First look at Arizona State's Week 1 opponent, FCS Northern Arizona

We've come to it at last, folks. Week 1 of the 2025 season is upon us, and meaningful football will be played once again.

Get ready to Stomp The Bus, as Mountain America Stadium will play host to the 42nd meeting between the Sun Devils and the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University. Meeting for the first time since 2022, both teams are coming off seasons that exceeded expectations, looking to prove that last season was not a fluke.

Both members of the Border Conference until 1952, this secondary in-state rivalry dates back to the 1915 season when the then Tempe Normal Owls delivered a crushing 72-3 defeat to the Northern Arizona Teachers College Lumberjacks in the first season of college football up in Flagstaff. Since then the Sun Devils have controlled the all-time series, possessing a 24-14-3 record with NAU's most recent win coming in 1938.

Meeting for the 5th time since 2010, the Devils have not failed to reach the 40 point mark against their FCS opponents. But this year isn't your ordinary Lumberjacks team. Coming off their first trip to the FCS playoffs since 2017, the Lumberjacks enter the season ranked No. 19 in the preseasonStats Perform FCS Top 25.

With ASU ranked No. 11 in the preseasonAP poll, this marks the first time in series history that both schools have been nationally ranked when playing each other, and just the second time that NAU has been ranked coming in to Tempe (No. 18 in 2016).

Much has been made about how many players are returning to the Sun Devils this season, but the Lumberjacks are returning 14 starters of their own. NAU's offense is led by quarterbackTy Pennington(no relation to former Jets and Dolphins QB Chad Pennington), who was named the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Pittsburg State to follow head coach Brian Wright, and earned himself a spot on the Preseason All-Big Sky team.

Joined bySeth CromwellandDarvon Hubbard, the Lumberjacks return a three-headed running attack that accounted for 1,554 of the team's 2,342 rushing yards, which ranked 21st in FCS last season. NAU also returns their second leading receiver inKolbe Katsis(35 catches for 498 yards and 2 TDs in 11 games) as well as offensive linemenSeth Smith,Ethan Kramer, andConnor DePrez,

Defensive linemanMicah Carreonheadlines the six returning Lumberjacks on defense after a 2024 season that saw him record 46 tackles, including a team-leading 7 tackles-for-loss, earning himself a spot on the preseason All-Big Sky team alongside linebackerBrandon Wong.Mikale Greeris the standard bearer in the secondary, coming off a team-high four interceptions in 2024.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham is not underestimating the Lumberjacks, commending head coach Brian Wright for inspiring his team to not play scared against any opponent, driving home how the Lumberjacks, especially when on defense, force opponents to be in constant communication.

"Going in to a Week 1, those are the teams that you don't want to face because it's communication."

Kenny Dillingham

The other key point from the coach is that last year's success does not change how he feels entering the 2025 season.

While the leadership perspective is the same entering this season, the preseason hopes and accolades couldn't be more different. The Sun Devils return 16 starters, tied for the most in FBS this season, led by sophomore Sam Leavitt at quarterback. He enters the season on the watchlist for five awards, including the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, and Johnny Unitas Awards. Aided by the return of a healthy Jordyn Tyson, they present one of the most potent QB-WR duos in college football.

Defensively, the Sun Devils are stacked, returning 9 of 11 starters, including the entire starting secondary. All throughout camp it has been opined that the best defense the Devils could be facing this season will be their own teammates. Keyshaun Elliot (Butkus), Xavion Alford (Jim Thorpe), and C.J. Fite (Nagurski) have all been named to preseason defensive award watchlists.

As previously mentioned, this season's Lumberjack team is not your ordinary Week 1 FCS matchup, and they will be looking to replicate their performance fromfour years agoin Tucson. The Sun Devils on the other hand will be fighting against 50 years of history when entering a season with lofty expectations.

The stage is set and it's finally time to rumble.Limited ticketsremain for Saturday's opener, so grab a friend, a coworker, anyone, and fill Mountain America Stadium to capacity to cheer the Sun Devils "Onward To Victory"!

Add us as a preferred source onGoogle

Follow