The No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils opened the season in front of a sellout crowd of 56,759 at Mountain America Stadium. ASU walked away with a 38-19 victory over Northern Arizona.
ASU led 17-6 at the half but got breathing room with two touchdown runs by quarterback Sam Leavitt in the third quarter, the latter giving the Sun Devils a 31-13 advantage.
“We won a football game, which was a positive,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We have to be able to stop short yardage runs. That was not a positive. Then we can’t have 12 penalties for 93 yards, which cost us, probably, an additional 170 yards. So when you look at it all, you just removed the penalties; this entire sheet is 200 yards different right now. We have to get that cleaned up, and that starts with me. I am the be-all, end-all when it comes to stuff like that.”
What went right
The dynamic duo was dynamic: ASU leaned on its star players as Leavitt threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 73 yards and another two scores. Leavitt’s favorite target, Jordyn Tyson, was as advertised with 12 catches for 141 yards, highlighted by a 19-yard scoring reception that gave ASU an early 14-0 lead.
Kyson Brown was an all-around threat: Everyone wanted to know what would happen with Cam Skattebo’s departure. Brown held up his end of the load, with 73 rushing yards on seven attempts and 72 receiving yards on six catches. ASU had 201 rushing yards, without Cam Skattebo.
Raleek Brown’s explosiveness: Explosive plays were one thing missing last year, and much of that was because Brown was out with a hamstring issue. He looms as a threat to go all the way every time he touches the ball in the return game, and that was on display. He also went 75 yards on a swing pass, although that was called back because of a penalty. Brown scored the game’s first touchdown on a 6-yard run, his first touchdown as a Sun Devil.
What went wrong
Penalties, lots of them: ASU was penalized 12 times for 93 yards. A holding penalty on Malik McClain wiped out Brown’s 75-yard touchdown off a screen pass. On the next play, McClain made a catch for 64 yards, but that was wiped off the board due to an ineligible receiver downfield. NAU also got three first downs off ASU penalties.
Offensive line struggled: The unit returned four starters, although one of those is playing a different position. The Sun Devils gave up two sacks in the first half, and Leavitt had pressure on him much of the night. Dillingham credited NAU and the “exotic” looks it brings defensively.
Didn’t win the takeaway battle: Each team threw one interception. Last season, ASU was one of the best teams in the country in takeaway margin.
Personnel notes
DB Plas Johnson (knee) and DB MyKeil Gardner (foot) are out with season-ending injuries. DL Zac Swanson did not suit up. He is working his way back from a foot injury in the spring that required surgery and has been practicing . . . OL Jimeto Obigpo and NB Kyndrich Breedlove, both transfer portal acquisitions, made their first career starts . . . C Ben Coleman, who started at guard last season, left the game late in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Wade Helton . . . S Adrian “Boogie” Wilson also left the game with an apparent shoulder injury.
Grades
Offense (B-): The Sun Devils tallied 458 total yards, which is a good figure no matter who the opposition. ASU ran for 201 yards (avg. 9.1 ypc), and Sam Leavitt passed for 257. The biggest problem was the 2-for-10 on third down, although ASU did convert two of three fourth-down tries. ASU gave up two sacks and penalties thwarted other drives.
Defense (C+): ASU gave up 331 total yards and 19 points to an FCS foe. It held the Lumberjacks to 89 yards rushing (3.1 ypg) and fared exceptionally well when it came down to third down. ASU recorded eight tackles for a loss and three sacks. The lone takeaway was an interception by Anthonie Cooper late in the fourth quarter.
Special teams (B): Punter Kanyon Floyd averaged 48.5 on four tries, with a long of 58. Kicker Jesus Gomez went 1-for-2 on field goals, with a make from 36 yards and a miss from 57 that had the distance but was just wide right. Raleek Brown had two punt returns for 21 yards and a kickoff return for 24 yards, and showed an explosiveness ASU has been missing in the return game. The only flaw here was a 42-yard return allowed in the first half.
They said it
“Could we have played better? 100%. But you have to give NAU credit. They’re a phenomenal staff. Their offensive scheme, defensive scheme, probably one of the worst teams you could ever want to play in Week 1, with how unique they play the game. It’s not just what we did wrong; it’s what they did right, so I would say I’m a fan of that staff.” — ASU coach Kenny Dillingham.
“Sam’s hard on himself. Sam’s going to be his hardest critic. That’s just who Sam is. He’s never going to be satisfied, but he had a really good football game.” — Dillingham on Leavitt, who said he would grade himself a C+ or a B-
“I think it was a solid performance, but not to our standard, just to be honest. I feel like we have a lot more to show. There were too many penalties, but it was good to see everybody coming out there flying around. I think everybody else on the defense knows that is not our standard.”
— ASU linebacker Jordan Crook
Up next
The Sun Devils hit the road for the first time, heading to Starkville for a 4:30 p.m. showdown against Mississippi State. The teams played last season in Tempe, with ASU prevailing 30-23.
Mississippi State opened its season on Aug. 30 by turning back Southern Mississippi 34-17.
