A sold-out crowd at Mountain America Stadium got to watch Leavitt to Tyson connect once again.
After an impressive 2024 season, ASU played football in Tempe for the first time in 2025. Notable nights from redshirt sophomore Sam Leavitt and redshirt junior Jordyn Tyson highlighted the offense, but it was still an overall sloppy night for both sides.
"The crowd tonight was awesome," head coach Kenny Dillingham said. "Our games, they're not meant to be perfect, especially games early, right? They're meant to be ugly. You're meant to clean things up."
ASU's first drive saw Leavitt connect with Tyson and junior running back Kyson Brown to bring the Sun Devils to the 6-yard line. Redshirt junior running back Raleek Brown finished off the drive with a touchdown rush.
The Sun Devils' next drive included a fake punt taken by Kyson Brown, leading the Sun Devils into the red zone. Leavitt connected to Tyson for the pair's first touchdown of the 2025 season, after connecting for ten of them in 2024.
"(Tyson) studies ball at a high rate," Dillingham said. "He comes up and gives extra. He takes care of his body. He's a true pro, so I'm very blessed that I get to coach him."
After the Sun Devils' defense stuffed them at the 4-yard line on their previous drive, the Lumberjacks came right back down, hitting a 31-yard field goal to make it 14-3.
After three straight three-and-outs for the Sun Devils, they scored their first points of the second quarter. Redshirt senior Jesus Gomez hit his first field goal as a Sun Devil, putting ASU back up by 14.
NAU got down into ASU territory with under two minutes left to hit a 46-yard field goal. The Sun Devils got to the Lumberjacks' 40-yard line with four seconds left, but Gomez pushed his 57-yard attempt just wide.
The first half ended with the Sun Devils up 17-6. They had eight penalties for 63 yards, in comparison to the Lumberjacks' two penalties for 20 yards.
Leavitt showed off his legs to open the second half. After the pocket collapsed around him, he found the space and exploded for a 52-yard rushing touchdown.
NAU marched right back down in the field in its first drive of the half. ASU made it fourth-and-1 from the 5-yard line, but the Lumberjacks converted. On the next play, a 3-yard touchdown pass cut the Sun Devils' lead back down to 11.
Penalties continued to be a problem for the Sun Devils. On back-to-back plays, a 75-yard touchdown for Raleek Brown and a 64-yard reception for redshirt senior Malik McClain were brought back due to penalties.
ASU battled through the self-inflicted wounds. On the next drive, Leavitt used his legs once again, this time for an 18-yard rushing touchdown to put the Sun Devils up 31-13.
"I know that I could run," Leavitt said. "The biggest thing was just not taking off too predetermined from last year."
Leavitt threw a late interception to the Lumberjacks for his biggest mistake of the night. The Sun Devils' defense responded with an interception of its own, with graduate student Anthonie Cooper giving his offense the ball back.
The Sun Devils turned defense into offense with a great throw and catch from Leavitt to Tyson for a 16-yard touchdown. Tyson finished his night with 12 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns. The impressive catch is something Tyson knew he had in his bag.
"I feel like I mastered that catch when I was a kid," Tyson said. "I just never had the opportunity to really do it on the field until now."
Leavitt himself had a strong night, going 25-39 for 257 yards and two touchdowns in the air. On the ground, he had seven rushes for 73 yards and two touchdowns, leading the team in rushing yards. He believed he and his team could have done better.
"I'll say for myself, I'll probably give it like a C-plus, maybe a B-minus," Leavitt said. "For the team overall, I can't speak on the defense's behalf, but offensively, I'd say like a B."
NAU scored in its final drive of the game, with a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 38-19 to round out the game.
Great performances by Leavitt and Tyson carried the offense, but problems with penalties are something that could potentially haunt ASU for the rest of the season.
"We can't have ... 12 penalties for 93 yards," Dillingham said. "That cost us probably an additional 170 yards, 150 yards in total yardage."
The Sun Devils will now travel down to Mississippi State to take on the Bulldogs on Sept. 6.
"At the end of the day, everything that happens in this program falls on me," Dillingham said. "So if I feel like we're not operating at an optimal level, that's my fault, and I gotta find ways in order to fix that."
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Sophia Braccio and Pippa Fung.
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Niall Rosenberg is a lead Sports Reporter at the State Press. He has previously worked with sports teams such as the Rockford Rivets of the Northwoods League. He is in his 2nd semester with the State Press with the chance to cover football and other sports.
