No. 11 Sun Devils start season with ugly win over Northern Arizona

Arizona State took care of business over Northern Arizona, but the team looked rusty at times. The Sun Devils had more flags than your local 4th of July parade.

Arizona State football (1-0) defeated Northern Arizona (0-1) by the score of 38-19. However, it was not the domination that some were expecting.

“We won the football game, which was a positive,” Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We can’t have 12 penalties for 93 yards that cost us probably an additional 170 yards.”

The Sun Devils had a total of 12 penalties for 93 yards, many of which were unnecessary. There was a drive in the first half where they were on defense, and they had two personal foul penalties. In the third quarter, there was a stretch where the offense committed three penalties on three consecutive plays. A Malik McClain holding penalty nullified a 75-yard touchdown, a Kyle Scott ineligible man down penalty nullified a 64-yard pass, and that was followed by a delay-of-game penalty. Even special teams had two delay of game penalties.

The Sun Devil offense was iffy at times, too, with multiple three-and-outs, most of which came in succession at the end of the second quarter. However, the offense was able to figure things out and still be fairly productive. Dillingham attributes the Lumberjacks' scheme to being confusing and different.

“They do so many things, and they just got us,” Dillingham said. “It was just never in a rhythm, always getting us out of sync.”

Redshirt junior receiver Jordyn Tyson had the best game on the offensive side of the ball. He totalled 141 yards on 12 catches and two touchdowns. The Texas-native looks to be dominant on the field once again as he caught his 100th career reception. This was his first game back since his season-ending injury at Arizona, which made his performance even more remarkable.

All three running backs saw time with the Brown duo of Kyson and Raleek, producing well. Kyson had seven rushes for 73 yards as well as 72 yards on six catches. One of the rushes was on a successful fake punt.

Raleek Brown had five rushes for 38 yards and a touchdown, as well as looking explosive whenever he got the ball, especially on special teams. He had 55 return yards on special teams. The Californian has dealt with injury and barely played in the last two years, and he looks to be a menace to opposing defenses.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt had a great game with a 131.3 passer rating. He had 257 yards through the air and two touchdowns. The one drawback on his day was an interception late.

Leavitt had seven rushing attempts for 73 yards and two touchdowns as well. The Sun Devils had over 200 yards on the ground.

“I saw man coverage, bear cover one,” Leavitt said. “I just made a good play.”

The defense looked good, too. They forced multiple three-and-outs. The rush defense was great as they stopped 29 attempts and had 89 yards. 27 of those 89 yards came on one carry. Graduate lineman Anthoine Cooper had an interception late, which was the first of his career.

The special teams looked improved. Jesus Gomez missed a 57-yard field goal, which would have tied his career long. Gomez made all of his other kicks. The return game went well with Raleek Brown. Arizona State ran a fake punt early that worked on a direct snap to Kyson Brown. Sophomore punter Kanyon Floyd had multiple punts that flipped the field, but had one blemish that went 22 yards.

“We called a backed-up punt on the five, six-yard line, probably just should’ve called it a normal punt,” Dillingham said. “That’s why the coverage unit wasn’t great.”

This was the first opening day sellout in this century, and the student section had a new record for most students in attendance as well.

The Sun Devils travel to Mississippi State next week. The Bulldogs won 34-17 at Southern Miss to start their year.

“It’s always good to win ugly,” Dillingham said. “That’s one of the best things about coaching, is when you win ugly and it wakes people up a little bit.”