TEMPE, Ariz. — To say junior quarterback Cutter Boley made a strong first impression would be an understatement.

Boley shattered the Arizona State record for most yards passing in a debut, breaking Joey Yellen’s record from 2019 by halftime.

Boley later expressed his joy for the opportunity on Saturday night. 

“It’s a blessing to play this game and be in this position we’re all in,” Boley said. “I just try to come out there and play with as much joy as I can and try to spread that to my teammates.”

Boley’s excitement translated into historic results at Mountain America Stadium, throwing for a record-breaking 387 passing yards and six touchdowns in his Arizona State debut. As a team, the Sun Devils also ran for 249 yards and allowed just seven points on defense, defeating Morgan State 70-7 on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Boley’s 387 yards passing are the most for a Sun Devils’ quarterback in a debut, surpassing Yellen’s 292 in 2019, and his six touchdowns are the most since Andrew Walter in 2004. 

By comparison, ASU’s previous starting quarterback, Sam Leavitt, who helped guide the Sun Devils to a Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff berth, threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns in his debut against Wyoming in 2024. 

After the historic outing, ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham praised Boley’s work ethic.

“He’s a worker; he loves ball,” Dillingham said. “He went out there today and executed the plan, which is what I love to see.”

With his six touchdown passes, Boley threw for the most touchdown passes by a Sun Devils quarterback in a game since 2004.

Boley said his team doesn’t focus on the numbers individual players put up.

“We’re not worried about statlines,” Boley said. “We’re worried about wins and losses.”

Boley also credited his entire team's play, as the team scored the second-most points in program history.

“It’s a lot of credit to the guys on the team for how we played tonight and how bought in they were all week just for the game plan and trying to be us,” Boley said. “I feel like we came out tonight and executed.”

Boley also praised his offensive line’s work ethic.

“Watching their growth and how they’ve gotten better has been awesome,” Boley said. “They continue to get better, and they continue to work their butts off every single week.”

Sophomore running back Grayson Rigdon also pointed toward the offensive line and tight ends for opening up the run game.

“Having them take on the blocks that they did, it was great to be able to run through those open holes,” Rigdon said. 

Last season, as the starting quarterback for Kentucky, Boley had his best outing in a 56-34 loss to Tennessee, throwing for 330 yards and five touchdowns. 

In addition to Boley, ASU's star wide receiver duo had impressive debuts.

Senior wide receivers Reed Harris and Omarion Miller each recorded over 100 yards receiving.

Harris and Miller transferred to ASU this spring, and they both made their presence felt in their first game as Sun Devils.

Harris led ASU with 137 yards and two touchdowns, while Miller added 102 yards and a touchdown.

Harris said his physicality is what allows him to have an impact.

“Being physical is what it all comes down to,” Harris said. “Being able to hand fight at the line of scrimmage, throw some DBs around, lay some blocks. At the end of the day, I want to be a put-together receiver being able to do all the things that a pro player has to do.”

Besides the stats that show up, Dillingham said he was particularly impressed with his receivers’ blocking in this game.

“Good players are supposed to make good plays with the ball; you’re supposed to do those things,” Dillingham said. “But it’s the extra things that separate guys.”

The Sun Devils were every bit as effective at running the ball as they were passing, with four rushing touchdowns by four different running backs, including Rigdon catching two long touchdown passes.

As dominant as ASU was on offense, it was equally dominant on defense, holding the Bears to just seven points.

Junior linebacker Owen Long noted the toughness the defense played with as a key factor in its success.

“Not everything’s going to go right in a football game,” Long said. “But the things you can control, your effort, your tenacity, how hard you work to get to the football, those are the things I think our defense is really built on.”

With the game out of hand early, the Sun Devils were able to get some depth players in-game action, including two of their backup quarterbacks. 

Sixth-year Mikey Keene and freshman Jake Fette each saw game action in the season-opener, and the ASU offense didn’t skip a beat when Keene and Fette were under center.

The Sun Devils scored touchdowns on 10 of their first 11 possessions, with the only hiccup being a strip-sack on Boley.

After going up 7-0 early in the game, Dillingham elected to roll the dice by having sixth-year kicker Carson Smith attempt an onside kick, which was successful and ultimately led to another touchdown drive.

Dillingham said he saw something on Morgan State’s film and quoted a former Arizona Cardinals head coach’s iconic catchphrase.

“Bruce Arians used to say ‘no risk it, no biscuit,’” Dillingham said. “You got to play the game to win, so if you see something on tape and it’s there and shows up again, let’s do it.”

The Sun Devils’ 70 points in this game are tied for the second-most in program history, along with ASU’s historic 70-7 win over Arizona in the 2020 Territorial Cup.

The Sun Devils also won their 27th consecutive home opener, the second-longest streak in the nation, and scored on their opening drive of the season for the 11th straight year. No other Football Bowl Subdivision team has done that over five times.

Despite the comfortable win, Dillingham said it’s important to look at what the team could improve at.

“Obviously, you play college football to win the game you’re at,” Dillingham said. “So, you got to celebrate the win because it’s hard to win in college football, but then you got to really reflect on the things that we got to get better at.”