It took a while for ASU to get started against Texas A&M as all three units struggled in the first half of the season.
The Sun Devil offense was especially stagnant to start. Redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici's first seven completions were all for less than 8 yards and in the first 26 plays ASU ran, only one went for more than 10 yards.
While the ASU offense struggled to get going, Texas A&M took advantage of the Sun Devil defense and special teams.
After having a similarly slow start, the final Aggie drive of the first quarter was a good one as freshman quarterback Kyle Allen marched his team 94 yards down the field in nine plays for a touchdown with nine seconds left in the opening quarter.
Five plays into the second quarter, Saguaro high school product Christian Kirk returned a Matt Haack punt 79 yards for a touchdown, giving Texas A&M a 14-0 lead.
ASU has now given up punt return touchdowns in its last two games dating back to last season. The Sun Devils gave up a 68-yard touchdown return to Jamison Crowder of Duke in last December's Sun Bowl.
ASU's first big break came in the middle of the second quarter when sophomore linebacker Christian Sam sacked freshman quarterback Kyle Allen and redshirt senior defensive lineman Demetrius Cherry recovered the fumble and rumbled down to the Texas A&M 4-yard line.
On the ensuing play, Bercovici found tight end Kody Kohl for a touchdown to cut Texas A&M's lead in half.
With the exception of Texas A&M's lone scoring drive of 94 yards, the ASU defense stifled the Aggies consistently throughout the half.
The Aggies punted five times and turned the ball over and their second longest drive of the half was for just 12 yards.
Redshirt senior defensive back Jordan Simone and Sam led the ASU defensive effort, tying for the team lead with five sacks through the first 30 minutes of play.
After going 8-15 for 87 yards and a touchdown, Allen was replaced by Kyler Murray on Texas A&M's final drive of the first half.
Murray, who never lost as a high school starter, scrambled for 18 yards on three carries and completed one of two passes for ten yards but also fumbled after running into his own running back.
First half notes
- Senior wide receiver D.J. Foster's fourth reception of the game tied him for 3rd all time for ASU. Foster also passed 4,000 career all-purpose yards.
- ASU played without sophomore running back Kalen Ballage who was sent back to Tempe with a contagious illness.
- The Sun Devils had just one penalty in the first half, a delay of game penalty on their first drive of the game.
Reach the assistant sports editor at icbeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @ICBeck21.
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