NAU Football Heads East to Battle No. 15/10 Illinois State

 

GAME 4: RV/RV Northern Arizona (2-1) at No. 15/10 Illinois State (2-1)

DATE	Saturday, September 21, 2019
TIME	4:30 p.m. MST
LOCATION	Hancock Stadium (13,291) | Normal, Ill.
TV	ESPN+
RADIO	Flagstaff: 93.5 FM & AM 930 KAFF Country Legends
	Prescott: 97.9 FM The Eagle
	Phoenix: NBC Sports KDUS 1060 AM
	Tucson: ESPN Radio 104.9 FM/1490 AM
MOBILE AUDIO	TuneIn App
INTERNET	Listen Live | Watch Live
LIVE STATS	Northern Arizona - Illinois State Stat Feed
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NAU FOOTBALL GAME NOTES - AT ILLINOIS STATE

NAU OPENING DRIVE

• The Lumberjacks hit the road to face their first ranked opponent of the season when they travel to Normal, Ill., to battle No. 15/10 Illinois State on Saturday on ESPN+
• Saturday's game will mark the furthest that NAU has traveled east since it played Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., on Nov. 7, 2009.
• The match up with No. 15/10 Illinois State will represent the Lumberjacks' second and final game of this season's Big Sky-Missouri Valley Challenge.  The 'Jacks defeated MVFC member Missouri State 37-23 in Flagstaff on Aug. 29.
• Saturday's game marks the beginning of a stretch that will see the 'Jacks play three of their next four games on the road - including two against 2018 FCS Playoff Teams (Montana State and Weber State).
• NAU senior quarterback Case Cookus enters Saturday's game just 12 passing yards short of 9,000 for his career.  He will be the fourth player in program annals to hit the mark.
• Chris Ball posted the first win of his head coaching career and officially became the 30th coach in program history on Thursday, August 29 when the 'Jacks defeated Missouri State 37-23 at the Skydome.

NAU HITS THE ROAD TO FACE FIRST RANKED OPPONENT OF SEASON

• The Lumberjacks will head to the Midwest this Saturday to face their first ranked opponent of the season in No. 15/10 Illinois State in a 4:30 p.m. MST kickoff that will be televised live on ESPN+ with Kurt Pegler (play-by-play) and Chris Highland (analyst) on the call.
• NAU's showdown with the Redbirds can also be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 3:30 p.m. MST with Mitch Strohman (play-by-play), Kevin Stephens (analyst) and Matt Howdeshell (sideline) calling the action.
• Saturday's meeting with No. 15/10 Illinois State marks NAU's first game against a ranked opponent this season and is its first since the final game of 2018 when it defeated No. 25 North Dakota 31-16 at the Skydome on Nov. 17, 2018.

LAST TIME VS. ILLINOIS STATE

• The Lumberjacks faced the Redbirds only one time previously - and defeated a then No. 7/11 Illinois State by a 37-16 margin at the Skydome on Oct. 17, 2017 as the 'Jacks rang up 431 yards of total offense against the Redbirds' defense, which entered the game ranked No. 2 nationally.  
• In addition, the Lumberjack defense intercepted three passes and recorded five sacks in the win while limiting the Redbirds' rushing attack, which entered the contest averaging 190.2 yards per game, to just 63 yards on 29 carries.

TOUGH ROAD STRETCH BEGINS SATURDAY

• Saturday's game marks a stretch that will see the Lumberjacks play three of their next four games away from home.  Following this weekend's trip to Normal, Ill., the 'Jacks will open Big Sky play at Montana State on Sept. 28 before returning home to host Northern Colorado (Oct. 5) and ending the stretch with a trip to Weber State (Oct. 19).  

NAU IS AGAIN PLAYING THE BIG SKY-MISSOURI VALLEY CHALLENGE

• The Lumberjacks posted a 37-23 win over Missouri State in the opening game of the Big Sky-Missouri Valley Challenge - which the Big currently leads 3-1.
• The Lumberjacks will take part in their second and final game during this year's edition of the Big Sky-MVC Challenge on Saturday at Illinois State..
• The series is entering its third year.  In 2018, the MVFC won the series, 5-3. 
• The MVFC holds the all-time series advantage with a 63-44 in games played between their institutions, which includes 34 playoff meetings.  
• Notably, the Big Sky and the MVFC make up two of only three leagues to have two or more playoff teams every year since 1999. 
• From 2014-17, the MVFC and Big Sky combined to produce eight of the 24 teams in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff field, while in 2018 the two conferences had a total of seven teams compete. Since the FCS playoffs began in 1978, the two leagues have combined to produce 15 national champions.
• At the conclusion of the 2018 season, it was the Big Sky and MVFC going head-to-head for the NCAA Division I championship title. North Dakota State defeated Eastern Washington, 38-24.

