| Northern Arizona at No. 13/14 Weber State |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 5, 2023) – Games always mean a little bit more when there's a trophy on the line.
The Northern Arizona University football team will be heading to Ogden, Utah, for an Oct. 7 matchup against No. 13/14 Weber State. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. Mountain Standard time at Stewart Stadium, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare Lumberjack Radio Network.
The Lumberjacks (1-4, 1-1) and the Wildcats (3-2, 1-1) will be competing for the second annual Red Rock Rivalry trophy, which was introduced during the 2022 season. Northern Arizona and Weber State have become annual rivals under the Big Sky's scheduling format with the departure of Southern Utah. Playing two of the other 11 Big Sky schools annually, NAU also faces Northern Colorado each season while the Wildcats face Idaho State annually.
While the trophy is new, the history is not. Saturday marks the 56
th meeting between the two squads, as the Wildcats are NAU's most common opponent dating back to 1964. Weber State technically leads the all-time series 29-26 due to a forfeit by Northern Arizona of their 1999 36-19 victory in Ogden. Northern Arizona holds an 18-9 record in the series when playing in Flagstaff while Weber State leads 19-9 (20-8 adjusted for the forfeit) with the series in Ogden.
The Lumberjacks have lost three-straight to the Wildcats, including a 33-31 loss to end the season last year in Flagstaff – giving Weber State a 1-0 record against NAU since the trophy was introduced.
This is the third-straight ranked opponent and the fourth this season for Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks snapped a 14-game losing streak to ranked foes when they topped No. 11/13 Montana on Sept. 23 at home to start conference action 1-0. The following week, NAU hit the road and played at No. 8/9 Sacramento State where they lost 31-30 in a game that had five lead changes.
Against the Hornets, the Lumberjacks scored first but trailed 24-21 at the half as the first 30 minutes of play featured three lead changes. In the third quarter, NAU had the ball for 11:08 and held the Hornets scoreless, taking a 28-24 lead into the fourth quarter. The game's fifth lead change came after an 18-play drive for the Hornets that resulted in a short two-yard rushing touchdown that gave Sacramento State a 31-28 lead.
Northern Arizona used a 17-play drive to take time off the clock and go for the winning score, but an interception in the endzone left the Lumberjacks empty. NAU showed no quit and came up with a safety with two seconds left to cut the lead down to a point, 31-30, but came up short.
The Lumberjacks were perfect on fourth down, converting 5-of-5. They had 450 yards of total offense compared to 418 for the Hornets. Both teams were even through the air, with NAU throwing for 255 yards and Sacramento State throwing for 257. On the ground, the Lumberjacks racked up 195 rushing yards compared to 161 for the Hornets.
Devon Starling leads the Lumberjacks with 369 rushing yards, a mark that ranks 34th nationally, on 78 carries. He is averaging 4.7 yards per carry which is the 70th best in the NCAA and his 73.8 rushing yards per game ranks 43rd. 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. Starling leads NAU with four rushing touchdowns and he has scored a touchdown is three-straight games. Against Sacramento State, he had two rushing touchdowns for his multi-touchdown game of his career. Starling is second in the Big Sky in carries, sixth in rushing yards and sixth in rushing yards per game.
In three games and two starts, true freshman
Adam Damante has completed 71% (71-100-5) of his pass attempts, a mark that ranks ninth in the country. He has thrown for 679 yards and four touchdown passes to four different players. Damante has thrown for over 200 yards in two games and 196 in the other.
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 170 rushing yards on 30 carries, 98 receiving yards on 11 catches, and 107 passing yards on two completions.
The Lumberjacks are fourth in the Big Sky with 399.2 yards of total offense. They are also second in rushing defense, only allowing opponents to rush for 117.4 yards per game. NAU also has the second-best passing defense in the conference with 251.2 passing yards per game.
Heading into Saturday,
Coleman Owen is just 36 receiving yards away from 2,000 in his career. He needs just two more touchdowns to place himself inside of the top-ten all-time at NAU.
Hendrix Johnson needs 18 more catches to break NAU's all-time receptions record.
Weber State leads the country in kickoff returns, averaging 29.5 yards per return. The Wildcats are coming off of a 28-21 comeback victory at Northern Colorado on Saturday. Winston Reid earned Defensive Player of the Week after a 40-yard interception return. Weber State is eighth in the nation with six interceptions and 18
th in turnovers gained.
Northern Arizona returns home for nearly a month after Saturday. The Lumberjacks host Portland State for Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 14 with a 1 p.m. MST kickoff before the bye week. After the bye, NAU hosts UC Davis on Oct. 21.
