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| GAME 7: Northern Arizona (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky) at No. 4/5 Weber State (4-2, 2-0 Big Sky) |
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NAU FOOTBALL GAME NOTES - AT WEBER STATE
NAU OPENING DRIVE
- The 'Jacks will face their third nationally-ranked opponent in their last four games when they travel to battle No. 4/5 Weber State on Saturday in Ogden.
- NAU owns a four-game winning streak in the series with the Wildcats - winning those four contests by an average of 10.0 ppg.
- Senior quarterback Case Cookus enters Saturday's game just two touchdown passes (92) shy of tying Jason Murrietta (94) (2003-06) for the most in program history.
- The Lumberjacks will be looking to snap an seven-game losing streak on the road when they travel to meet the Wildcats on Saturday.
- Senior quarterback Case Cookus leads the top ranked passing offense in the FCS (377.3) and ranks third nationally among all FCS signal callers with 2,075 passing yards and third nationally with 18 TD passes. Â Cookus is also first in the FCS with 345.8 passing yards per game.
- Junior punter DJ Arnson ranks fifth nationally among FCS leaders at 45.3 yards per kick.
- Junior kicker Luis Aguilar ranks fourth among FCS leaders in field goals per game (1.83).Â
NAU TRAVELS TO BATTLE THIRD RANKED TEAM ON ROAD THIS SEASON
The Lumberjacks will return to action for the first time since Oct. 5 when they travel to Ogden, Utah, this Saturday to battle No. 4/5 Weber State in a 1 p.m. MST kickoff.
NAU will be facing its third nationally-ranked opponent on the road over its last four games when it takes on the Wildcats on Saturday. Â The 'Jacks previously met then-No. 15/10 Illinois State (Sept. 21) and No. 7/11 Montana State (Sept. 28).
Saturday's game with Weber State will be aired on Pluto TV (channel 535) with Steve Klauke (play-by-play) & Jerry Graybeal (analyst) on the call.
NAU's showdown with the Wildcats can also be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 12 p.m. MST.
The 'Jacks will be looking for their first road win of the season when they face No. 4/5 Weber State on Saturday after falling at Arizona, Illinois State and Montana State in the initial road contests of the season.
Overall, the Lumberjacks have dropped seven consecutive road games, with their last victory coming at UTEP by a 30-10 margin on Sept. 1.
SERIES VS. WEBER STATE
NAU leads the all-time series vs. Weber State 27-25 and have won each of the last four games in the series by an average of 10.0 ppg.Â
The first meeting between the programs came back during the 1964 season.
The 'Jacks have won each of their last two meetings with the Wildcats in Ogden (2016, 2014). Â The last loss for NAU in the series came by a 34-31 margin on the road in 2011.
NAU owns a 8-17 mark vs. Weber State overall in games played in Ogden entering Saturday's clash.Â
COOKUS CAREER TOUCHDOWN WATCH
Senior quarterback
Case Cookus enters Saturday's game vs. Weber State with 92 career touchdown passes - just two shy of the NAU career record of 94 currently held by Jason Murrietta.
Cookus has already thrown 18 scoring tosses this season and posted multiple TD passes in five of the opening six games to increase his career total to 24 in that category.
DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN NORTHERN COLORADO GROUND GAME
The NAU defense limited Northern Colorado to just 32 yards on 31 carries in its 41-23 victory on Oct. 5. Â
The 'Jacks also pressured Northern Colorado quarterback Jacob Knipp throughout, finishing with a season-best five sacks and four QB hurries.
It marked the third time in six games this season that the Lumberjack defense held their opponent to less than 100 rushing yards.
SENIOR JALEN COOK LEADING D
Senior defensive back
Jalen Cook leads the Lumberjacks in tackles through the opening six games of 2019 with 37.
Cook posted six stops in the season-opening win over Missouri State and followed that with a team-high eight tackles at Arizona on Sept. 7.
He added three stops and a blocked punt in week three vs. Western New Mexico and six tackles and a forced fumble at Illinois State. Â He most recently tabbed seven stops in the Oct. 5 win over Northern Colorado.
Entering 2019, Cook had totaled 29 tackles over his previous 30 games.
COOKUS HITS 10,000 PASSING YARDS
Senior quarterback
Case Cookus became just the fourth quarterback in NAU career annals to hit 10,000 for a career in the Lumberjacks' 41-23 win over Northern Colorado on Oct. 5.
Cookus boasts 10,043 yards and is just 654 shy of Greg Wyatt (10,697) for the third-highest total in program history and 674 short of Jason Murrietta for second place.
Cookus became the fifth signal caller in NAU history to record 9,000 passing yards in a career with a completion to
Stacy Chukwumezie on NAU's second possession of the game at Illinois State on Sept. 21.
Cookus also currently holds the top yards per attempt total (8.5) in program history entering this week's match up with Weber State.
JOE LOGAN BECOMES 11TH NAU BACK TO HIT 2,000 RUSHING YARDS
Senior running back
Joe Logan became the 11th player in program history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards in the Lumberjacks' 41-23 victory over Northern Colorado on Oct. 5.
Logan currently ranks ninth all-time in program annals with 2,056 yards and is 83 yards shy of Willard Reeves eighth-place total.
OFFENSE LIGHTS IT UP VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
- NAU scored on seven consecutive drives from the second through fourth quarter in its 41-23 victory over Northern Colorado on Oct. 5.
- Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Porter finished with seven catches for a career-best 152 yards. Â It marked his third game this season with at least 100 receiving yards and the fourth of his career.
- Senior quarterback Case Cookus tossed at least three touchdown passes for the 16th time in his career and 11th with four TD tosses. Â He has thrown five or more touchdown passes four times.
- Cookus finished with 406 passing yards – marking his 15th game with over 300 yards and fourth with over 400 in his career.  The 406 yards were just shy of his career-best passing effort of 407 –which he set twice previously.
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