| Northern Arizona vs. Portland State |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 12, 2023) – Winners of two out of its last three games, the Northern Arizona University football team returns home to host Portland State this Saturday, Oct. 14, for Family Weekend at Findlay Toyota Field inside the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks will be putting on a show in front of a sold-out crowd, as the game officially sold out on Monday of this week. For those not in attendance, Mitch Strohman, Kevin Stephens, and Ava Nichols will have the call on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network.
Northern Arizona is 2-4 overall with a 2-1 mark in Big Sky Conference play. The Lumberjacks have won two out of their last three games, both against ranked opponents. Its lone loss of conference play came in a 31-30 decision against the three-time defending champions, No. 8/9 Sacramento State, on the road.
Portland State is coming off a bye week and are 2-3 overall and 1-1 in conference action. The Vikings are 0-3 on the road so far this year, but those losses came against quality opponents in Oregon, Wyoming, and Montana State. The victories have come against North American (91-0) and Cal Poly (59-21).
Northern Arizona leads the all-time series, 18-6, and are 9-2 in Flagstaff. The Lumberjacks have not lost to the Vikings at home since Nov. 4, 2006. Since then, they have won four-straight (2008, 2010, 2012, 2019). NAU has won eight out of the last 10 matchups and four of the last five. The Lumberjacks lost 35-27 last season in Hillsboro by a score of 35-27. Northern Arizona trailed by as many as 22 points and scored 20 points in the fourth quarter while holding the Vikings to just one score in the second half. However, the Vikings held onto the ball for the final 4:11 and did not give NAU a chance to tie the game. In the win, PSU scored on its first three possessions of the game. Prior to the loss, NAU hadn't been defeated by the Vikings since Oct. 6, 2007.
The defense shined in a 27-10 ranked victory at No. 13/14 Weber State on Saturday. The Lumberjacks kept the Wildcats off of the board for the entirety of the second half and allowed just 61 rushing yards with six tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble. On the offensive side,
Coleman Owen provided a spark with an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown, NAU's first since 2014. He also hauled in 60 receiving yards on 10 catches to surpass 2,000 receiving yards in his career.
The victory marked the first on the road over a ranked opponent since 2015 for NAU and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats, marking the first victory in Ogden since 2016.
As a team, the Lumberjack defense ranks 25
th in the nation with 2.5 sacks per game, led by
Eloi Kwete who has 6.5 so far this season. On Saturday, Kwete will go for the all-time career sacks record of 24.5. NAU has also held their opponents to under 75 rushing yards in three games this season and allow only 110.2 rushing yards per game which ranks 22
nd nationally.
The offense, on the other hand, have converted on fourth down seven-straight times and are 15
th in the nation in fourth down conversion percentage. The Lumberjacks also rank 16
th in the FCS in time of possession, holding on to the ball for an average of 32:38. Northern Arizona is also eighth in completion percentage, completing 69.2 percent of its pass attempts.
Coleman Owen is the reigning Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week while
Alex McLaughlin is the defending Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week after standout games at Weber State.
Devon Starling leads the Lumberjacks with 463 rushing yards, a mark that ranks 23rd nationally, on 99 carries. He is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and 77.2 rushing yards per game. He is the only Lumberjack to record a 100+ plus rushing yard game this season, going for 110 yards against Utah Tech and 117 at Sacramento State. Against Weber State, he racked up 94 rushing yards. Starling leads NAU with four rushing touchdowns and he has scored a touchdown in three out of the last four games. Against Sacramento State, he had two rushing touchdowns for the first multi-touchdown game of his career. Starling is tied for first in the Big Sky in carries, third in rushing yards and fourth in rushing yards per game.
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McLaughlin leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with 46 total tackles, 24 of which are solo which is also a team-high. McLaughlin has done it all, as he also has two of the team's four interceptions and five breakups which also leads the team. He has played in and started all six games. McLaughlin is one of two Lumberjacks to record double digit tackles this season, coming away with 10 at Arizona.
Six different players have scored a rushing touchdown for NAU this season, while three different players have thrown a touchdown pass and five different players have caught a touchdown pass. Sixteen different players have caught at least one pass.
In four games and three starts, true freshman
Adam Damante has completed 73.3% (96-131-6) of his pass attempts. He has thrown for 862 yards and five touchdown passes to four different players. Damante has thrown for over 200 yards in two games and 196 in the another.
Chase Belcher has been doing it all, as he has thrown a touchdown pass, caught a touchdown pass, and rushed for two touchdowns this season. He has 180 rushing yards on 35 carries, 109 receiving yards on 12 catches, and 107 passing yards on two completions.
Owen is NAU's top receiver. He has hauled in 387 yards on 35 catches with two touchdowns, plus another score on an 85-yard punt return. He is averaging 64.5 yards per game.
Marcus Phillips Jr. leads the team with three receiving touchdowns. In six games, he has eight catches for 135 yards.
Following Saturday's game, the Lumberjacks have a bye before hosting UC Davis for Homecoming on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
