It's kickoff time for the Arizona State Sun Devils, who will be debuting a new cast of athletes.
Coach Kenny Dillingham enters his fourth season with a team that is under the radar, judging by preseason projections, which have the Sun Devils finishing anywhere between sixth and ninth in the Big 12. Among the players making their ASU debut will be junior Cutter Boley, who was named the starting quarterback
a week ago.Morgan State, which finished 4-8 in 2025, is coming off a 17-7 win over North Carolina A&T. It plays in the NCAA Division I FCS and is part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Since the NCAA Division I classifications split in 1978, the Sun Devils have only ever played programs out of the Big Sky Conference when taking on an FCS program —
a streak that will end on Sept. 5.
This will mark the first time in program history that the Sun Devils will square off with an HBCU. The opponent is a replacement for Bowling Green, which bailed on the game in February of 2025.
Morgan State (1-0) at Arizona State (0-0)
Time/site: 7 p.m., Sept. 5, Mountain America Stadium.
TV: ESPN+ (James Westling and Michael Bumpus). Radio: ESPN 620 AM (Tim Healey, Jeff Van Raaphorst, Kevin Turner, Jeff Munn).
The series: This will be the first meeting.
Storylines
Morgan State trailed 7-3 going into the fourth quarter of its season opener, but scored 14 in the final period to come away with the win. The Bears are led by quarterback Cameron Edge, who was at Eastern Michigan last season but did not see any game action.
For ASU, the game will mark the debut of some other highly anticipated transfers, most notably wide receivers Omarion Miller (Colorado) and Reed Harris (Boston College), and cornerback Ashton Stamps (LSU)
Coaching matchup
Damon Wilson, Morgan State (fifth year, 18-27): Wilson came to Morgan State after a 12-year run at Bowie State, where his teams went 89-45, with five teams making the Division II playoffs and the 2021 team advancing to the quarterfinals. Wilson also played at Bowie State, earning All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association honors in 1997 and 1998 at tight end. He was the AFCA DII National Coach of the Year in 2021.
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 last two seasons, raising the standard of what is expected.
Morgan State will win if . . .
ASU turns the ball over: Not once. Not twice. If it were to be one of those catastrophic games, such as the one in 2023, Dillingham's first year, when the Sun Devils turned the ball over eight times in the same game against Fresno State. Turnovers were an issue for ASU late last season and had been a problem for Boley last year at Kentucky. Making good decisions and not putting the ball in jeopardy have been a focus this fall for the quarterback.
It can play ball control: The Bears' best chance is to move the ball and run the clock, minimizing ASU possessions. That is easier said than done, though, because ASU has been one of the top teams in the nation in time of possession.
Arizona State will win if . . .
Complacency doesn't set in: ASU is a 43-point favorite, which tells you everything you need to know. It would have to do a lot wrong to lose it.
The offense is at least competent: Dillingham has talked about the importance of making a good "first impression," and that is the challenge facing the Sun Devils this week. It needs a convincing victory to keep the fan base engaged.
Injury report
Arizona State: DL My'Keil Gardner, LB Zyrus Fiaseu, CB Nigel Pringle are out for the season. TE Khamari Anderson is coming back from a broken leg sustained in the spring. He is questionable for this game.
By the numbers
3 — Number of players Morgan State had named to the MEAC Preseason First Team. They are linebacker Arturo Mattocks, defensive back Aki Harvey, and tight end Alex Simmons.
26 — Number of consecutive victories in a home opener for the Sun Devils, the second-longest active streak in the nation behind Illinois (28) — (2020 excluded due to unusual circumstances and ASU not having a home opener until December).
2,200 — Number of miles separating Tempe from Baltimore, Maryland, where Morgan State is located.
They said it
Dillingham on what he hopes to see from his team: “There’s no such thing as the practice player, the game player, and all that, but there are players that make the biggest plays in the biggest moments, and there are guys that struggle with that. I want to see our guys go out there and make the biggest play, the biggest moments. I want to see our guys respond to adversity.”
Boley on being a leader: “I try to be the best version of me every single day. I try not to be fake at all. I’m not putting on a persona or something that I’m not. I think my leadership comes naturally with the heart I play with and how hard I play on the field. If I’m super dialed into my work and what I’m doing on the field, that leadership comes out naturally because I’m not questioning anything.”
Who will win and why
Arizona State 49, Morgan State 7: This is a warm-up game for the tougher ones that lie ahead. If this game is close, it will be a long season for the Sun Devils. Expect ASU to play deep into its roster.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Arizona State football matches up against Morgan State
