5 Biggest Takeaways From Texas A&M's Win Over Arizona State

In honor of America’s 250th Celebration and the 25th anniversary of September 11, the Red, White and Blue game returned to Aggieland with the stands painted in patriotic colors.

Texas A&M hosted Arizona State for the very first time at Kyle Field in a clash between SEC and Big 12 programs.

After a tight first half for both teams, the Aggies were able to pull away 48-20 and secure the second victory of the season which boosted the resume on the road to the College Football Playoff as these were the key takeaways from a hot one in College Station.

Texas A&M Capitalization On Arizona State Mistakes

Julio Humphrey Texas A&M Aggies. — Sep 12, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies cornerback Julio Humphrey (6) celebrates with teammates after running an interception back for a touchdown against Arizona State Sun Devils at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the first half, the Aggies were fortunate to force two huge mistakes by the Sun Devils that opened up for the offense to get back to work.

The first swing came in the first quarter after A&M was forced to punt on the second drive of the morning, with punter Tyler White driving the football deep into A&M territory, where Cory Butler Jr. muffed the return, and wide receiver TK Norman was able to quickly locate the loose football and recover it to set the offense up for the eventual two-yard touchdown by Rueben Owens II.

Later in the second half, defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill's defense faced a high-pressure situation when the Sun Devils elected to go for it on their own 42-yard line. Linebacker Noah Mikhail was able to sniff out what was drawn up and shut down any chance of reaching the first-down line, which resulted in the Aggies moving the ball down the field for a 22-yard field goal by David Olano to take a seven-point lead.

There were also two pick sixes recorded by defensive end Marco Jones and cornerback Julio Humphrey that certainly flip flopped the momentum in a matter of moments.

Aggies’ Offense Gets Off To Slow Start

Going into intermission, the A&M offense’s numbers were not terrible, but they were not great either. Arizona State's defense did a solid job in the first quarter holding them to only 14 total yards. At the end of the second quarter, the offense sat at 123 yards in which 76 of those were tossed in the air by quarterback Marcel Reed.

The run game struggled somewhat to gain chunk yardage, but when the offense needed the offensive line to establish its dominance, it was able to win in the red zone with Owens' first rushing touchdown of the season.

Despite the Maroon and White never giving up the lead, the defense did its job, allowing only 10 points at halftime. Wide receiver Terry Bussey was the leading receiver with three receptions for 37 yards going into halftime and was a key part of the offense continuing to roll, even after the offense went 2-for-7 on third down.

Eventually, the Aggies figured it out, posting 255 total yards of offense with Bussey leading the receivers with 58 yards and Owens leading the run game with 35 yards.

Secondary Coverage

Texas A&M Aggies cornerback Julio Humphrey (6) scores a touchdown on after intercepting the ball during the fourth quarter against Arizona State Sun Devils at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At halftime, the Sun Devils leading wide receiver Reed Harris reeled in seven passes for over 100 yards and was giving the Aggies some trouble.

His first big reception went for 35 yards deep downfield. His next explosive catch was against Julio Humphrey in coverage that resulted in a 21-yard touchdown, but his highlight of the day came on a 58-yard catch-and-run for his second score with Dalton Brooks in on the coverage.

Another piece that the Sun Devils continued to get the football to was one of the hot prospects in college football which was wide receiver Omarion Miller. He ended up accumulating 29 yards on nine catches and was all over the field running his crisp routes.

Wrapping up the afternoon, A&M’s defense ended up allowing 254 passing yards after holding Missouri State to only 30 last weekend. Not probably as many as the coaching staff would have hoped, but it was enough to cling onto the lead all game.

Lack of Running Lanes

For the A&M running backs, there were not a ton of gaps to attack downhill through three quarters of play. Going into the fourth quarter, no running back had more than 30 yards on the ground, and that isn’t ideal for a team that wants to dominate at the line of scrimmage.

Between running backs Jamarion Morrow and Owens, along with Reed, they combined for a total of 71 yards rushing before running away with it in the fourth quarter. There ended up being 35 rushing attempts for all the rushers, but for some reason, the offensive line just wasn't able to find ways to let those holes develop much.

Big Afternoon for Marco Jones

Arguably, the turning point of the game was when the 6-foot-5 sophomore from Dublin, California, picked off Arizona State quarterback Cutter Boley. It came midway through the fourth quarter when Boley was looking to pass, and the football was tipped into the air and into the arms of Jones.

That interception was the first of his career and the first of the season for the A&M defense. He wrapped up the afternoon with an exceptional showing, registering four tackles, three solo tackles, one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble.

Next up for A&M is a home game against its first SEC opponent of the season, Kentucky. Kickoff begins at 2:30 p.m.

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