Arizona State vs. Texas A&M: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

Texas A&M defeated No. 15 Arizona State on Saturday night 38-17, thanks in large part to two big plays from freshman and Arizona native Christian Kirk.  

Kirk scored on a 79-yard punt return and a 66-yard screen pass. The latter clinched the win for the Aggies as the receiver recorded six catches for 106 yards.

Texas A&M quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both played a major role in the victory, with each of them showcasing their respective skill sets to take down Arizona State's defense at different points of the game.

Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici did not kick off the season the way he would have wanted. The fifth-year senior took on the starting job when Taylor Kelly was injured a season ago. In his first season opener under center, the Sun Devils came up short and now face an uphill climb to start the season.

Texas A&M's stifling defense was led by sophomore defensive end Myles Garrett, who recorded eight tackles and three sacks. Bercovici accumulated just 199 yards through the air.

Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman is predicting future success for Texas A&M:

Here is a look at the game stats from the Aggies' win on Saturday night.

Texas A&M	Stats	Arizona State
425	Total Yards	291
247	Passing Yards	199
178	Rushing Yards	92
21	1st Downs	19
8/18	3rd Down Efficiency	5/19
28:29	Time of Possession	31:31

Both offenses started tentatively. In fact, the first three possessions of the game did not even yield a first down as the defenses were reigning supreme. The lack of offensive production certainly was not expected.

It seemed to have been disappointing Reddit, too:

However, Texas A&M's punter Drew Kaser was stealing the show in the game's first 10 minutes. He launched a 64-yard punt that went into the end zone and followed it up with a 53-yard punt that landed inside Arizona State's 10-yard line. 

He's been doing this for years now, as pointed out by AZ Central Sports' Doug Haller:

Finally, A&M was able to get into an offensive groove, with Allen completing 36- and 28-yard passes for the Aggies, bringing them down to the 9-yard line. On 3rd-and-7, Allen dumped a screen pass to Tra Carson, who tip-toed the sideline down to the end zone to cap off a nine-play, 94-yard drive. 

Allen and Carson weren't needed for A&M's second touchdown. Kirk put the Aggies up 14 with a 79-yard punt return, showing great speed to the outside as he followed a caravan of blocks. 

Scout.com's Scott Kennedy had the replay:

Arizona State just could not get things going, especially with the likes of Garrett across the line of scrimmage disrupting the Sun Devils offense. It was barely 20 minutes into the game when ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach tweeted he was liking what he saw:

The Sun Devils needed a spark, and it came, thanks to their defense. Allen was sacked and stripped by Christian Sam. JD Alexander recovered the ball, returning it to the A&M 4-yard line.

The Pac-12 Network had video of Alexander's run toward paydirt:

A play later, Arizona State halved its deficit when Bercovici hit tight end Kody Kohl in the flat with 10 minutes left in the first half. Kennedy provided video of the touchdown:

In the final two minutes of the second quarter, Allen was sent to the bench and in stepped the freshman Murray as A&M was looking for a spark to get its offense clicking. It seemed like a welcomed decision, as ESPN.com's Sam Khan Jr. pointed out:

There was a short game of hot potato to start the second half as neither team seemed like it wanted the ball.

Allen came back to start the third quarter, but Kweishi Brown intercepted his first pass. On the very next play, Bercovici fumbled the ball while being sacked, giving it right back to A&M. 

Murray was given another chance after Allen's interception, but two drives later, Jordan Simone picked off the freshman's deep ball. 

Not to be outdone, Demario Richard fumbled for the fourth turnover of the third quarter, giving the ball to A&M on the ASU 4-yard line. But the Aggies could only tack on a field goal. Adam Green of Arizona Sports 98.7 realized that this game could have gotten ugly:

Arizona State's constant reprieves finally paid off toward the end of the third quarter as Bercovici and the offense found a way to counter A&M's pass rush.

With quick slants, Arizona State was able to drive down to A&M's 19 before a Bercovici touchdown scramble with 2:37 to go in the third made it 17-14. The Pac-12 Network showed how Bercovici utilized the pump fake to open a running lane:

Murray looked to be in for good, and his legs were causing the Arizona State defense plenty of problems. He led all rushers at the time of his exit with 69 yards. But in the fourth quarter, Murray was hampered with a leg issue, and Allen was back under center. 

It was his legs that gave Texas A&M some insurance with a 12-yard run to help put the Aggies back up 10. With his parents in attendance, ESPN College Football took a look at the Allen family on the touchdown:

After being benched twice, Allen's resiliency to come back and produce impressed Bleacher Report NFL Lead Writer Matt Miller:

Bercovici used a 33-yard reception to Ellis Jefferson to set up a 23-yard field goal to help bring Arizona State back within seven with 4:16 left in the game. 

The field goal didn't mean a thing after Kirk got the ball back in his hands. Already having returned a punt for a touchdown, Kirk took a screen pass 66 yards to the house to put an exclamation point on Texas A&M's night. 

ESPN had the replay of Kirk's second big play of the night:

Carson closed out the game by scoring his second touchdown.

Dan Wolken of USA Today took a look at what this A&M win means for both teams:

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The Aggies certainly have some issues to work out before SEC play, but this was a strong start to the season and the kind of victory rarely seen under Kevin Sumlin, winning despite an offense that sputtered throughout much of the game. 

The Sun Devils, meanwhile, can certainly recover from this loss and win the Pac-12, but their margin for error is gone, and their offense may not be as good as advertised, which may be a bigger problem.

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Texas A&M made a very impressive case on why it should be an SEC contender and why it should be deserving of a Top 25 ranking. If the Aggies are able to iron out a few mental mistakes and get their quarterback situation settled, watch out.