Here’s a little film study on No. 9 Texas A&M’s 48-20 win over ARizona State. The timeS are for their location on the video.

First quarter

Play 1: ASU ball, 2nd and 9 at their 26 (45 seconds)

This is the first running play of the game and one of the best. It comes down to two players. Left tackle Luke Baklenko and linebacker Ray Coney. Baklenko is able to pass of the defensive end and gets to Coney, who’s a little too close to the edge, and just hits him enough to disrupt. Kyson Brown takes advantage and turns the corner.

Play 2: A&M ball, 2nd and 6 at their own 26 (2:21)

This is a pass play and Reed is looking at Ashton Bethel-Roman the whole time. It’s a short curl, and this is a pass Reed struggled with all day. But he looks jittery as he recognizes the fifth pass rusher and looks like he double clutches before throwing and really doesn’t get his lower body into the throw, and it comes up short and wide.

Play 3: A&M ball, second and goal at the ASU 4 (6:52)

For a team that didn’t run block worth a hoot for much of the game, this is really well done. Mark Nabou comes off the snap and immediately wipes out the defensive lineman to his left as he slants down on him. Tight end Micah Riley follows him with right guard Trovon Baugh to take out the lineman who could get behind where Nabou was, creating a seal and a hole for Owens to follow for the touchdown.

Play 4: ASU ball at their own 25, 1st and 10 (7:26)

I don’t know if this is poorly designed by the Sun Devils or whether Baklenko screws up, but something wasn’t right. Anto Saka lines up way off of Baklenko’s outside shoulder, which seems like, you know, something a left tackle would notice. Defensive tackle CJ Mims runs a stunt and curls to where a defensive end would normally be, and both Baklenko and the left guard go to block him. Which means this really fast due has an unobstructed run at the back. Maybe the idea was the defensive end wouldn’t be fast enough to run down a sweep tot he opposite side, but if so, dumb idea. 

Play 5: ASU ball at their own 24, 2nd and 11 (7:35)

This is the next play and the biggest run of the game for ASU. It’s run really well. A&M has wide splits again with its linemen and the Sun Devils go straight up the gut. Brandon Davis-Swain gets moved out on the left side and Brown makes a nifty move to get through the gap before it closes. That puts the lead blocker on LB Noah Mikhail, who is taken out of the play. 19 yards.

Play 6: ASU ball, first and 10 at the A&M 21 (9:57)

This is borderline offensive pass interference, but it works. Omarion Miller comes down like he’s running a slant and just stops. There’s contact with Julio Humphrey, and that contact gives Reed Harris just enough distance to catch the pass without Humphrey making a play on it (which he almost does anyway). Touchdown.

Second quarter

Play 1: A&M ball, 3rd and 5 at their own 29 (11:37)

Reed’s first really good throw of the day. ASU goes zone, so one defender is back. Another comes off of Houston Thomas to give a high/low look, but Reed threads the need with an absolute rocket for 15 yards. One of his best throws of the day and seems to give him a little momentum.

Play 2: A&M ball, 2nd and 4 at the ASU 47 (12:00)

This is a deep shot all the way. It’s a single look to Horton on the bottom of the screen, but it’s dead from the get-go because Trovon Baugh lets a defender get inside his arms, moves him out of the way and is coming up right in Reed’s face. But there’s a gap right up the middle, so Reed does what he’s capable of, taking off, using that gap and outmaneuvers several Sun Devils for 19.

Play 3: A&M ball, 4th and 2 at the ASU 21 (13:02)

This is the example of the tight end overload I talked about last week. Both Micah Riley and Richie Anderson are to the left of left tackle Tyree Adams. That may be a tell, but if you can hit it you can name it. Terry Bussey comes in motion, Reed hands the ball off and Riley, Anderson and Adans wipe out what is the right side of the ASU front. If Bussey cuts back, he may have been able to take it in, but he does what he needs to do and gets 4 on 4th and 2. 

Play 4: A&M ball, 1st and 10 at the ASU 17 (13:15)

Another example of what Marcel Reed can do when he’s on. This is supposed to be a straight drop, but Tyler Thomas gets beaten and pressure is coming. Reed doesn’t panic; he rolls to his right, keeps his eyes downfield and finds a wide open Richie Anderson in the zone at the 4. He makes a great throw, considering he’s on the move, to set up a touchdown three plays later.

Play 5: ASU ball, 1st and 15 at the ASU 42 (15:18)

This one looks like it’s all on corner Rickey Gibson. He was either playing zone when he was supposed to play man or, more likely, he was caught peeking into the backfield and wasn’t expecting Reed Harris to keep going up the field. Judging from his reaction, it was the latter.

Play 6: A&M ball, 2nd and 9 at their own 18 (17:16)

When coach Elko was talking about the need for better blocking on the perimeter, this is the poster child. There were two players there to block corner Ashton Stamps, and both blew the assignment. First, Terry Bussey and then Jamarion Morrow. That leads to a 5-yard loss because Mario Craver never had a prayer.

Play 7: ASU ball, 1st and 10 at their own 33 (17:54)

This is a classic example of a 1-on-1 win and something T.J. Searcy has been doing since the LSU game last year. He engages with the right tackle, sees the sweep coming, pushes the tackle off to free himself and makes the play for a loss of 1. That’s the combination of instinct, strength and drive.

