11. His confidence improved with a surprise 28t

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State would seemingly have the perfect opponent to open a season full of questions.Northern Arizona plays in the lower-tier FCS, hasnt beaten Arizona State since 1938 and doesnt have the size or depth to match the Sun Devils.Yet as he leads his team into Saturdays game at Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State coach Todd Graham is not taking anything for granted. The Lumberjacks can play and he knows it.We have studied them well and we know their coaching staff. They are well-coached and they have talent, Graham said. We have a lot of respect for their team and their level of play, and we know they are going to be highly motivated and confident come Saturday.Arizona State had a disappointing 2015 season, finishing 6-7 after being picked as a dark horse College Football Playoff team early in the season.The Sun Devils return this season with a quarterback battle between players who have never thrown a pass in college, along with questions on the offensive line and defensive secondary.Northern Arizona could present a difficult challenge despite playing the little brother to the two FBS programs in Arizona.The Lumberjacks opened the season ranked 18th in the two major FCS preseason polls and were picked to win the Big Sky Conference. They have an explosive offense that includes a quarterback and a receiver who received All-American recognition last season, which could cause some problems for an Arizona State defense that ranked last nationally in pass defense a year ago.They are going to catch some passes and theyre going to have some plays because they are very talented, Graham said.A few things to look for when Arizona State and Northern Arizona open the season Saturday night:WHOS THE QB?: Between Taylor Kelly and Mike Bercovici last season, Graham has known who his starting quarterback would be in every season except his first (2012) in the desert. This season, Arizona State joins Tulane as the only FBS programs to not have a quarterback on its roster who has thrown a collegiate pass. Sophomore Manny Wilkins and redshirt freshman Brady White had battled for the spot since spring before Graham told a local radio station on Friday that Wilkins will start against the Lumberjacks. Graham added that the QB competition is not over, so White could see some playing time Saturday and beyond.COOKUS RETURNS: While Arizona State has questions at quarterback, NAU certainly does not. Case Cookus had a stellar freshman season, throwing for 3,117 yards and 37 touchdowns while completing 69 percent of his passes. He was named the FCS national freshman of the year last season, a third-team All-American and has one of the nations best receivers to throw to, FCS All-American Emmanuel Butler. Against a revamped ASU secondary, there could be a few big plays Saturday night.POWER AND SPEED: Arizona States inexperience at quarterback will be offset by one of the best and most experienced backfields in the Pac-12. Juniors Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage give the Sun Devils a mix of power and speed that will make it difficult for the Lumberjacks -- or anyone else -- to stop. At 5-foot-10, 219 pounds, Richard goes through would-be tacklers like a bowling ball. The 6-2, 227-pound Ballage has the power to run opponents over, but also is one of the fastest players on the team.NUMBERS: Arizona State leads the all-time series 21-14-4 and has won the last nine meetings since a 13-13 tie in 1946. ... Northern Arizona coach Jerome Souers is entering his 19th season with the Lumberjacks. ... Arizona State K Zane Gonzalez enters the season needing 16 field goals to break the FBS record of 88 set by Florida States Dustin Hopkins. Xavier Ouellet Canadiens Jersey . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Jeff Petry Canadiens Jersey . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-max-domi-canadiens-jersey/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Patrick Roy Canadiens Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Guy Lapointe Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery.INVERNESS, Scotland - Phil Mickelson eased back into links golf with a 6-under 66 at the Scottish Open, leaving him behind two Englishman after a low-scoring first round on Thursday. John Parry, ranked No. 471, held the clubhouse lead after a bogey-free 64 and Simon Khan (65) also tamed the Castle Stuart course in perfect morning conditions in the Scottish Highlands to finish alone in second. Mickelson is tied for third with six others after quickly hitting his stride in the warm-up event for next weeks British Open, finding his range on and around the greens to produce six birdies and an eagle. Twenty-one years into a trophy-laden professional career, the four-time major winner insists there is still time for him to "conquer links golf." And his stylish opening round suggested a first win in Europe since 1993 could come either here or a few hours south in Muirfield next week. "Its great for me to get off to a decent start because I have gotten off to poor starts the last couple of years here, and I have been fighting just to make the cut and get into reasonable contention," said Mickelson, who at No. 8 is the highest-ranked player in the tournament. "Im not having to battle uphill." After a three-putt for a bogey on his first hole left him muttering, Mickelson made a 15-foot putt for eagle at No. 12 — his third hole. The decision to install five greens, all with different surfaces, in his garden to improve his putting is paying off this year. "Many of my great rounds in the past have started with a bogey," Mickelson said, "so I wasnt too worried. "The very first shot I tried to get a little greedy and it comes back to bite me. So it was a good wake-up call." Mickelson, freshh off missing the cut at the Greenbrier Classic last week and the heartbreak of his runner-up finish at the U.ddddddddddddS. Open last month, felt he still "let a few shots go" in his first round of links golf since missing the cut at last years British Open. The same cant be said of Parry. Outside the worlds top 600 in December, Parry is in his first year back on the European Tour after losing his card in 2011. His confidence improved with a surprise 28th-place finish at last months U.S. Open — his first major. "I played with some top players and saw what they are like — you realize you are not a million miles away, that they are just more consistent," Parry said. Everything went right for him after going out in the second group at 7:40 a.m., with birdies on four of his first six holes. Picking up a shot at the last pushed him ahead of Khan, who had just finished as part of the first group, and left Parry with a grin on his face. "It was one of them where it just keeps happening," said Parry, whose only tournament win came in the Vivendi Cup in 2010. "You wonder why you cant do that every week." Shane Lowry, Mikko Ilonen, James Morrison, Kiradech Aphibarnrat all shot 66s with Mickelson in the morning session. Thongchai Jaidee and Chris Doak joined the seven-man group in a tie for third place a few hours later. Only 14 of the 78 players setting out in the morning session finished over par, and 117 of the 156-man field broke par. But with the wind picking up off the Moray Firth, the afternoon starters — among them the last two British Open champions, Darren Clarke and Ernie Els — found things slightly tougher and no one came close to threatening Parrys score. ' ' '