When an FBS team schedules an FCS team to open the season, the main goal is to get out with as few unsolved problems and injuries as possible. As the dust cleared at Sun Devil Stadium Saturday, it was still uncertain whether the Arizona State football team had done that.
The Sun Devils (1-0) secured win number one of the Manny Wilkins era by defeating Northern Arizona 44-13 on the strength of a 24-point fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.
The game started out the way many had anticipated, fast. The Sun Devils needed just seven plays to march into the end zone on their first drive, keeping the ball on the ground and rolling through the Lumberjacks, finishing off the drive with redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins' first career touchdown.
Wilkins played well in his first outing, completing 20 of 27 passes for 180 yards and compiling 89 yards on 14 carries, earning his dual-threat moniker. Head coach Todd Graham assessed his signal caller's debut as a success, with some reservations.
"I thought he did a good job managing the game," Graham said. "He made one bad decision throwing the interception, but I like how he responded to that. I like his demeanor on the sideline. I'd like for him to be a little more careful on that hurdling stuff... But I liked the decision-making."
ASU then fell into a rut. Following the opening drive score, the Sun Devil offense fell silent, totaling 46 yards over the next four drives.
"I thought we were just struggling," Graham said. "The first drive was boom, that was nice. It slowed after that and you have to try to get your rhythm... We've just got to work to find that."
Meanwhile, NAU sophomore quarterback Case Cookus shredded the ASU defense with four throws of 20 or more yards in the half. But the Lumberjacks could not find the end zone despite entering scoring range three times, including falling a yard short on a last-second heave.
Cookus completed 23 passes to six different receivers for 369 yards and the lone Lumberjack touchdown, which came once the game was in ASU's grasp.
The Sun Devil offense exploded in the fourth quarter, racking up 177 yards of offense and scoring on each possession to make the game look more lopsided than it was, and living up to its coach's pregame expectations.
Junior running back Kalen Ballage (30 yards), freshman wide receiver N'Keal Harry (34 yards) and redshirt freshman running back Nick Ralston (12 yards) all ran in touchdowns to extend the Sun Devil advantage and keep the home crowd, and their coach, happy.
"The second half is more about what I expected," Graham said. "The first half was a little... nerve-wracking."
But a win is a win for Graham, Wilkins and Co., and that's how they'll treat this game, despite the struggles.
"It's always a good first start when you're 1-0," Graham said. "And then when you look at it you can say it was 44-13. And that looks good."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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