TEMPE, Ariz. – Sometimes, the newness of the first week of a college football season can lead to a mixed bag-esque performance. In front of a sellout crowd and record-setting student section on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium, Northern Arizona utilized its whole bag of tricks and more to disrupt No. 11 Arizona State in its home opener.
It certainly looked like a Week 1 affair for the Sun Devils, who, at times, looked rough around the edges, but still managed to secure a 38-19 victory over the Lumberjacks.
Although Sparky came away with a double-digit-point win, it experienced some early-season hiccups. In particular, penalties pestered the Maroon and Gold throughout the night, which committed 12 infractions for 93 penalty yards.
These mistakes stalled multiple Arizona State drives, including one that saw a long touchdown and a pass for over 50 yards called back due to penalties.
“If you just removed the penalties, it is 200 yards different right now, and we got to get that cleaned up,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “That starts with me … We haven’t had that amount of holding calls in all of camp that we had tonight, and we got to get that cleaned up.”
It contributed to an overall up-and-down night for the Maroon and Gold offense that, despite generating 458 yards of total offense, looked out of rhythm during some stretches.
Dillingham credited the Lumberjack defense for mixing in some exotic looks and defensive fronts to make it difficult for his squad.
“You have to give those guys credit, too,” Dillingham said. “That is some weird stuff. In a good way. And it’s sound … I thought our o-line adjusted well in the second half to all that stuff.”
Still, the offense managed to piece together a solid showing. It’s two headline names, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt and redshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, spearheaded the Sun Devils’ offensive attack.
Tyson accounted for 141 of Arizona State’s 257 passing yards and snagged two touchdowns to lead all Maroon and Gold pass catchers.
Have a night @tyson_jordyn 👏
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) August 31, 2025
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Meanwhile, Leavitt took advantage of some open running lanes and scampered for 73 yards – including a career-long 52-yard touchdown – finding the end zone twice on the ground. His long run put ASU up 24-6 early in the second half, providing some insurance after NAU cut the deficit to 11 points before the half.
“I know that I can run, and the biggest thing was just not taking off too predetermined,” Leavitt said. “I felt like that was one thing I extended well while pushing the ball down the field.”
He ended the night tied for the most rushing yards of any Sun Devil, with junior running back Kyson Brown matching his total with 73 rushing yards.
After not naming a starting running back in the week leading up to the game, Dillingham elected to give Brown the first snaps out of the backfield for the Sun Devils. He impressed with 145 all-purpose yards, including a 34-yard run on a fake punt to move his team into the red zone.
Redshirt junior Raleek Brown also flashed his elusiveness out of the backfield, dancing past defenders to cap ASU’s first possession of the game with a 6-yard touchdown run. He finished the evening with 38 rushing yards on only five rushes.
Yet, out wide, the Maroon and Gold lacked parity in its production.
In the first half, Jordyn Tyson swallowed up seven receptions, but ended as the only non-running back to record a catch in the first 30 minutes of play.
It took until the middle of the third quarter for a wide receiver other than Tyson, redshirt senior Malik McClain, to log a reception.
Defensively, ASU mostly contained junior preseason all-Big Sky conference quarterback Ty Pennington and the NAU offense.
While the Lumberjacks surpassed 300 yards of offense, Sparky’s defense held strong on its own end of the field. Arizona State forced two field goals and stopped the visitors twice on fourth down, one of which came on inside the 5-yard line.
Penalties somewhat smudged the unit’s performance, but it still didn’t deter it from holding NAU to just 13 points until the final minute of play.
“I think it was a solid performance, [but] not to our standard though,” ASU senior linebacker Jordan Crook, who led the team in tackles with seven, said. “Just to be honest, I feel like we have more to show. [We had] too many penalties, but it was good to see everybody out there flying around.”
After shaking off the Week 1 rust, the Sun Devils will look to improve to 2-0 when they head down south for their first true road test against Mississippi State on Sept. 6 at 4:30 p.m. MST.
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