The Sun Devils' offense prepared a full-course meal Saturday night, and everyone got a piece.
Behind junior quarterback Cutter Boley, who threw for 387 yards and six touchdowns at nearly 78% completion clip, ASU soundly defeated Morgan State at a final of 70-7, the second-most points in program history. Boley set the record for most pass yards in an opening game, with the Sun Devils notching a combined 432 yards in the air.
"At the end of the day, we're not really worried about stat lines," Boley said. "We're worried about wins and losses. Just getting it in these playmakers' hands and letting them work."
Eight different Sun Devils found the end zone in ASU's first display of its new-look offense.
Senior wide receivers Reed Harris and Omarion Miller also showed out in their first game, with the Devils combining for 14 receptions.
"Being physical is what it all comes down to," Harris said of his success in matchups. "Being able to hand fight at the line of scrimmage, throw some DBs around, play some blocks. At the end of the day, I want to be a put-together receiver, being able to do all the things that a pro player has to do."
Harris brought in 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Miller logged 102 yards and a touchdown.
The trio of transfers in Boley, Miller and Harris delivered on the preseason hype in their opening showing of the season.
Any notion of whether this group would mesh or get off to a slow start was dispelled 30 seconds into their first offensive drive, when senior running back Kyson Brown exploded through the Morgan State defense for a career-long 46-yard touchdown.
"We played a good game at times," coach Kenny Dillingham said. "But there were still too many things that we can improve upon, and we got to keep getting better every single week."
The Sun Devils followed that with an onside kick recovery that would lead to another quick score.
Brown finished the game with 80 yards on the ground on only six carries and was one of four backs to find the end zone.
ASU relied on a rapid-paced offensive attack, turning short passes into substantial gains after the catch.
Sophomore running back Grayson Rigdon highlighted that offensive approach as he brought in just two catches, but both went for over 50 yards and found him tip-toeing into the end zone.
"We're so well-rounded when it comes to that," Rigdon said. "Executing really isn't a big problem for us."
Sixth-year running back Marquis Gillis and juniors Jason Brown Jr. and David Avit also found the end zone. Tight end sophomore AJ Ia logged a receiving touchdown grab as well.
Defensively, the Sun Devils stayed stingy despite the massive lead, only allowing one score and limiting Morgan State to just 188 yards of total offense.
"It's nice to see how hard you work to get to the football," junior linebacker Owen Long said on the defense's execution. "Those are the things I think our defense is really built on. We were able to display it tonight."
Much of the second-string unit took over for ASU just minutes into the third quarter, which only led to the offense putting up a 21-point total in the third. Both backup quarterbacks, sixth-year quarterback Mikey Keene and freshman Jake Fette, saw action as well.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the pen had already run out of ink, and both coaches agreed to shorten the game clock to only 10 minutes.
ASU will quickly shift its focus after game one as they head to College Station to take on No. 8 Texas A&M in what is sure to be a raucous crowd at Kyle Field.
Edited by Char O'Neil and Kate Gore.
Reach the reporter at eapache3@asu.edu.
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Eric Pacheco is a junior studying sports journalism. This is his second semester with The State Press. He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the Riverside City College student newspaper Viewpoints.
