TEMPE, Ariz. — The phrase larger-than-life is an adjective often used to describe a person, object or event that is much more impressive, striking or exciting than reality. 

Many things may come to mind when describing something using this term.

The world's highest peak, Mount Everest; the fictional monster that terrorized Japan, Godzilla; or even the freakishly large frame of NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama are all examples of things that can be described as larger-than-life.

Towering above campus in College Station, Texas, at 198 feet tall, Kyle Field is one of the premier venues in all of college football and fits the description of larger-than-life. 

The fourth-largest seating capacity in the nation holds 102,733 passionate fans known as the 12th Man, who play host to No. 10 Texas A&M.

For Arizona State football, the task going into Week 2 is almost as tall as the stadium itself.

As a team, the Aggies have few weaknesses, boasting a 12-2 record in their previous 14 games dating back to the 2025 season, setting the table for quite a mountain for head coach Kenny Dillingham and company to climb.

Dillingham didn't shy away from praising Texas A&M in his Monday press conference, acknowledging the tall task ahead but also embracing it.

“It's about as challenging as it gets,” Dillingham said. “They're well coached. They're physical. They're explosive on offense. They're gigantic up front on offense. They've got good corners. They've got good D linemen. They've got good linebackers. They've got good safeties. They've got good tight ends. They've got quarterbacks, running backs, specialists, coaches and a great crowd.

“That's why you play football, right? You play football because you want to compete versus the best.”

Coming off the heels of a 70-7 offensive thrashing of FCS Morgan State in Week 1, Arizona State (1-0) flies to central Texas for a showdown on Saturday, Sept. 12, against a Texas A&M (1-0) team fresh off its own blowout victory over Missouri State. Despite scoring the second-most points in program history, Dillingham said the team was far from perfect in Week 1 and must rise to the occasion when facing a top-10 team on the road. 

“There are a lot of things we've got to get better at,” Dillingham said. “Not enough perfect plays, obviously critical penalties at times, we didn't take the ball away, put the ball in jeopardy too much. You’re not going to beat a good team doing that.”

Dillingham furthered his comments, saying why the Sun Devils can’t afford to repeat those same mistakes of Week 1 against stronger competition.

“Our opponent this week is one of the best teams in the country,” Dillingham said. “This is about as big of a step up as you can get to play them on the road at their place. I don't think it's going to get more challenging than this.”

The Aggies have experienced a renaissance ever since head coach Mike Elko stepped in following former head coach Jimbo Fisher's costly buyout. 

In his two seasons at the helm, Elko has led Texas A&M to a 19-7 record (12-4 SEC), including the program's first College Football Playoff berth in 2025. 

Prior to becoming a head coach, Elko served as the Aggies' defensive coordinator, during which he coached against Dillingham, who was Auburn's quarterbacks coach, in 2019. 

Naturally, Elko prides himself on his team's defense; however, Dillingham believes the coach's year-to-year adaptability is his greatest strength. 

“Mike Elko's a phenomenal football coach; he is built off of toughness and physicality,” Dillingham said. “He's old school, but he's been willing to adapt.”

After playing the year prior, Dillingham recalls a phone call with Elko in 2020, noting the immense changes the coach had made to his system since then.

“It was funny because the indicators we had before are no longer there,” Dillingham said. “I go back to my notes, and I'm like, all right, what are the things that we had? It's not there, and that's the sign of a good coach.”

Offensively, Texas A&M is headed up by Heisman Award contender senior quarterback Marcel Reed, who threw for 3,169 yards passing and 25 touchdowns in a breakout campaign during the 2025 season.

Reed's dynamic ability garnered massive praise from Dillingham in his Monday, Sept. 7, press conference. 

“He's a really good player, he's athletic, but what people don't give him credit for is he has unbelievable touch on his deep ball and on his intermediate passing game,” Dillingham said. He can throw an out route that's caught on the sideline slash the tick, and it just looks like it's supposed to look. He throws the ball vertically down the field really well, and then you can't sack him. 

Dillingham also noted Reed's growth as a passer ever since earning the starting job. 

“You can tell he's gotten way more comfortable with true drop-back passing,” Dillingham said. 

On the flip side, ASU is led by the reigning Co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week junior quarterback Cutter Boley, who threw for 387 yards and six TDs in a dominant Week 1 performance. 

From the moment Boley stepped onto the field on Saturday, Dillingham noticed something was different about his quarterback's composure. 

“I could see the confidence pregame. Him throwing the football pregame was the best I’ve seen him throwing the ball since he's been here. I mean, every throw was on the money,” Dillingham said. “That translated to the game. He was very accurate even on perimeter screens, the glance throws that we were throwing, the home run posts that we threw. He was very accurate in the football game, and I think that's from the confidence.” 

Despite never playing at Kyle Field, Dillingham believes Boley’s SEC experience from his days at Kentucky will give him a unique advantage on Saturday. 

“Cutter has played high-profile games. I know for some of the guys, it'll be their first game in this environment, and it will be surreal for them,” Dillingham said. “There is no way to prepare.”

The atmosphere inside Kyle Field will forever be a talking point when teams visit College Station, and Dillingham didn’t shy away from praising the 12th Man's impact.

“I've played at College Station before, and it's an unbelievable environment,” Dillingham said. “It's one of the better environments. We actually played in the afternoon as well, and it's going to be hot, and it's going to be muggy.”

Regardless of the environment, Dillingham says it all comes down to how the Sun Devils carry out their game plan on Saturday. 

“I don't know all stadium sizes, but if you get over 100,000 people in the same place, it's going to be rocking,” Dillingham said. “It's going to be a great environment, and we've got to go execute.”

Saturday, Sept. 12, at 9 a.m. MST marks one of the biggest tests of Dillingham's young head coaching tenure, as ASU looks to upset the No. 10-ranked Aggies on their home field. 

Dillingham kept it simple when asked about what the Sun Devils can do to prepare for the larger-than-life task of containing Reed on Saturday.

“Pray,” Dillingham said.