Thema drucken
24.09.2019 14:24
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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.Vapormax Bianche In Offerta . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Nike Vapormax Ingrosso .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. http://www.vapormaxscontateoutlet.it/vapormax-off-white-scontate-outlet.html . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Nike Vapormax Nere e Oro . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Vapormax Uomo Scontate . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. TORONTO -- The second time definitely wasnt the charm for Cary Harris. The defensive back was among the Edmonton Eskimos final cuts, the CFL club announced Sunday. Harris, a 2009 sixth-round draft pick of the NFLs Buffalo Bills, was let go by the Eskimos earlier during training camp, then re-signed, only to be released a second time. Like all CFL teams, the Eskimos had to reduce their roster down to 46 players by 10 p.m. ET on Saturday night. However, Edmonton was the only league squad to release their final cuts Sunday. Also among Edmontons final cuts were offensive linemen Taylor Servais, Carson Rockhill and Nick Cody, running backs Brett Haenni, Smith Wright and Kyle Exume, receivers Rico Wallace, Terrance Lewis and Ed Gant, defensive backs Hugo Lopez, Michael Ricks and Clint Kent, kicker-punter Tomas Silva and defensive lineman Lindsey Witten. The Eskimos also re-signed defensive back Eric Samuels, who was released by the club last week. Clint was a four-year CFL veteran, having spent time previously with Montreal and Winnipeg before landing in Edmonton last season. He appeared in 70 career games, registering 197 tackles, one interception and six fumble recoveries while scoring two TDs. Cody, a former Oregon Duck in his first CFL training camp, took to Twitter to discuss his situation. "Well Canada, Edmonton, its been real... Real short, real shady, and most of all a real learning experience. Good luck to all my OL guys," he tweeted.dddddddddddd The release of the six-foot-six, 284-pound Rockhill was a surprise considering Edmonton acquired his rights in February in a five-player trade with Hamilton, which selected the former Calgary Dinos player in the second round of the 2012 CFL draft. The Montreal Alouettes also waited until Sunday to announce their final two cuts: cornerback Keynan Parker and receiver Wallace Wright. They also placed seven players on the one-game injured list, including fullback Patrick Lavoie and running back Jerome Messam and Brandon Whitaker, meaning they wont be dressed for the clubs season-opening game Thursday night in Winnipeg. The Blue Bombers put five players on the one-game injured list, including running back Chris Garrett, receiver Kito Poblah, defensive back Johnny Sears Jr., and defensive lineman Jake Thomas. Offensive lineman Tyson Pencer opens the season on the nine-game injured list. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were busy Sunday, placing offensive linemen Pascal Baillargeon and Marc Dile, linebacker Nate Bussey, defensive linemen Torrey Davis and Louie Richardson and defensive backs Neil King, Terrance Parks and Courtney Stephen on the one-game injured list and defensive linemen Michael Atkinson and Arnaud Gascopn-Nadon, linebacker Marcellus Bowman, quarterback Brian Brohm, kicker Brett Lauther and slotback Dave Stala on the nine-game list. Also, running back Bo Palmer retired. ' ' ' |
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