HOUSTON -- Freshman receiver Christian Kirk, the best recruit in the state of Arizona, showed up Arizona State on Saturday night, leading Texas A&M to a 38-17 victory.

Kirk, who enrolled at A&M in January and earned a starting spot in August, caught six passes for 106 yards, with a 66-yard zig-zag of a touchdown to break open the game for the Aggies with 3:45 to play. Kirk's big play came off a simple bubble screen, but the Arizona State safety misplayed it.

Kirk also reeled off a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the second quarter to give his team an early 14-0 cushion.

The 15th-ranked Sun Devils eventually got to within a field goal of the Aggies late in the third quarter. But a rejuvenated Aggies defense, under new coordinator John Chavis, never allowed ASU to close the gap.

By rankings, it was an upset, although oddsmakers had established A&M as a three-point favorite. The teams opened the season at NRG Stadium in Houston, but there were far more Aggies than Sun Devils fans in the announced crowd of 66,308. A&M's campus is only a two-hour drive away.

Texas A&M running back Tra Carson finished the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown after Arizona State turned the ball over on downs. His 96 yards on 29 attempts led all rushers.

The defenses of both teams often were spectacular. One of the biggest season-opening plot lines nationally was how the A&M defense was going to respond to Chavis' schemes.

The former LSU defensive coordinator made an immediate impact.

Texas A&M sacked ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici nine times. The Aggies hadn't registered that many sacks since 1995. Bercovici completed 25 of 41 attempts for 199 yards.

"There was no place for us to go but up," said A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, who had two sacks, referring to last year's defense.

With Chavis in control of the defense, Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said he immediately noticed the changes.

"We wouldn't have been so aggressive in our (defensive) pursuit," Sumlin said. "He's a guy I've always had respect for as a coach, playing against his defense and philosophically how he does things. It was a good fit for us and a good fit for him, too."

The blitzing Arizona State defense also was devastating to the A&M offense, forcing Sumlin to switch quarterbacks. The Aggies shifted from sophomore Kyle Allen to freshman Kyler Murray then back to Allen.

Both Allen and Murray threw an interception and Allen fumbled after a sack. The Sun Devils registered three sacks and kept enough pressure on A&M so that both quarterbacks combined to hit 19 of 35 passes for 247 yards. Murray was effective with his running, scampering six times for 69 yards. But on his final series, Sumlin called for three straight runs up the middle to set up a 19-yard field goal.

"What we do is really tough on quarterbacks," Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. "I think we had five three-and-outs in the first half.

"We played about as good as you can play for most of the time," Graham said. "It wasn't a very good offensive night for anybody."

Arizona State cut A&M's lead to 24-17 with 4:16 to go on Zane Gonzalez's 23-yard run.

But, on the next series, Allen and Kirk combined on the 67-yard score. Graham said his safety misplayed the screen, allowing Kirk to break free. Then Carson gave A&M an insurance score after the Sun Devils turned the ball over on downs.

Texas A&M led 14-7 at halftime.

Carson caught a 9-yard pass from Allen with 20 seconds to go in the first quarter. Kirk followed with his punt return. Arizona State's Kody Kohl caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Becovici midway through the second quarter.

Sumlin said he couldn't put too much stock into season-opening victories. His Aggies knocked off ninth-ranked South Carolina to open last season but stumbled to an 8-5 record.

"If you learned anything, you learned from last year: It doesn't mean much of anything," Sumlin said. "Somebody knew something. We weren't ranked (in the preseason), but we were favored."

NOTES: Moments before kickoff, Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin announced the suspensions of junior LB A.J. Hilliard and freshman DT Zaycoven Henderson. Each will serve a two-game suspension for violating unspecified team rules. Hilliard had been hurt but wouldn't say what injury he suffered. Both were listed as second team. ... Texas A&M sophomore DE Myles Garrett was credited with two sacks in the first half. He had 11.5 a season ago, when he broke the SEC freshman record for sacks, a standard previously held by South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney. Fellow Aggies DE Daeshon Hall, a junior, had four sacks, second in school history. ... Arizona State WR D.J. Foster, with an 8-yard reception, eclipsed 4,000 career yards in the first half. A&M limited the senior to six catches for 48 yards in the game.