Play 8: ASU ball, 3rd and 4 at their own 39 (18:15)

This is the third down that set up the fake punt. First, Saka recognizes screen or short pass and stops his rush in the pass lane, forcing Boley to put more loft on the ball than he wanted. Then Dalton Brooks goes over the guy who had stopped to pick him, gets to the receiver and dumps him for a gain of just two. Great job sniffing it out by both players.

Play 9: A&M ball, 2nd and 10 at the ASU 43 (19:08)

The Aggies run a little RPO of their own. From the look, Reed’s already thinking pass. They pull Baugh and Anderson to the left, put the key is the safety on the right side of the defense. Reed is already thinking Horton, but as soon as the safety moves down, it’s Horton one-on-one with a corner behind him, making this a pretty easy pitch and catch.

Third quarter

Play 1: A&M ball, 1st and 10 at their own 25 (21:02)

Just a horrible decision by Reed. The pass protection is really strong here on a deep ball (for one) and Craver is open earlier, but Reed holds onto it too long, looking his way the whole time. Then the ball hangs a little bit in the wind and it’s picked off by the safety, who had been reading his eyes. Just a bad play all the way. The Aggies were lucky that was not a momentum killer.

Play 2: A&M ball, 2nd and 2 at the ASU 13 (26:47)

Two things I noticed leading up to this play: Reed seems a lot more comfortable and the happy feet are gone. Also, the Aggies start running more RPO and it’s fairly effective. This play is a simple one receiver target — it’s Horton all the way. Reed comes up and throws immediately and puts it right down the chute, beating really good coverage and putting it where only Horton can realistically get it. Horton shows his hand strength and football smarts by making sure he’s in bounds for the touchdowns.

Play 3: ASU ball, 3rd and at their 42 (28:43)

This play is screwed from the instant the guy goes in motion and empties the backfield. You can see Dalton Brooks motioning to change the coverage, but the ball is about to be snapped. Someone — either the corner, who lets him go, Ratcliffe, who seems to be in no-man’s land, or Brooks — didn’t play it right and that blown coverage (Elko called it a coverage mistake Monday) becomes a very easy score for Reed Harris and ASU.

Play 4: A&M ball, 3rd and 6 at their own 28 (29:46)

ASU has overloaded the left side of A&M’s offensive line and they run a stunt. Tyree Adams takes the defensive end who curls out, and Blake Ivy takes the blitzer. That means someone has to get the defensive end and Jamarion Morrow is in no-man’s land. Reed takes off, but is eventually pulled down for the sake.

Play 5: ASU ball, 3rd and 9 at their own 24 (31:07)

This is a combination of great individual effort and quality coverage. The Sun Devils overload the right side with receivers and the Aggies play zone against it. Boley wants to go deep — they roll him to buy more time — but nobody’s open. But behind him, Marco Jones has beaten the left tackle and runs him down.

Fourth quarter

Play 1: A&M ball, first and 10 at the ASU 33 (32:23)

Mario Craver starts in the slot and weaves his way through the defense, crossing right in the face of the middle linebacker who seems to think, “Ok, he’s running a drag route.” But then Craver cuts up the field and keeps heading to the far sideline. Reed buys a couple of extra beats by moving a little to his right, then tosses it up to Craver, who scores easily. Hustle, patience and a blown coverage gets the Aggies an 11-point lead.

Play 2: A&M ball, 2nd and 6 at the ASU 49 (35:24)

This sack is just bad. Blake Ivy starts moving to the second level, which he shouldn’t anyway on a pass, and totally ignores the blitzer who has a free shot at Reed, who has no chance.

Play 3: ASU ball, 1st and 10 at the A&M 45 (36:12)

Searcy and Jones are both standing up pre snap, so that’s a pretty good indication they’re looking to rush the passer. When Anderson, the tight end, comes back inside off the outside shoulder of the left tackle, Jones moves in as well. Jones runs a stunt and really isn’t getting anywhere, but Searcy is. He bullrushes the right tackle back into Boley, swats at the quarterback’s arm and sends the ball airborne. Jones reacts faster than anyone else, shoving linemen out of the way to get the pick and then sprints away for the backbreaker.

Play 4: ASU ball, 1st and 10 at their 20 (37:20)

This is just great effort by Sam M’Pemba. Kyson Brown may have given too much effort, as he sheds Brooks and Coney before M’Pemba grabs hold and immediately starts punching at the football. He finally knocks it out and Brooks, who never quit on the play, recovers right on the sideline. Brooks, Coney, Jordan Shaw and M’Pemba were all going for the strip, which shows you the emphasis on turnovers that has been reinforced all offseason.

Play 5: ASU ball, 2nd and 7 at their 48 (40:15)

Defensive line disruption and a thirst for turnovers leads to another pick six. Like earlier in the game, when Saka recognized he wasn’t going to get there on a short pass, Jones gets in the passing lane and jumps, forcing Boley to alter his throw. This time, it leads Miller right into Julio Humphrey, who rips it away from him and takes it back for his first career score.