LONDON — The Arizona State Sun Devils have had issues on special teams in recent years. That continued as they faced Kansas in the first Union Jack Classic in front of 46,523 at historic Wembley Stadium.
Fortunately for ASU, Kansas faltered even more, and it was the Sun Devils prevailing 24-17 in what was also the Big 12 opener for both schools.
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Up 3-0, the Sun Devils gave up a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown by Tate Nagy with 10:57 left in the second quarter, which gave Kansas a 10-7 lead.
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Arizona State Sun Devils running back Kyson Brown (1) runs with the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first quarter at Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19, 2026.
(Peter van den Berg/Imagn Images)
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Arizona State Sun Devils running back Kyson Brown (1) runs with the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first quarter at Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19, 2026.
(Peter van den Berg/Imagn Images)
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Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Cutter Boley (8) looks to pass against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first quarter at Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19, 2026.
(Peter van den Berg/Imagn Images)
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Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Cutter Boley (8) reacts after a play against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first quarter at Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19, 2026.
(Peter van den Berg/Imagn Images)
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Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Lyrik Rawls (5) and utility player Clayton Smith (10) react after a play against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first quarter at Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19, 2026.
(Peter van den Berg/Imagn Images)
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Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Cutter Boley (8) calls a play against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first quarter at Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19, 2026.
(Peter van den Berg/Imagn Images)
Kansas miscues spanned the closing seconds of the first half and the opening of the second. It got the ball back with 42 seconds left in the first half after a Nick McLarty punt pinned them at their own 2. ASU called two of its timeouts after the second- and third-down plays to force the Jayhawks to punt from their own end zone. It worked as Matthew Gill shanked a punt, giving ASU the ball at the 25.
ASU capitalized right away as Cutter Boley hit Reed Harris for a 25-yard scoring strike on the next play to put ASU up 10-7.
ASU then got the kickoff to start the second half. Jaren Hamilton, nicknamed “Turbo” took the ball at the goal line and went the distance to extend the ASU lead to 17-7. It marked the first time ASU has returned a kickoff for a touchdown since D.J. Hamilton took one 100 yards in ASU’s 70-7 win over Arizona in December of 2020.
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Kansas had another miss on special teams with Martin Connington missing a 44-yard field goal.
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Will (left) and Bill Ahumada hold ‘Forks Up’ outside of a block party in London, England.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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Will (left) and Bill Ahumada hold ‘Forks Up’ outside of a block party in London, England.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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A couple, both Arizona State fans, holding ‘Forks Up’ in London, England outside of a pregame block party for the Union Jack Classic.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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An Arizona State fan and her friend outside of a pregame block party for the Union Jack Classic in London, England.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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Brothers Paul and Chris Macias hold ‘Forks Up’ near the Tower Hill Station in London, England.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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A set of recent Arizona State graduates travelling in London, England prior to ASU’s matchup against Kansas.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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The Ricedorff family takes on London, England near Big Ben a night prior to Arizona State’s matchup against Kansas.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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A family of Arizona State fans a day prior to ASU’s matchup against Kansas in London, England.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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A group of Arizona State fans near the entrance of a pregame block party in London, England.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
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View from behind the stage of a pregame block party for the Union Jack Classic in London, England.
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The outside entrance to a block party for the Union Jack Classic in London, England.
(Nickolas Montei/Special for The Republic)
Other takeaways
Better Ball security: The Sun Devils got one on the positive side of the turnover battle with Owen Long recovering a Jayhawks fumble. Then in the second half, Owen Long made a solid hit on a Kansas ball carrier and the ball was scooped up by Hyrum Vaeono, a lineman, who took it 76 yards, finally being tripped at the 2. The Sun Devils scored on a plunge by Boley that gave ASU a 24-7 lead. A third takeaway came in the fourth with Long snagging an interception.
Cutter Boley was inefficient: Boley was one of the better quarterbacks in the Big 12 over the first two weeks. Not so on this night. He was just 11-for-23 for 95 yards and 1 touchdown, easily his worst game of the season so far.
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Penalties. Again!: The Sun Devils had seven penalties for 65 yards, but there were two that nullified first downs. One of those was a holding on tight end James Giggey that came on a run by Kyson Brown on a fourth-and-1 at ASU’s 40. That turned it into a fourth-and-11 and resulted in a punt. The other came on a pass to Reed Harris on a third-and-7 at the 40.
Defense stiffened on the latter downs: Kansas converted just 6 of 16 third-down tries and went 0-3 on fourth down.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Defense and special teams the difference as Arizona State surges past Kansas
