Kenny Dillingham makes telling statement after Arizona State's loss

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Kenny Dillingham makes telling statement after Arizona State's loss to Texas A&M

By Olamilekan Ajayi | Last updated Sep 12, 2026 7:34 PM ET

Arizona State trailed No. 10 Texas A&M by four points entering the fourth quarter at Kyle Field on Saturday and lost 48-20. The Aggies scored 24 unanswered points in the final period after forcing back-to-back turnovers deep in Sun Devils territory.

Arizona State outgained Texas A&M 369 yards to 255 and gave the ball away four times.

A muffed punt in the first quarter set up the game's opening touchdown, and three of the giveaways came in the fourth.

"If there's one takeaway from this game that I takeaway, it's that we're a good football team," Dillingham said at Kyle Field afterward. "We can beat anybody. That's what I leave. But I also leave it saying, man, if we have four turnovers, we can lose to anybody, too. We've got to clean that up."

Kenny Dillingham leaves Kyle Field with his head held high after ASU’s 48-20 loss to Texas A&M:

“If there’s one takeaway from this game that I takeaway it’s that we’re a good football team….We can beat anybody. That’s what I leave. But I also leave it saying, ‘Man, if we have… pic.twitter.com/QVYaNdy6Ey
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) September 12, 2026

What Kenny Dillingham's turnover count actually cost Arizona State

Arizona State arrived unranked and off a 70-7 win over Morgan State. New starting quarterback Cutter Boley kept the offense moving, Kyson Brown averaged better than five yards a carry, and Reed Harris now has four touchdown catches through two games.

Texas A&M turned the fourth-quarter turnovers into short fields and scored on consecutive possessions before adding a late touchdown. Mike Elko's team is 2-0 and has now won its first Power Four game of the season, having shut out Missouri State 50-0 in Week 1.

Four turnovers against a top-10 team on the road is a self-inflicted margin, and Dillingham put the loss on his own team's hands after spending the week calling Kyle Field as hard an environment as college football offers.

"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, and to say there is a way to prepare for your first game with 100,000 fans on the road is not real."

Arizona State travels straight to London from College Station for its Big 12 opener against Kansas at Wembley Stadium next Saturday, skipping a return to Tempe.

Olamilekan Ajayi

More must-reads: