HOUSTON–Todd Graham’s stomach had to be churning hours before Saturday’s kickoff against Texas A&M.
Sure it was a big game in a big stadium against a storied program in their backyard but there was one Aggie who probably concerned Graham and the Sun Devils’ coaching staff more than anyone.
Graham spent several Friday nights over the past few falls on the sidelines of Saguaro High School watching Christian Kirk take over a game by himself.
History, in some ways, repeated itself “Deep in the Heart of Texas.”
The freshman Kirk’s coming out party started with a 79-yard punt return touchdown in the second quarter and ended with a 66-yard touchdown catch from fellow Scottsdale resident and close friend Kyle Allen late in the fourth. It all helped lead the Aggies to a 38-17 win over the 15th-ranked Devils with over 66,000 in attendance at NRG Stadium. The 5’11”, 200-pounder was one of the Aggies’ summer stars after arriving on campus last spring.
Allen performed well sharing snaps with highly touted duel-threat freshman Kyler Murray. The sophomore was 15-26 for 198 yards with two touchdowns passing and one rushing. He was intercepted once.
Kirk was A&M’s leading receiver with 106 yards on six catches.
Eric Sorenson
