Trenches Preview: Arizona State at Texas A&M

Texas A&M kicked off the 2026 season with a dominant 50-0 win over Missouri State. Still, this contest didn't come without hiccups, some of which took place in the trenches. The Aggies will need a better effort come Saturday to defeat a hungry Arizona State squad. Let's talk about what needs to happen in the trenches for Texas A&M to come out on top.

The Aggies did win up front last Saturday, but it wasn't as dominant as you would like, especially in the first half. Some of the issues we expected with twists and stunts up front did cause problems for Texas A&M. The problem was most obvious on a drive where Marcel Reeed took two sacks in a row. Additionally, of the eight penalties Texas A&M had against the Bears, four were called against the offensive line. Mike Elko called the penalty situation better than last year's, noting that they weren't lazy penalties, but penalties kill drives, and Texas A&M can't afford that against better competition.

In Arizona State, Texas A&M faces an experienced foe up front. The Sun Devil defensive line features upperclassmen at all four positions across the two-deep. Defensive end Jalen Thompson, in particular, looked disruptive against Morgan State in ASU's 70-0 win. However, given the level of competition, it's hard to draw any real conclusions about the talent Arizona State has up front. One thing I did notice that will be relevant for this weekend, however, was Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward's penchant for exotics. The Texas A&M offensive line was better at communicating in the second half, but they will need to prove they can do it for a complete game against Arizona State.

I do expect the offense to open the playbook up a bit, which could help the offensive line as well, but I'm expecting more early-season struggles against the Sun Devils.

On the other side of the ball, the Texas A&M defensive line did exactly what was expected of them against Missouri State. The Aggies limited the Bears to just 67 total yards on the day, sacking Skyler Locklear once and tacking on six tackles for loss. Missouri State ran for just 37 yards on 23 carries, averaging 1.6 YPC. Again, given the level of competition, we can't really draw a hard conclusion on this trench unit just yet, but the Aggies looked disciplined and disruptive barring one questionable roughing the passer call against Anto Saka. The quick game of Missouri State and the scramble ability of Locklear didn't allow a ton of chances for Texas A&M to pin their ears back but in the brief glimpses of Ryan Henderson we saw, it looks like the Aggies have another pass-rushing threat to go along with the trinity of T.J. Searcy, Marco Jones, and Anto Saka.

That pass rush will be necessary against an Arizona State passing attack led by Cutter Boley. The Sun Devils lit up Morgan State, but, to beat a dead horse, the level of competition is dramatically different than what to expect against the Aggies. Boley threw for 387 yards and six touchdowns. I expect a bit more traditional drop-back passing game from Arizona State on Saturday, giving the Aggies more chances to rush the passer. Boley isn't the threat to scramble that Locklear was either, giving the defensive line a bit more freedom to get creative in their rushes. Morgan State did have two sacks against Arizona State, so the potential to pressure Boley into mistakes certainly exists against this offensive line, which, much like Texas A&M, features a lot of new faces. The Aggies will need to be wary of backs releasing out of the backfield, as Grayson Rigdon went for 110 yards and two touchdowns on just two catches.

The Sun Devils also ran for 249 yards on 35 carries. Of note in the rushing attack was that no running back had double-digit rushing attempts. Senior Kyson Brown is listed as the starter and led the Sun Devils in rushing yards and attempts against Morgan State, but the Aggies can expect a healthy rotation. Texas A&M will need to keep the gap discipline that was shown on Saturday, allowing Noah Mikhail to filter and make plays. Perhaps the biggest question is whether Daymion Sanford will be back in the fold for Arizona State after sitting against Missouri State. The changing linebacker rotation could impact how the Aggies approach Saturday's contest up front.

Arizona State should provide a solid early-season mental check for Texas A&M, and if the Aggies aren't prepared, they could wind up with the first loss of 2026. Ultimately, I do think the Aggies will come out on top, but don't expect this to be an easy game. I have Texas A&M winning 24-14.