TEMPE, Ariz. — College football’s regular season stretches beyond Thanksgiving, but Kenny Dillingham understands how this works. The Arizona State coach knew everyone at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday night would judge the Sun Devils. That’s how first impressions go. A team gets one chance to make them.For his part, Dillingham made sure to make it memorable. After the Sun Devils scored on their second play against FCS foe Morgan State, he called for an onside kick. It was unnecessary — the Sun Devils, 43.5-point favorites, had no chance to lose — but it might have been the first step in establishing the mindset Dillingham seeks. Aggressive and bold.What in the world just happened at Michigan?Austin Meek“I believe if things are there, you do it,” Dillingham said. “I think players feed off aggressiveness as well, so if something’s there to be aggressive, we want to be able to try and take it and not play scared.”What else can you take from Arizona State’s 70-7 win? Not much — other than first impressions need to stretch beyond their expiration dates. This one was so lopsided that Morgan State coach Damon Wilson asked officials and Dillingham to shorten the clock, from 15 minutes to 10, at the start of the fourth quarter. Dillingham said he didn’t even know such a thing was possible, but he did not resist. It was time to put this one to rest.In almost every case, it’s hard to come away with solid Week 1 conclusions. Rosters these days change too much from one season to the next. Dillingham acknowledged as much last week. After finishing 8-5 last season, the Sun Devils began practice with 48 newcomers, which made up nearly 45 percent of their roster. (Last year they were among the most experienced teams in the country.) The program’s 2024 Big 12 championship and run to the College Football Playoff never seemed so far away.Asked on a recent radio appearance whether the uncertainty excited him or scared him, Dillingham said it depended on the day. “Some days we have a great practice, and it’s exciting as crap,” the fourth-year head coach said. “Some days we have a horrible practice, and it’s the scariest thing you’d ever imagine. Is it Monday or Tuesday?”Arizona State quarterback Cutter Boley threw for six touchdowns in three quarters as a revamped Sun Devils roster rolled past FCS opponent Morgan State. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)For Arizona State, this game was more about standards than scoreboard. Dillingham liked the Sun Devils’ “blue-collar” approach during camp, but he needed to see it in front of a packed stadium. Will the Sun Devils avoid pre-snap penalties? (Discipline!) Will they celebrate big plays with teammates? (Contagious!) Will they swarm to the ball on defense? (Mindset!) After one week, put a checkmark next to each. Just don’t forget the asterisk because of the opponent.“I thought they capitalized on it,” Dillingham said when asked about setting a good first impression. “If you watched us play tonight, we looked like a team that practices hard. Usually, if you practice hard and you practice like it’s a game, your first game, you’re efficient. You play like you practice. I think they showed that they put in a lot of work this offseason, but we have an unbelievable challenge ahead of us.”This will take time. Arizona State is one of 11 Big 12 teams with new quarterbacks, eight taking the field as transfers. They come from big schools like Oklahoma and Florida, and smaller schools like Arkansas State and Georgia Southern. They make figuring out a legit conference pecking order nearly impossible. As it is, the Sun Devils, with a quarterback transfer from Kentucky, are expected to finish somewhere in the middle. In other words: Nobody knows.At 6 feet 5 and 220 pounds, Cutter Boley is big and has a strong arm. He also has a reputation for turnovers, throwing 12 interceptions as a redshirt freshman last season. On Saturday night, Boley lost a fumble after he was hit from his blindside, which said more about Arizona State’s protection than it did him. He also threw across his body, a dangerous pass that was nearly picked off. Otherwise, Boley did what he pleased, completing 21 of 27 for 387 yards and six touchdowns. His night ended early in the third quarter because of the lopsided score.“We came out and executed our game plan and did what we wanted to do,” Boley said. “Executed our style of play. I feel like it’s just getting used to learning those game plans each week, and kind of diving in and getting locked in to what you want to do week in and week out. This game really helped us see some of the things we might have did bad, and a lot of things that we did good.”Regardless of opponent, putting up 70 points and 681 yards is good for program self-esteem, but how it translates will be interesting to watch. Next week the Sun Devils visit No. 8 Texas A&M. From there, they will fly to London to face Kansas in the Union Jack Classic at Wembley Stadium. Saturday’s lack of competition may leave the Sun Devils ill-prepared. Or maybe the confidence from 16 explosive plays spills over.In other words: Nobody knows.