2019 Big Sky-Missouri Valley Challenge Schedule
Aug. 29 - Missouri State at Northern Arizona (W), 6 p.m. PT (Pluto TV)
Aug. 31 - Montana (W) at South Dakota, 2 p.m. CT (MIDCOSN/ESPN+)              
Sept. 7  - Southern Utah (L) at Northern Iowa, 4 p.m. CT
Sept. 14 - Montana State  (W) at Western Illinois, 3 p.m. CT    
Sept. 21 - Idaho State at Northern Iowa, 4 p.m. CT
Sept. 21 - Northern Arizona at Illinois State, 6:30 p.m. CT
Sept. 21 - South Dakota at Northern Colorado, 2 p.m. MT (Pluto TV)
Sept. 21 - UC Davis at North Dakota State, 2:30 p.m. CT
Sept. 21 - Southern Utah at South Dakota State, 6 p.m. CT
Sept. 28 - Northern Iowa at Weber State, 6 p.m. MT (Pluto TV)

NAU VS. THE MISSOURI VALLEY SINCE 1990

• The Lumberjacks enter Saturday's match up vs. Missouri State with a 3-7 record all-time vs. opponents from the Missouri Valley Football Conference dating back to 1990.
• The 'Jacks defeated Missouri State 37-23 in week one this season in their most recent action against a Missouri Valley opponent.
• NAU split a pair of games in 2018 vs. MVC foes as it posted a 37-16 victory at home over Illinois State and suffered a 38-20 setback at home vs. Western Illinois and dropped a 40-6 decision at Missouri State in 2018.

NAU VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• The Lumberjacks own a record of 17-41 in games against ranked FCS opponents since the 2000 season.
• NAU has had solid success at home in recent seasons vs. ranked opponents.  
• The 'Jacks boast a 5-2 mark against opponents ranked in the top 10 in home games since 2012 and are 7-4 overall at home vs. ranked foes since 2013.

THE 'JACKS ON THE ROAD

• NAU is 31-39 in road games since the 2008 season.
• The Lumberjacks finished 1-4 in road contests during the 2018 campaign and are 0-1 in 2019.

SENIOR JALEN COOK LEADING D

• Senior defensive back Jalen Cook leads the Lumberjacks in tackles through the opening three games of 2019 with 17.
• 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 followed that with three stops and a blocked punt in week three vs. Western New Mexico.
• Entering 2019, Cook had totaled 29 tackles over his previous 30 games.

BRANDON WORTHY LAYING THE WOOD

• Senior linebacker Brandon Worthy has show a nose for the ball and it has continued in early 2019.
• Not only does Worthy currently tied for the team lead with 17 tackles, but he also boast a team-best 2.5 sacks and has recorded an interception and forced a fumble.
• Worthy has now recorded three interceptions, forced four fumbles and recovered one over 21 games in his career.

COOKUS CAREER TOUCHDOWN WATCH

• Senior quarterback Case Cookus enters Saturday's game at Illinois State with 82 career touchdown passes - just 12 shy of the NAU career record of 94 currently held by Jason Murrietta.
• Cookus has already thrown eight scoring tosses this season and has posted multiple TD passes in each of the opening three games to increase his career total to 22 in that category.

COOKUS SPREADS IT AROUND VS. MUSTANGS

• Cookus tossed four touchdown passes, while completing 12-of-21 of his attempts for 357 yards, to lead the 'Jacks to a convincing 55-21 victory over Western New Mexico on Sept. 14 at home.
• NAU had three players finish with over 100 receiving yards - Joe Logan (128), Brandon Porter (100) and Hendrix Johnson (107) – it marked the first game that the Lumberjacks had three different players net over 100 receiving yards since Nov. 12, 2016 at North Dakota (Emmanuel Butler, Elijah Marks and Delshawn McClellon).
• The 'Jacks posted 672 yards of total offense in the victory – the highest total since tallying 686 vs. New Mexico Highlands on Sept. 17, 2016.

JOE LOGAN HAS CAREER RECEIVING DAY VS. WESTERN NEW MEXICO

• Senior running back Joe Logan posted a career high of 128 receiving yards - on a pair of catches - which both went for touchdowns in the Lumberjacks 55-21 win over Western New Mexico on Sept. 14.
• Logan hauled in a 65-yard TD reception in the first quarter and followed with a 63-yard scoring catch in the third - which represent the two longest receptions of his career.

AGUILAR PERFECT THRU THREE GAMES

• Junior kicker Luis Aguilar has been perfect on all of his kicks through the opening three games of 2019.
• Aguilar has connected on all eight of his field goal attempts and each of his 15 extra point opportunities.
• In addition, Aguilar entered the season with a career-long field goal of 42 and has already surpassed that on four occasions with connections from 48, 46, 44 and 43 yards out.
• He entered 2019 with four career field goal makes.

BIG SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYS SPARK WEEK 3 WIN

• The Lumberjacks had a pair of big special teams plays in their 55-21 win over Western New Mexico on Sept. 14.
• Senior defensive back Jalen Cook registered the first blocked punt of his career in the first quarter and sophomore defensive back Anthony Sweeney returned a blocked extra point by teammate Khalil Dorsey 98 yards for a two-point conversion for NAU in the opening quarter.