Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs Arizona State Sun Devils Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 08/30/25

One of Saturday’s more underrated matchups features the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at the Arizona State Sun Devils. This is not your usual Power Conference vs FCS game, as the Lumberjacks are ranked in the top 20 in the preseason FCS polls. The Sun Devils, though, are coming off a Big 12 championship and a playoff berth, and they are projected to finish there once again. My expectation is that both teams will be crisp offensively, and we could see a fair amount of points in this matchup. I don’t know if the Jacks can keep the game close, but I do like the game total to go over 52.5, and that is my play here.

For Northern Arizona, they return most of their key pieces from last year’s playoff team. They have a good QB, and they return a high number of experienced players around him, especially for the era of the transfer portal. As for ASU, they return one of the best QB-WR combos in the country in Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson. They also return a ton of starters around them, with one notable absence: Cam Skattebo. Skattebo was the emotional and physical leader of this team, and I have questions about how this team replaces him. It was also the case last year that nearly every lucky break bounced the way of the Sun Devils, and I don’t know if that is sustainable either. None of that should matter in Week 1 though, as Leavitt and Co should be able to score at will. If the Lumberjacks can get a couple of scores into the endzone, there is no reason this game shouldn’t go over the total.

Northern Arizona vs Arizona State Prediction: Over 52.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.