HOUSTON – The No. 15/16 Arizona State University football team was held to 291 total yards of offense as the team dropped the season opener, 38-17, to Texas A&M on Saturday in the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff in Houston, Texas.
The Aggies sacked Mike Bercovici nine times in the contest, keeping the senior quarterback from getting into a rhythm as he finished 24-for-38 on the day for just 186 yards and a touchdown.
Demario Richard rushed 16 times for 73 yards while Bercovici added the first rushing touchdown of his career. D.J. Foster also extended his active FBS-leading streak of consecutive games with a pass reception, which now stands at 41 – every game he has played as a Sun Devil.
A&M’s Kyle Allen finished 15-for-26 for 198 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, but it was his final pass of a the game – a 66-yard catch-and-run by Christian Kirk that would put the game away.
Armand Perry led all players with a career-high 11 tackles while Christian Sam also had a career-best 10 tackles in the game. The Sun Devil defense had eight tackles for a loss in the game and forced three turnovers in a gritty effort.
ASU’s Zane Gonzalez kicked a 23-yard field goal with 4:16 remaining in the game to bring ASU back with 24-17 following a 13-play, 70-yard drive in 4:16 but A&M came right back to put the game away on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Kirk to make it 31-17 two plays later.
ASU was unable to respond on the following drive as Bercovici was sacked twice and the Sun Devils turned the ball over on downs to give Texas A&M the ball back with 2:32 left on the ASU 15-yard line.
A&M scored two plays later on a 10-yard rush by Tra Carson for the final score of the game and a 38-17 victory of the Aggies.
The final score isn't necessarily an indictment of how well ASU's defense played as that side of the ball made numerous plays throughout the game to keep the Sun Devils alive. The defense showed such resolve following Richard’s fumble inside his own 10-yard line as it held firm with a goal line stand to hold the Aggies to a field goal with 5:19 left in the third quarter and a manageable 17-7 deficit.
ASU responded with an eight-play, 75-yard drive on the ensuing drive that was capped by Bercovici’s first career touchdown rush, a 19-yard scamper to bring ASU back within 17-14.
With the aid of a roughing the kicker call on the following drive, Texas A&M drove to the ASU 18-yard line before Salamo Fiso quashed the drive with a tackle for loss on fourth-and-one to keep the Aggies from adding to their lead.
The Sun Devils couldn’t capitalize on the following drive and were undone again by a personal foul on A&M’s following possession following late hit by Armand Perry on a sliding Kyle Allen that put the ball on ASU’s own 12-yard line. Allen ran it in for a score on the following play to make it 24-14 in favor of TAMU with 11:26 remaining in the game and ASU wasn't able to pull closer than a touchdown for the remainder of the contest.
The first half was a bit of a battle of attrition on offense for both teams.
Texas A&M had the lone offensive bright spot of the half, driving 94 yards in 3:03 late in the first quarter to draw first blood on a nine-yard Tra Carson reception from Kyle Allen. The drive was keyed by a 36-yard connection between Allen and Josh Reynolds from TAMU’s own nine-yard line.
Things didn’t improve for the ASU offense as they were forced to punt following a three-and-out and Christian Kirk returned the favor by taking Matt Haack’s 39-yard punt 79 yards to the house for an early 14-0 Aggie lead.
The Sun Devils finally found some life on the ensuing A&M drive as Christian Sam forced his first career fumble as he stripped Allen and the ball was recovered by Demetrius Cherry, who returned in 18 yards to the Aggie four-yard line.
The offense didn’t waste time capitalizing, as Bercovici found Kody Kohl on the first play of the drive for a four-yard touchdown to bring the Devils back within 14-7.
Saturday's loss ended ASU’s 12-game opening day winning streak, a total that was tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the nation entering the game.
The Sun Devils return to action for the team’s home opener next weekend against Cal Poly on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.