touchdowns in the red zone, which was one of the biggest problem areas for the Sun Devils in 2025. Kyson Brown led the ground game with 80 yards on six carries. Three receivers had 100 yards or more, led by Reed Harris with 137 on six catches. The Sun Devils gave up two sacks.
Defense (B+): The Sun Devils held the Bears to 188 yards, with a 3-for-13 on third and fourth downs. Morgan State had 102 rushing yards and 86 passing yards. It had 75 of its 188 yards on the lone scoring drive. Sophomore safety Ben Alefaio-Lili had a team-high five tackles. Clayton Smith and Jalen Thompson had sacks.
Special teams (B+): Not much went into this because there were no field goal attempts or punts. Carson Smith booted the first eight extra points, while Carston Kieffer made the last two. Six of Smith's eight kickoffs went for touchbacks. Kieffer had the other two, which were run back. The longest Morgan State kickoff return was 24 yards. ASU tried an onside kick after the first touchdown, and it was recovered by the Sun Devils' Cory Butler, who also handled punt return duties.
Personnel notes
Three players are out for the season with injuries: LB Zyrus Fiaseu, DT My'Kiel Gardner and Nigel Pringle . . . TE Khamari Anderson has been working his way back from a broken leg, and Dillingham had said earlier he hoped to have him back by the third game of the season, but Anderson was in the starting lineup against Morgan State . . . ASU used 80 players, including nine true freshmen.
They said it
Boley on first ASU start: “It was awesome how the fan base showed out. It's just a lot of credit to the guys on the team for how we played tonight and how bought in they were all week to the game plan and trying to be us. I feel like we came out tonight and executed on all cylinders, a few plays here and there we wish we had back, but our guys really executed and they really bought in this week.”
ASU linebacker Owen Long: “Not everything's going to go right in a football game. The things you can control: your effort, your tenacity, and how hard you work to get to the football. Those are the things I think our defense is built on. We were able to display it tonight, and the cool thing about football is that we have a week to get the bad things fixed and go back at it next week.”
ASU WR Reed Harris on blocking: “We have to take pride in everything we do, whether it's catching the ball, running routes, or blocking. Blocking will help the big plays happen. I feel like what happened tonight speaks for itself, making plays downfield, getting the running backs open. When things go together like that, it's good football.”
Dillingham: "If you watch us play tonight, we look like a team that practices hard. Usually, if you practice hard, and you practice like it's a game, your first game you are efficient. You play like you practice. So I think that they showed that they put in a lot of work this offseason."
Up next
The Sun Devils hit the road and will be traveling to one of the toughest venues for opposing teams when they square off against Texas A&M (1-0) on Sept. 12 in College Station, Texas. The Aggies opened the season with a 50-0 win over Missouri State.
The next home game will not be until Oct. 3 against Baylor.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The good and bad of Arizona State's domination of Morgan State
