Cutter Boley's impressive debut helps Sun Devils get huge blowout win

TEMPE- Junior quarterback Cutter Boley had quite a night for the Arizona State Sun Devils in his debut as a starter.

They began their football season in Tempe on Saturday night, blowing out the Morgan State Bears, 70-7, in front of a sellout crowd at Mountain America Stadium. Their 70 points are the second-most in program history.

With the win, head coach Kenny Dillingham improves to 4-0 in his season opener as Sun Devils head coach, and it's the 27th consecutive home opener win.

“Obviously you want to start the season fast," Dillingham said postgame. "Our challenge to our guys was to play our best game, and we didn't do that. We played a good game at times, but there were still too many things that we can improve upon, and you’ve got to keep getting better every single week.

"But obviously you play college football to win the game, so you’ve got to celebrate the win because it's hard to win in college football. Then you got to really reflect on the things that we got to get better at, and there's quite a few things that we got to improve upon going into the next week.”

Boley made his debut as Arizona State's starting quarterback, and he has impressed fans and made history inside Mountain America Stadium.

In the first half, Boley recorded five touchdowns and 325 yards while going 18-for-24, and finished with 387 passing yards and six touchdowns, both career highs.

“It's a blessing, but it's all credit to these skilled guys we have," Boley said when asked about breaking a record for most passing yards in a debut. "Running backs, receivers all over the field, just getting the ball in these guys' hands and letting them do their thing. At the end of the day, we're not really worried about stat lines, we're worried about wins and losses. So just get it in these playmakers' hands and let them work.”

In the first quarter, the Sun Devils scored four touchdowns, showcasing an offense that's soaring, much to Dillingham's delight.

Arizona State continued their offensive dominance in the second quarter, with sophomore running back Grayson Rigdon and sophomore tight end AJ Ia joining the party.

Six different players recorded a touchdown in the first half, thanks to Boley's passing and leadership. The Sun Devils ended up recording 681 yards, surpassing a previous record set in September 2016 against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

“He's a worker," Dillingham said of Boley. "He loves the ball. He went out there today and just executed the plan, which is what I love to see: guys who don't try to do too much. ... I thought he played really, really well. I thought he controlled the game. He made some really nice checks there that became explosives, and some touchdowns. I was really happy that I played.”

Senior wide receiver Reed Harris recorded two touchdowns and 137 receiving yards, quickly becoming one of the Sun Devils' fan favorites.

Not even two minutes into the second half. Rigdon scored Arizona State's eighth touchdown—Rigdon's second of the night— in four plays.

“Our O-Line worked so hard, tight ends also, so them having to take on the blocks that they did, it was great just to be able to run through it open," Rigdon said on getting big rushing plays.

With Boley done for the night, Dillingham called graduate quarterback Mikey Keene to take over.

Not a surprise, Keene passes it to running back David Avit, who muscled his way to the end zone and records his first touchdown.

“We have to take pride in everything we do, whether it's catching the ball, running routes, or blocking," Harris said when asked on the team's buy-in to the Sun Devil Way. "Blocking will help the big plays happen. I feel like what happened tonight speaks for itself, making plays down field, getting the running backs open. When things go together like that it's good football.”

As a result of the Sun Devils' massive blowout over the Bears, the head coaches agreed to a 10-minute fourth quarter.

“The referees came over and said, the coach (Morgan State Head Coach Damon Wilson) on the other side asked if we could shorten the quarter, and I said, yeah, of course, whatever he wants, we 'will do [it]," Dillingham said.

"And I've never been a part of a game like that. I didn't know that was legal. I learned something today. I just said whatever he wants. I don't know if he wants to be seven minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes, whatever he wants it to be. He's a really good coach. He's a really good guy. He's had a lot of success in college football. He's a really good person. I got to talk to him pregame. So, when he asked to shorten it, I said Whatever he wants, you know, we'll do.”

The Sun Devils will embark on a two-game road trip in Texas and London, facing No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies and Kansas Jayhawks for two straight weeks before returning to Tempe in October, welcoming the Baylor Bears on October 3.

Link to postgame quotes after Arizona State's historic win can be viewed on Echo from the Buttes right here.