Northern Arizona @ Arizona State preview
Sun Devil Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 30, 2008 ) Northern Arizona 13, Arizona State 30
One more tuneup for Arizona State and then it will have to buckle up and play the big boys.
The Sun Devils face Northern Arizona on Saturday in their final non-conference home game of the season.
A week after blasting Portland State 54-9 in its season opener, Arizona State (1-0) hosts another Big Sky Conference opponent in Northern Arizona. The Sun Devils lead the series with the Lumberjacks 19-14-4 dating to 1915. The schools have met only three times since 1950.
In the last meeting between the teams, Arizona State posted a 30-13 victory in 2008 to run its unbeaten streak against Northern Arizona to 12 games (11-0-1). The Sun Devils have won seven straight over the Lumberjacks, and Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson is 6-0 all time against Northern Arizona. He is 1-0 with the Sun Devils, posted four wins while coaching at Idaho (1982-85) and beat the Lumberjacks once with Oregon State (2001).
After Saturday’s game, the Sun Devils will get into one of the toughest stretches of their 2010 schedule. They travel to Madison to take on No. 11 Wisconsin and return home the following week for their Pac-10 Conference opener against No. 8 Oregon. Then comes a trip to Corvallis and a meeting with Oregon State, which dropped just outside the Top 25 after a 30-21 loss at fifth-ranked TCU last week.
Against Portland State, Arizona State won its 12th straight home opener and got its young offense off to a fast start.
Quarterback Steven Threet threw for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was the highest passing total for a Sun Devil quarterback in their debut in program history, and the 54 points were the most Arizona State had scored since a 63-16 victory over Temple on Sept. 1, 2005.
The Sun Devil defense looked pretty good as well, albeit against an FCS opponent. Arizona State gave up just 47 yards rushing and 263 total yards to Portland State. The defense is expected to get a boost Saturday with senior defensive tackle Lawrence Guy returning from an ankle injury. Guy, who led Arizona State in sacks last year, sat out the season opener.
Northern Arizona (1-0) is also coming off an impressive home victory, a 48-0 romp over Western New Mexico.
The Lumberjacks won their 17th straight home opener behind freshman running back Zach Bauman, who rushed for 167 yards and four touchdowns. Senior quarterback Michael Herrick was also solid, completing 15-of-25 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Northern Arizona is 7-44 all-time against FBS schools. It posted six of those wins prior to 1980 and is 0-19 against the big boys since a 24-20 victory at Tulsa in 1987. The Lumberjacks have lost their last 19 games against FBS opponents.