Arizona State Sun Devils to face ‘a great opponent’ in season opener

TEMPE, Ariz. – Florida. Kansas State. Michigan. Virginia Tech.

All well-regarded, highly successful football programs; yet each have lost to a FCS opponent in the past decade.

Arizona State does not want to become the next Power Five conference team to suffer such an embarrassment. Beat Northern Arizona, as they’re expected to, and they won’t.

The Sun Devils host in-state NAU on Saturday, kicking off the 2016 season, head coach Todd Graham’s fifth in Tempe.

“We have a great opponent going up against NAU,” he said. “They went 7-4 last year, and very easily could have been a team to win ten games. They are well coached and have talented receivers and an impressive quarterback.”

The Sun Devils have won nine straight over NAU, including a 5-0 mark since 2003 with an average margin of victory of nearly four touchdowns. In their last meeting in 2012, ASU won 63-6.

A much better matchup is expected this weekend.

For one, there appears to be more uncertainty surrounding the Sun Devils than the Lumberjacks, especially offensively.

Quarterback Manny Wilkins is expected to make his first collegiate start. The offensive line will debut four new starters. And among the skill position players, only tight end Kody Kohl started every game last season.

The ASU offense does return its top two running backs, Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage, and second-leading receiver, Tim White.

NAU, meanwhile, welcomes back the FCS National Freshman Player of the Year (quarterback Case Cookus), an All-American wide receiver (Emmanuel Butler) and four starters along the offensive line.

“The two of them have this ability to always know where the ball will be located,” Graham said, referring to Cookus and Butler, who played at Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School. “Their offense is explosive. We have a lot of respect for their team and their level of play, and we know they are going to be highly motivated and confident come Saturday.”

NAU is ranked No. 18 in the FCS and Coaches Preseason National Polls, and for the first time in school history, the Lumberjacks were picked to win the Big Sky Conference by both the league coaches and media.

It’s been four years since NAU last beat a FBS, or Division-I, opponent. They defeated UNLV, 17-14, with a game-winning field goal on Sept. 8, 2012.

“Looking at the film (of NAU), film only shows you so much until you get out there and actually get the game experience of it, so I guess on Saturday we’ll see,” Ballage said.

Again, all ASU needs to do is look back at recent history to know not to look past NAU.

In 2013, Florida lost in Gainesville to Georgia Southern. That same year, North Dakota State beat Kansas State. Michigan, then ranked No. 5, was upset by Appalachian State in 2007, while a 13th-ranked Virginia Tech was dropped by James Madison in 2010.

Last season, FCS teams went 9-96 against FBS teams, including a Portland State win over Washington State in Week 1. Of course, the Cougars did rebound to win nine games with victories over ASU, Oregon and UCLA and beat Miami in the Sun Bowl.

“You can’t take anybody for granted, you have to go out and play, and the key to winning a championship and accomplishing the goals that we want to accomplish is to get better every week. That is the key,” Graham said. “I want to perform well and number-one I want to win.”

Follow @CraigAZSports