With the football season officially upon us, it is time to scout out what sort of competition ASU will see this weekend in the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
The Lumberjacks are an FCS school, and most people assume that means that the Sun Devils will win by 40. Sorry to ruin it for you, but that isn’t true.
Last season ASU football faced Cal Poly, an FCS school like Northern Arizona, and going into the fourth quarter they were tied 21-21. ASU did end up winning that game 35-21 but Cal Poly was in it until the end.
Writing off a school, whether they be FBS or FCS, isn’t an option when it comes to college football because anything can happen. So here are some things to know about the Lumberjacks before Saturday’s game.
1. Watch out for quarterback Case Cookus
Cookus was named the FCS Freshman of the Year last season and rightfully so. As a freshman Cookus had only 5 interceptions and over 3,000 yards passing. He also broke the FCS record last season for touchdown passes by a freshman in a single season with 37. Cookus is a very dangerous player and he can carve up secondaries if they give him the chance. The Sun Devil defense will have to be on top of their game on Saturday.
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2. NAU will be looking for revenge
Back in 2012, NAU came to Sun Devil stadium and was completely demolished. ASU ended up winning that game 63-6 and NAU left that game feeling embarrassed. This time around the Lumberjacks will be looking to prove that 2012 was just a fluke and they can hold their own against the Sun Devils.
3. Former coach returns to Tempe
The Lumberjacks have a wide receivers coach by the name of Aaron Pflugrad. Pflugrad was a graduate assistant for ASU during the 2014 season. Before that, Pflugrad was a wide receiver for the Sun Devils from 2009-11. His father, Robin Pflugrad, was the wide receivers coach at ASU from 1995-2000. You have to believe that Pflugrad has been telling his receivers all week-long about how Todd Graham likes to play his defense. And Although schemes change from season to season and from game to game, if Pflugrad tells his receivers the correct way to beat this defense, then ASU will be in for a long night.
Next: Three Key Players for ASU in 2016
The football season is getting closer to kick-off by the day. Make sure that you stick with Devils in Detail for all your ASU Football coverage all season long!