FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 3, 2022) – After nearly a month away from their home crowd, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will welcome the No. 2/3 Montana State Bobcats to Findlay Toyota Field for Saturday's Homecoming game.
Coming off a bye week and a 24-10 victory in Pocatello, Idaho over the Idaho State Bengals the week prior, the Lumberjacks (3-5, 2-3 Big Sky) rested and ready for the challenge of facing the Big Sky's co-leader in the Bobcats (7-1, 5-0 Big Sky) who reached the FCS Championship game a season ago.
"It was a good productive week for us," said Lumberjacks head coach
Chris Ball. "A productive week recruiting, and we got a lot done at practice on Tuesday and Wednesday... A week after any win is the best. We will take any week after a win. It's amazing what a win does for your attitude and your health."
It'll be Montana State's first trip back to Northern Arizona since the 2017 season, a 37-36 victory for the Lumberjacks as they stopped a two-point conversion attempt by the Bobcats with 32 seconds left in the game. The Bobcats have dropped four consecutive games in Flagstaff since the 2010 season, the most recent victory being a 25-23 win in November 2008. Much has changed since 2008, let alone since the last meeting in 2017 when both programs had different head coaches.
Second-year head coach Brent Vigen's record sits at 19-4 with the Bobcats, including just two losses to FCS programs. Falling to Montana 29-10 in Missoula during last year's regular-season finale and 38-10 in the FCS Championship game against North Dakota State in Frisco, Texas, Montana State has dominated unranked FCS teams in Vigen's two regular seasons. In 13 games against unranked FCS teams during the regular season, Montana State has averaged a 25.8-point margin of victory. Just two games have been within one possession, last season at home against Idaho 20-13 and this year's meeting at Eastern Washington, 38-35.
Coupled with top three rankings in both Top 25 polls, the Bobcats face the Lumberjacks and Cal Poly (1-7, 0-5 Big Sky) before hosting their rival, No. 13/16 Montana, the their regular-season finale.
"Looking forward as a football program, these are the games that we want to win," Ball said. "We have got to learn and figure out how to beat Montana, Montana State, Sac State and these teams that are doing a good job year in and year out. Those are the teams that we are chasing. A win over these teams really helps your program."
Saturday's game will be widely available on a variety of platforms. Ben Creighton (Play-by-Play), Ty Gregorak (Color) and Ashley Washburn (Sideline) will handle the broadcast on
ESPN+, as well as
Hulu with a subscription to the Disney Bundle. Additionally, the game will also be available on The CW (KASW) in Phoenix and The CW (KWBA) in Tucson.
Mitch Strohman and Kevin Stephens will handle the call on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network with Lindsey Ridgway handling sideline duties, with coverage beginning at 12 p.m. MST.
GAMEDAY INFO
Tickets for Saturday's Homecoming game can be purchased online at
www.nauathletics.com/buynow. With Saturday's game also serving as Northern Arizona's Military Appreciation Day, a special ticket package can be purchased
here with an exclusive Louie the Lumberjack bobblehead. Ticketing questions can be directed to the Lumberjack Ticket Office at LumberjackTicketOffice@nau.edu or 928-523-0639.
As a reminder, Northern Arizona is utilizing mobile ticketing this season. For step-by step instructions and resources, click
here. Students will also need to claim their tickets online this season with step-by-step instructions available
here.
Northern Arizona Athletics will also be looking for help as they "Light Up the Dome" with a first-ever synchronized light show before the game at Findlay Toyota Field.
Once you've secured your ticket for Saturday's game, download the free CUE Live app from your app store and be in your seats at 12:45 p.m. When directed to by the public address announcer, take out your phone and open the app to allow access to your microphone. Then enjoy the light show created by the Lumberjack fans.
The Tundra B Lot with assigned tailgating will open at 8 a.m., while the student tailgating lot opens at 10 a.m. The Ponderosa will open at 10:30 a.m. ahead of the 1 p.m. kickoff with the Lumberjack Walk from the Student-Athlete High Performance Center into Findlay Toyota Field set for 10:45 a.m. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
Shuttle services also begin at 10 a.m. with pick up locations at the South Commuter Lot P62 and in the front of the campus bookstore.
Stay up-to-date on all NAU Football news this season by visiting NAUAthletics.com and following NAU Football on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook for updates throughout the fall season.
