TEMPE, Ariz. — When the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks take the field at Sun Devil Stadium for their season opener on Thursday, September 1, it will be a homecoming of sorts for head coach Chris Ball and more than 50 players on his roster.
“That's what's nice about playing Arizona and Arizona State every year. It's really another opportunity for their families to see them play and it's motivating for those guys to play down in Phoenix,” Ball said. “We have a lot of guys from Phoenix. We have 70 guys on our team from the state of Arizona. Most of them have grown up watching the Sun Devils play. So, yeah, it's definitely a motivating factor.”
Ball gets sentimental when he thinks about returning to Tempe for his 2022 season opener. He was at ASU from 2012-2015, serving as the defensive passing game coordinator and safeties coach before being promoted to co-defensive coordinator.
“We had a really good run there. It was a really great experience. We won a lot of games, I loved living down there. I think it's a great place,” Ball said. “It's going to be a walk down memory lane a little bit. A lot of emotions going back to Sun Devil Stadium. A lot of emotions Thursday night.”
Ball and his Lumberjacks are looking to make history by beating an in-state, PAC-12 school for the second consecutive year. Last season, NAU rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson for the first time since 1932. The last time NAU beat ASU in Tempe was in 1937.
“At the end of the day, it's not going to make or break our season. Our goal is to win the Big Sky,” Ball said. “Sure, it's nice because it puts us on the map and it's a huge win for our program… Just like last year, it was a huge win for our university.”
The Lumberjacks and their fans absorbed the historic moment in Tucson last season, but NAU finished the year with a 5-6 record. A win over ASU would make for another program-defining moment for a team that notched its first-ever victory against a Pac-12 opponent in 2021.
“They're all big and this one's a little bit bigger because it’s a Pac-12 football team and it's right down the hill,” Ball said. “They're confident and they're very driven and they got a goal to win the Big Sky Championship this year. They're confident going into this game and I think a lot of has to do with what we did against Arizona last year. So, if we put it all together, they can see what we can accomplish.”
NAU and ASU kick off on Thursday, September 1, at 7 p.m.
Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on Twitter: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, e-mail Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
Sports
Watch more of the latest sports videos on the 12News YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe!