| Northern Arizona vs. Idaho |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 15, 2021) – Just as soon as the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks returned to a normal playing schedule, the six-game spring schedule is coming to an end.
Saturday's 1 p.m. kickoff against the Idaho Vandals (2-3) will conclude the season as the Lumberjacks (2-2) return to the Walkup Skydome for the first time since the season opener against Southern Utah on Feb. 27. Coverage of the finale will begin at 12 p.m. on the Lumberjack Radio Network with the game also available to stream on Pluto TV Channel 1058.
It'll be just the second time this season that NAU has played back-to-back games, with the original meeting with Idaho on March 13 delayed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Vandals program. Unable to schedule the game for the first open week on March 20, the game was sent to the final week of the year.
After the Lumberjacks spent two weeks on the sidelines, they returned to face Weber State in Ogden, Utah on March 27 before another impromptu bye week on April 3 following Cal Poly's decision to opt out of the remainder of its schedule.
Three of the programs' combined four wins this season have come against Southern Utah, with the Lumberjacks sweeping their two meetings and securing the Grand Canyon Trophy in Flagstaff while the Vandals knocked off the Thunderbirds on March 27.
Though they have played just four games, the Lumberjacks have seen development at quarterback from first-year starter
Keondre Wudtee and a defense filled with underclassmen and recent arrivals to the program.
Both played pivotal roles in last week's 28-20 victory in Cedar City, Utah, with Wudtee recording three total touchdowns while passing for 289 yards and rushing for 38. The senior was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his role in the win.
"He's mature; he communicates well on the sideline. He had some great thoughts at halftime and is very, very competitive but very calm," NAU head coach
Chris Ball said of Wudtee. "He doesn't get frustrated. He manages the game very well, and he's probably one of, if not the, smartest football player I've ever been around."
On the other side of the ball, NAU's defense continued its progress ahead of the fall season. Filled with freshmen and transfers, the Lumberjacks stayed close to the Thunderbirds early on courtesy of a few crucial stops on third down in the first half.
Forcing a trio of third-down stops on incompletions in the first quarter, NAU's defense then came away with a crucial fourth-down stop early on in the second quarter. With Southern Utah nearing the red zone, NAU set up fourth-and-5 after a pair of incompletions.
Harrison Beemiller sprinted through a hole in the offensive line after delaying his blitz, sacking Justin Miller to end the drive. With the offense rolling to four straight scoring drives, the Lumberjack defense stopped two more drives with incompletions before forcing turnovers on back-to-back drives in the fourth.
"We want to be 70 percent on third down. We were 60 percent, we did a better job," Ball said. "I thought our coverage was really good. We thought we did a good job in the back end. That team had only turned the ball over once all year and we got two takeaways from them."
It could be unique challenge against Idaho, with it currently a mystery as to who will be at quarterback for the Vandals.
Mike Beaudry opened the season as the starter for the Vandals, leading the team to an upset of Eastern Washington in the opener before falling to UC Davis. However, Beaudry has thrown just nine passes since the first two game, all coming against Idaho State on April 3.
With Beaudry out, CJ Jordan stepped in against Southern Utah on March 27 before Nikhil Nayar took over late. The third-stringer led a game-winning 15-play, 82-yard drive against the Thunderbirds culminating in a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cutrell Hayward with seven seconds left.
After Beaudry exited the game against Idaho State, Nayar stepped back in but threw for just 130 yards on 11-of-34 passing. The trio of quarterbacks then missed last week's meeting with Eastern Washington for undisclosed reasons, forcing the Vandals to turn to running back and special teams player Zach Borisch.
A quarterback in high school, Borisch ran for 205 yards on 33 carries while passing for 74 yards on just 11 attempts.
"We are looking at it right now and it is completely different than they have done in the past," Ball said. "We have got to prepare for them to run like they did against Eastern and luckily we have prepared for them twice. We have a pretty good understanding of what they have done before this guy came in."
Stay tuned to NAUAthletics.com and follow NAU Football on
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