FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 15, 2022) – Set to kickoff in Flagstaff for the first time this fall, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky) host the No. 22 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (1-1, 0-0 MVFC) to wrap up non-conference play.
Coming off last Saturday's 10-3 victory in Huntsville, Texas against the Sam Houston Bearkats, the lowest point total allowed in a game since 2011 and the fewest allowed on the road since 2006, Northern Arizona now gets an opportunity at a victory against a member of one of the top conferences in the FCS. With five programs ranked in either the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 or the AFCA Coaches Poll, the Missouri Valley Football Conference matches the Big Sky Conference's five ranked programs.
"They are good. They are a big, physical Missouri Valley football team," said Lumberjacks head coach
Chris Ball. "Very comparable to South Dakota who we played last year. They play extremely hard, they have great size, they are well-coached, and they don't make many mistakes. I am glad we have got them here; they have to come down here to altitude."
Picked to finish seventh in the MVFC, the Fighting Hawks opened up the season with their own FBS matchup against Nebraska. Tied 7-7 at the half and 17-17 late in the third quarter, the Fighting Hawks fell behind as the Cornhuskers closed out the game with 21 consecutive points for a 38-17 victory. This past weekend, North Dakota hosted then No. 24-ranked Northern Iowa and turned a 13-7 deficit into a 22-13 lead. Holding on for a 29-27 victory, the Fighting Hawks won their 36th consecutive home opener to move into the Top 25.
A full member of the Big Sky from 2012-13 to 2017-18, North Dakota also played a conference schedule in 2018 and 2019 while the rest of its sports moved to The Summit League. Facing off five times between 2012 and 2018, Northern Arizona took three of the five meetings including the most recent in 2018. While the Fighting Hawks are now in their third season as members of the MVFC, the programs are scheduled to face off in Flagstaff this season and Grand Forks next year.
Saturday's game will be available on
ESPN+, as well as
Hulu with a subscription to the Disney Bundle.
Mitch Strohman and Kevin Stephens will serve as the play-by-play announcer and analyst respectively, with Lindsey Ridgway reporting from the sideline. The broadcast team can also be heard on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network with coverage beginning at 12 p.m. MST.
HOME OPENER HISTORY
On the road for their first two games of the fall for the first time since 2016, Northern Arizona opens its five-game home schedule at Findlay Toyota Field looking to start a new winning streak. Sitting at 80-24-2 all-time dating back to 1915, the Lumberjacks have won just two of their past five home openers. The stretch comes after a run of 24 straight victories in home openers from 1993 to 2016, with back-to-back losses in 2017 and 2018 being the first since 1965 and 1966.
The Lumberjacks fell to Sam Houston in their 2021 home opener, avenging the loss last week in Huntsville when they handed the Bearkats their first loss in a home opener since 2015.
LOOKING FOR A RANKED WIN
With North Dakota at No. 22 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, the Lumberjacks have the opportunity at their first victory over a ranked opponent since the 2018 regular season finale when they beat the Fighting Hawks 31-16 in Flagstaff.
Last season, Northern Arizona hosted No. 1 Sam Houston, No. 7/8 UC Davis and No. Montana in Flagstaff, as well as facing No. 19 Sacramento State on the road. During the spring season, the Lumberjacks faced No. 22 Eastern Washington and No. 2/3 Weber State on the road. In addition to North Dakota, No. 4 Montana State is set for Homecoming Weekend in November and No. 12/13 Weber State is on the schedule for Senior Day at Findlay Toyota Field.
Having received votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 following their win over Sam Houston, a likely candidate to be nationally ranked if they had been eligible, Northern Arizona could be set to return to the national rankings for the first time since September 2018 with a win.
MOVES UP FRONT PAY OFF
Northern Arizona shuffled its offensive line around ahead of last week's game at Sam Houston, with seniors
PJ Poutasi and
Jonas Leader taking over in the interior at both guard spots while redshirt freshmen
Caiden Miles and
Andrew Mason started at the two tackle spots.
"They did a great job which allowed us to keep Jonas and PJ in the middle at guard. We thought if those guys would hold up at tackle on the outside, we would be able to keep those guys inside the whole game," Ball said. "We didn't run the ball great, but at the end we were able to keep those two guys inside and be able to move the football when we needed to. Those two young tackles, they are going to be great players, we are really pleased with where they are at."
While the Lumberjacks rushed for a total of 96 yards last weekend, and a net of just 69 yards, much of the production came on the crucial final drive.
Backed up to their own 1-yard line with 5:30 remaining and a 10-3 lead, Northern Arizona rushed for 34 yards on the drive to secure the victory. Additionally, Northern Arizona converted four of five fourth-down conversions, including a fourth-and-1 with 2:32 remaining that effectively put the game away.
GAMEDAY INFO
Tickets for Saturday can be purchased online at
www.nauathletics.com/buynow, with single game, mini-plan and season ticket packages still available. Questions can be directed to the Lumberjack Ticket Office at LumberjackTicketOffice@nau.edu or 928-523-0639.
Introduced last fall, 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. The annual Running of the Freshmen will be held prior to Saturday's kickoff, with students encouraged to lineup outside the roll-up door to Findlay Toyota Field that faces north toward E. McConnell Dr.
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.
