Arizona State routs Morgan State 70-7 as new QB Boley tosses 6 TD passes

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Cutter Boley threw six touchdown passes in his Arizona State debut, and the Sun Devils routed Morgan State 70-7 in their season opener Saturday night.

Boley, a transfer who played two seasons at Kentucky, tossed two touchdown passes to Reed Harris, two more to Grayson Rigdon and one each to Omarion Miller and AJ Ia.

Arizona State piled up 688 yards and nearly eclipsed its record for points in a game of 79 against Colorado State in 1969. The Sun Devils also scored 70 against rival Arizona in 2020.

“I think that they showed that they put in a lot of work this offseason,” Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said of his team. “But we’ve got an unbelievable challenge ahead of us.”

The fourth quarter was shortened to 10 minutes by mutual agreement of the coaches.

“The referees came over and said, (Morgan State coach Damon Wilson) asked if we could shorten the quarter, and I said, yeah, of course, whatever he wants, we will do,” Dillingham said. “And I’ve never been a part of a game like that. I didn’t know that was legal.”

Kyson Brown ran for a 46-yard touchdown on Arizona State’s second play of the game. The Sun Devils then executed an onside kick, which Cory Butler Jr. recovered, and it took them five plays to score again on a 10-yard pass from Boley to Miller. Arizona State led 49-7 at the half.

Boley, a junior replacing Sam Leavitt at quarterback, was 21 of 27 for 387 yards and left after playing one series in the third quarter. Leavitt transferred to LSU after playing two seasons at Arizona State.

“It was awesome how the fan base showed out,” Boley said. “It’s just a lot of credit to the guys on the team for how we played tonight and how bought in they were all week to the game plan.”

Harris (six catches, 137 yards) and Miller (8-102) put up their respective numbers in the first half. Rigdon’s two scores went for a combined 110 yards.

Morgan State (1-1) scored its first-half touchdown on Jordan Barnett’s 2-yard run, set up by Marquez Spells’ 39-yard carry. The FCS Bears were held to 188 total yards.

The Takeaway

Morgan State: Takes home $600,000 for agreeing to come from Baltimore to Tempe, Arizona. The coach said it was worth finding out some things, too.

“A lot of guys who hadn’t played got some snaps,” Wilson said. “A lot of times, guys say they are ready to play and now we have film to show you if you’re ready or you’re not. All in all, we got through it and we gotta get ready for the home opener.”

Arizona State: Looked sharp in a tune-up for Big XII play. Boley was efficient, and so was the running game led by Brown (80 yards on six carries). The schedule ramps up quickly, though, with a road game against No. 8 Texas A&M team followed by a trip to London to play Kansas.

Streak Continues

Arizona State scored on its first drive of the season for the 11th consecutive year, the longest such streak in the country.

Up next

Morgan State: Plays Virginia-Lynchburg in its home opener next Saturday.

Arizona State: Opens conference play at No. 8 Texas A&M next Saturday.

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