After already breaking down how Texas A&M can dominate Arizona State on the offensive side of the ball, now let’s focus on how this defense can neutralize quarterback Cutter Boley and the Sun Devils’ offense. And it won’t be through a defensive performance like we saw in Week 1.

Get them to third and long. That’s the number one thing I wrote down when breaking down what this Texas A&M defense needs to do against Arizona State. If the Aggies can make the Sun Devils one-dimensional and force quarterback Cutter Boley into obvious passing situations, this defense is going to find itself in favorable positions all night.

How the Aggies can make life difficult for Cutter Boley

Now, I want to be clear. I think Boley is actually a pretty solid quarterback prospect, and I think he will be fine in Big 12 play. But this is his second start for Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham. He’s more of a pocket passing type of quarterback, not some phenomenal athlete who is going to evade pressure and extend plays. If Texas A&M can speed him up on third down and force him to process quickly, that’s where the Aggies win this matchup.

And it goes back to trusting the strength of this defense, which we’ve talked about all offseason: that secondary. Texas A&M has the talent in the back end to make a young quarterback uncomfortable, and the key is getting to those advantageous down-and-distance situations where Boley has to beat them through the air without his full playbook available.

Containing Omarion Miller

I have to give Arizona State wide receiver Omarion Miller his respect. He is a phenomenal talent. I think he’s a great NFL draft prospect, and on my broader college football coverage, I’m going to be talking about him all season.

But I do think Texas A&M is well equipped to throw multiple bodies at him and try to slow his production down. You don’t have to shut him out completely. You just have to make sure he’s not the one who beats you for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

Discipline against Dillingham’s tricks

The defense overall just has to communicate and stay disciplined. There are a lot of new faces and new bodies in this group. We know Dillingham is going to throw a ton of eye candy before the snap, shifting formations and trying to create confusion. If the Aggies can stay disciplined and read their keys, I think the defense is going to be just fine.

And expect a trick play somewhere in this game. I would not be shocked, given the history Dillingham has with Texas A&M, that he wants to throw the kitchen sink at this team on the road to take the crowd out of it. I would fully expect at least one trick play to show up at some point.

If I had to give a statistical prediction for the Aggies’ defense, I want three sacks and at least one interception in this game. That feels like a realistic bar for a defense with this much talent going against a young quarterback making his second career start. If the Aggies hit those numbers, they’re winning this game comfortably.