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| GAME 5: RV/RV Northern Arizona (2-2, 0-0 Big Sky) at No. 7/11 Montana State (3-1, 0-0 Big Sky) |
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NAU FOOTBALL GAME NOTES - AT MONTANA STATE
NAU OPENING DRIVE
- Saturday's contest at No. 7/11 Montana State will mark the 50th Big Sky Conference opener in NAU Football history.
- The Lumberjacks are 30-19 all-time in Big Sky openers and have won their last two and seven of the last nine overall.
- The meeting with No. 7/11 Montana State will mark the first time since 1995 and only the second time ever that the 'Jacks have opened league play vs. the Bobcats and the first time ever in Bozeman.
- Saturday's game at No. 7/11 Montana State will mark the second straight week that NAU will battle a ranked opponent on the road following last week's trip to then No. 15/10 Illinois State.Â
- The tough stretch of road games will likely continue with a trip to No. 6/6 Weber State looming on Oct. 19.
- Senior quarterback Case Cookus leads the top ranked passing offense in the FCS (391.5 ypg) and ranks second nationally among all FCS signal callers with 1,377 passing yards.
- Senior running back Joe Logan ranks fifth in the FCS with five touchdown catches.
- Junior kicker Luis Aguilar ranks fourth among FCS leaders in field goals per game (2.0).Â
NAU HITS THE ROAD TO FACE FIRST RANKED OPPONENT OF SEASON
The Lumberjacks will trek to Bozeman, Mont., this weekend for their second straight road game against a ranked opponent when they take on No. 7/11 Montana State in a 12 p.m. MST kickoff that will be televised live on Pluto TV (channel 538) with Chris Byers (play-by-play), Mike Callaghan (analyst) and Aunica Koch (sideline) on the call.
NAU's showdown with the Bobcats can also be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 11 a.m. MST with
Mitch Strohman (play-by-play), Kevin Stephens (analyst) and
Matt Howdeshell (sideline) calling the action.
Saturday's meeting with No. 7/11 Montana State marks the Big Sky opener for both teams and will mark the first time since 1995 (and only the second time ever) that NAU has opened conference action vs. Montana State - which the 'Jacks won by a 37-0 margin.
NAU IN BIG SKY OPENERS
The Lumberjacks are 30-19 all-time in Big Sky Conference openers entering Saturday's clash at No. 7/11 Montana State.
NAU has won seven of its last nine Big Sky openers and each of its last two overall.
The 'Jacks dropped their last Big Sky opener at home by a 50-35 margin vs. Eastern Washington in 2016.
ALL-TIME VS. MONTANA STATE
The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series vs. Montana State 28-22 and have captured wins in each of the last three meetings between the programs.
NAU last dropped a game to the Bobcats on Oct. 5, 2013 - by a 36-7 margin in Bozeman. Â The 'Jacks were victorious in their last road meeting with Montana State - posting a 20-14 win on Oct. 8, 2016.
The Lumberjacks are 10-15 all-time vs. the Bobcats on the road entering Saturday's meeting. Â It will also mark the seventh time that NAU has faced Montana State when the Bobcats were nationally ranked.
LAST TIME VS. MONTANA STATE
The Lumberjacks outlasted Montana State 37-36 in a thrilling game on Nov. 11, 2017 at the Skydome that saw the Bobcats score a touchdown on a 21-yard reception by Kevin Kassis with just 32 seconds remaining in regulation to make the score 37-36 in favor of NAU, but the Bobcats opted to go for the win and attempted a two-point conversion and came away empty when Lumberjack linebacker
Damahny Whittle pressured MSU quarterback Chris Murray into an errant toss to seal the victory.
The back and forth affair featured a total of three ties and six lead changes.
Joe Logan helped lead the 'Jacks to the victory over the Bobcats with a season-high 142 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns, while averaging 7.5 yards per carry. Â
Case Cookus completed 23-of-38 passes for 314 yards and a touchdown. Â Senior
Elijah Marks was his top target as he pulled down nine catches for 123 yards.
TOUGH ROAD STRETCH CONTINUES SATURDAY
Saturday's game continues a stretch that has the Lumberjacks in the second game of a four-game stretch that will see them play three away from home. Â Including last weekend's trip to Normal, Ill., the 'Jacks will open Big Sky play at Montana State on Saturday before returning home to host Northern Colorado (Oct. 5) and ending the stretch with a trip to Weber State (Oct. 19). Â
NAU VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Lumberjacks own a record of 17-42 in games against ranked FCS opponents since the 2000 season.
NAU has had solid success at home in recent seasons vs. ranked opponents. Â
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 31-40 in road games since the 2008 season.
The Lumberjacks finished 1-4 in road contests during the 2018 campaign and are 0-2 in 2019.
LUMBERJACKS BY UNIFORM
Below is a breakdown of the Lumberjacks record in 2019 in each of their uniform combinations in each set of threads:
Blue Jerseys, Blue Pants, Blue Helmets (1-0)
Week #1 - vs. Missouri State, Won, 37-23
White Jerseys, White Pants, White Helmets (0-1)
Week #2 - at Arizona, Lost, 65-41
Blue Jerseys, White Pants, White Helmets (1-0)
Week #3 - vs. Western New Mexico, Won, 55-21
White Jerseys, Blue Pants, White Helmets (0-1)
Week #4 - at Illinois State, Lost, 40-27
SENIOR JALEN COOK LEADING D
Senior defensive back
Jalen Cook leads the Lumberjacks in tackles through the opening four games of 2019 with 23.
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.
Entering 2019, Cook had totaled 29 tackles over his previous 30 games.
COOKUS CAREER TOUCHDOWN WATCH
Senior quarterback
Case Cookus enters Saturday's game at Illinois State with 86 career touchdown passes - just eight 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 HITS 9,000 PASSING YARDS
Senior quarterback
Case 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 boasts 9,345 yards and is 294 shy of Jeff Lewis (9,639) for the fourth-highest total in program history and 1,352 short of Greg Wyatt for third place.
Cookus also currently holds the top yards per attempt total (8.5) in program history entering this week's match up with Montana State.
TOUCHDOWN LOGAN
Senior running back
Joe Logan has hauled in five touchdown passes over the last two games - and has totaled 245 yards.
Logan caught two TD passes vs. Western New Mexico and followed with three scoring catches at Illinois State - becoming the first NAU player with three or more TD grabs since
Emmanuel Butler snagged five vs. New Mexico Highlands in 2016.
TOUCHDOWN CHUKWUMEZIE
Junior wide receiver
Stacy Chukwumezie has recorded a touchdown catch in three of NAU's four games this season.
Chukwumezie has recorded a pair of catches over 40 yards this season - both went for scores.
HENDRIX BREAKS OUT AT ILLINOIS STATE
Freshman wide receiver
Hendrix Johnson posted the second straight 100-yard receiving performance of his career with nine receptions for 122 yards at Illinois State on Sept. 21.
Johnson has amassed at least 97 yards in each of the last three games and has hauled in at least one catch of 30 yards or longer in each of the Lumberjacks' four games this season.
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