FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 1, 2022) – Just as they did this past season, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will host five games next fall during their 11-game schedule with five opponents back on the schedule following brief hiatuses.
Once again opening up the season on a Thursday night, the Lumberjacks will face the Arizona State Sun Devils for the first time since 2016 on Sept. 1. Originally scheduled to play in the 2020 season before the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the FCS season to the spring, the two schools are in their longest gap in their all-time series since an extended run from 1950 to 2003.
Another road game follows the in-state trip, with Northern Arizona returning to Huntsville, Texas on Sept. 10 for the first time since 2003 after hosting the Sam Houston Bearkats in 2021. Ranked No. 1 for much of the season, Sam Houston reached the FCS Quarterfinals before falling to Big Sky Conference member Montana State.
Northern Arizona finally opens its five-game home schedule on
Sept. 17 for the annual Running of the Freshman against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The first half of a home-and-home arrangement between the former Big Sky Conference rivals, 2022 will be the first meeting between the schools since the 2018 regular season finale.
Now a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the Fighting Hawks reached the FCS Quarterfinals during the spring season and ranked inside the Top 15 of the FCS early on in the 2021 fall season.
Returning for the first time since the 2019 season, the
Hall of Fame Game on Sept. 24 will be held as the Idaho Vandals return to Flagstaff for the Big Sky Conference opener. Facing Idaho for the fourth consecutive season, Northern Arizona will look to extend its win streak to three straight games following wins in the 2021 spring and fall seasons.
The Lumberjacks beat the Vandals 38-31 in Moscow, Idaho in October, the program's first road game against Idaho since 1994 and the first road victory since 1986.
Heading to Portland for the first time since 2017, the Lumberjacks will take on the Portland State Vikings on Oct. 1. While the teams faced off in Flagstaff during the 2019 season, a 31-19 victory for the Lumberjacks thanks to a 38-yard field goal by
Luis Aguilar with just four seconds remaining, the programs have faced one another just twice since the 2015 season.
Back at home on
Oct. 8 for Family Weekend, Northern Arizona faces the Cal Poly Mustangs for the second straight season. The Lumberjacks handed the Mustangs a 45-21 loss to wrap up the 2021 season in Sal Luis Obispo, Calif. as running back
Kevin Daniels put together a record-breaking performance.
Rushing for 280 yards and five touchdowns, Daniels made it four Northern Arizona victories in the past five meetings against Cal Poly.
Back-to-back road games conclude the October schedule for Northern Arizona with trips to UC Davis on Oct. 15 and Idaho State on Oct. 22. The Lumberjacks hosted both teams during the 2021 season, beating the Bengals 48-17 while falling to the Aggies 40-24.
Northern Arizona's last trip to both Davis, Calif. and Pocatello, Idaho came in 2018, the most recent meeting against both programs before playing this past fall.
Coming off a bye week on Oct. 29, Northern Arizona hosts Montana State on
Nov. 5 for Homecoming Weekend and Military Appreciation against the Bobcats, who will also have a bye leading into their meeting with the Lumberjacks.
After beating UT Martin, Sam Houston and South Dakota State, Montana State fell to North Dakota State in the FCS Championship Game. The Bobcats finished the Big Sky Conference schedule at 7-1 in the fall, only dropping the regular season finale against rival Montana, and ranked second to only Sacramento State's 8-0 record.
The Lumberjacks close out their 2022 road schedule with another trip to Greeley, Colo. to face the Northern Colorado Bears on Nov. 12.
It'll be the third trip to Colorado since the 2018 season for Northern Arizona, which will continue to face Northern Colorado each season moving forward. Under the Big Sky Conference's newly released schedule plan due to the departure of Southern Utah for the WAC, the Bears are one of two programs the Lumberjacks will face each season.
Northern Arizona's other annual opponent will now be Weber State, who will face the Lumberjacks on
Nov. 19 for Senior Day and Native American Heritage Day to conclude the regular season.
Weber State last visited Flagstaff in 2018 while the programs played in Ogden, Utah during the 2021 spring season. The Lumberjacks have won the past two meetings in Flagstaff with the Wildcats, a 28-24 victory in 2018 and a 52-36 win in 2015.
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2022 NAU Football Home Dates and Themes
Sept. 17 – vs. North Dakota – Running of the Freshmen
Sept. 24 – vs. Idaho – Hall of Fame Game
Oct. 8 – vs. Cal Poly – Family Weekend
Nov. 5 – vs. Montana State – Homecoming Weekend/Military Appreciation
Nov. 19 – vs. Weber State – Senior Day/Native American Heritage Day
