Texas A&M QBs Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both play as Aggies beat Arizona St.
Playing two quarterbacks isn’t usually a recipe for success. But Texas A&M pulled it off with the help of a freshman wide receiver on Saturday night against Arizona State in a 38-17 win.
Sophomore Kyle Allen started at quarterback for A&M but shared time with freshman Kyler Murray, another top recruit, until Murray left the game with an apparent injury in the second half. Both quarterbacks contributed to the win; Allen led three touchdown drives while Murray led one.
It was apparent that A&M and coach Kevin Sumlin entered Saturday’s game planning to play both quarterbacks. What’s less clear is the planned division of duties. After Allen committed a first-half fumble that led to an Arizona State touchdown, Murray entered the game. And he showed flashes of why his recruitment was a popular soap opera in Texas leading up to National Signing Day in February.
While he was 4-of-9 passing for 49 yards and threw an interception, Murray had 69 yards rushing on six carries. As A&M was struggling to find ways to counter Arizona State’s defense, Murray’s running ability forced the Sun Devils to account for an extra dimenson.
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It was Allen that salted the game away, however. He ran for a 12-yard score to give the Aggies a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter and threw a 66-yard touchdown to freshman wide receiver Christian Kirk to make A&M’s lead 31-17. While Allen found the open receiver on an ASU blitz, Kirk made a fantastic cutback across the field to find open space for the score.
The touchdown was Kirk’s second big play of the night. He scored on a 79-yard punt return to give A&M an early 14-0 lead in the only regular season matchup of teams from the Pac-12 and SEC.
A&M’s defense played well too. While Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici provided glimpses of why the school will be a contender in the Pac-12 South, A&M’s defensive line wreaked havoc throughout the night with eight sacks. Yes, it’s one game, but the addition of former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis could be the key to a possible SEC West title run.
But to do that, A&M will likely have to pick a quarterback. The list of very good teams who split reps between two quarterbacks is pretty short.
At the moment, it looks like there’s no wrong decision, though Allen had a sparkling second half after a mediocre first half. And with A&M’s first conference game coming on September 26, Sumlin and his staff don’t have to make a choice right away.
For more Arizona State news, visit ASUDevils.com.
For more Texas A&M news, visit AggieYell.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
