Photo by Dean Hendrickson

BOZEMAN, Mont. - Northern Arizona forced five turnovers  and threw for almost 400 yards to upset 24th-ranked Montana State on the road 23-10 in front of 14,017 fans at Bobcat Stadium Saturday.

It was the first victory for the Lumberjacks over a ranked team since its win at No. 1 ranked McNeese State in 2003, breaking a streak of 20 consecutive losses to ranked teams at the FBS and FCS levels.

"We put the emphasis on turnovers this week and I thought the guys responded," said Head Coach Jerome Souers. "They did a great job of stripping at the ball and created some great opportunities for our team. When it is cold and nasty out, you gotta have great defense. I thought we had that today."

Quarterback Michael Herrick threw for 388 yards and hit wide receiver Ed Berry for a 14-yard score late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. The touchdown was setup by a fumble recovery by Matt Estrada off a Bobcat punt.

"Montana State has a great defensive front," said Souers. "You have to throw the ball if you want to have any success against them. On a day like today that is tough to do. I was proud of them the way they protected Michael. He made some key throws and our receivers made some big plays. When we had to we were productive and that was the difference."

Berry finished with 12 catches for a game-high 182 yards.

Sophomore kicker Matt Myers put the Lumberjacks up for good with his second field goal in the fourth quarter, giving NAU a 13-10 advantage in the game.

The two field goals erased a MSU lead taken when they recovered a fumbled punt on the NAU 2-yard line late in the third quarter, scoring on the next play from scrimmage on a Mark Iddins pass to Kyle Begger. But the NAU defense held the Bobcats scoreless over the final quarter, forcing two turnovers to eliminate any comeback attempt.

NAU took a lead at halftime with a score right before the half. Daiveun Curry-Chapman hit Fitzpatrick with a jump pass out of a Wildcat formation. It completed a 12-play, 92-yard drive and got the Lumberjacks on the scoreboard. Curry-Chapman jumped as he threw the short pass to a diving Fitzpatrick, who made a nice catch just off the ground.

The Lumberjacks forced two fumbles in the first half, stalling two Bobcats drives including the second inside the NAU 10-yard line. MSU scored first in the game on a 20-yard field goal by Jason Cunningham, the only points scored in the opening quarter.

NAU travels to Portland State next weekend to play the Vikings Saturday, October 17 at 1:05 p.m. Portland State defeated Northern Colorado on Saturday.