Arizona State heads into one of college football's loudest venues on Saturday, visiting No. 10 Texas A&M at Kyle Field in search of its first AP top-10 road win since 2015. The 9 a.m. MST kickoff opens with the Aggies a 14.5-point favorite, according to reporting carried by Arizona Daily Independent from Cronkite News.
The consequence is straightforward for Tempe: ASU has never won an SEC road game, and five straight road shots at AP top-10 opponents since 2015 have all ended in losses. Former ASU safety Jordan Simone told Cronkite News the noise alters everything for a visiting team, pushing offenses onto hand signals and into miscommunication that "just gets in your head."
The last time the Sun Devils closed out a top-10 road win was Oct. 3, 2015, a 38-23 upset of No. 7 UCLA at the Rose Bowl. D.J. Foster, then ASU's running back and now the program's assistant athletic director for player development, recalled a team that was "clicking on all cylinders" and playing with pride.
Since that night, ASU is 0-5 on the road against top-10 teams, a run that has spanned multiple coaching staffs and roster cycles. Coach Kenny Dillingham leaned into the stage this week, saying, "This is why you play college football. You want to play in environments that are fun," per Cronkite News.
The environment in College Station has already burned the Devils once. In 2015, ASU opened in Houston against Texas A&M and fell 38-17 as Arizona natives Kyle Allen and Christian Kirk starred for the Aggies. Simone called it a "crazy atmosphere," and Foster remembered the talent on that Aggie roster, including future Cardinal Kyler Murray.
Texas A&M's current form adds to the challenge. The Aggies throttled Missouri State 50-0 in their opener and allowed just 67 total yards, with quarterback Marcel Reed settling in after a slow start, according to Cronkite News. Coach Mike Elko waved off brand-name assumptions, saying logos "really don't" mean much and calling ASU "a really talented team" that produces NFL players.
ASU's opener was a route of its own. The Sun Devils beat Morgan State 70-7 behind quarterback Cutter Boley, the Big 12 co-offensive player of the week after throwing six touchdowns and 387 yards. The numbers pop, even against an FCS opponent, but the communication test at Kyle Field will be the real tell.
The streaks are the stakes. ASU has never won on an SEC field, and it has not stunned a top-10 team away from Tempe in nearly 11 years. Snap either and Dillingham gets a signature win that travels, the kind that speaks to trajectory and toughness rather than scheduling.
Elko's respect cuts both ways. If ASU carries over tempo and timing from Week 1 while surviving the noise, the Devils get a chance to flip the script that has trailed them since 2015. Fail to handle the 12th Man, and the same communication gremlins Simone described tend to multiply.
