| Northern Arizona vs. No. 6/8 Montana State |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Nov. 2, 2023) – With the final three weeks of the regular season ahead, the Northern Arizona University football team is preparing to take on its sixth ranked opponent of the season in No. 6/8 Montana State in Bozeman, Mont., at Bobcat Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time on ESPN+, and Mitch Strohman and Kevin Stephens will have the call on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network. It will also be on television locally on the Montana Television Network.
Northern Arizona is coming off a 38-21 victory against No. 25/25 UC Davis last week at Findlay Toyota Field. The win was NAU's third ranked win of the year and propelled the Lumberjacks to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in Big Sky Conference play.
Montana State has been ranked No. 2 or No. 3 nearly all season but lost to No. 9/8 Idaho on the road last week to drop to No. 6/8. The Bobcats are in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with an overall record of 6-2 and a conference record of 4-1.
The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series with the Bobcats, 27-25, dating back to 1962 but have lost two-straight. The teams have faced just twice since 2017, with NAU falling 49-31 on the road in 2019 and on a last second field goal at home last season, 41-38. Northern Arizona will be looking for the first victory over the Bobcats since 2017 and the first win in Bozeman since 2016.
In NAU's victory on Saturday,
Eloi Kwete broke Northern Arizona's all-time career sacks record with his 24
th career sack, ending the game with 1.5. He currently leads the conference and ranks fourth in the nation with eight total sacks on the year. The Lumberjack defense came away with four takeaways, including
Alex McLaughlin's team-high third interception of the year. McLaughlin, a true freshman who was added to the Jerry Rice Award Watchlist this month, leads NAU with 58 total tackles and his three receptions are tied for third in the league.
Montana State leads the league with 482.75 yards of total offense per game compared to NAU who averages 364.5 yards. The Bobcats also put up 300.38 rushing yards per game, while the Lumberjacks have been allowing 143.5 rushing yards per contest. Montana State is exceptional on third down, converting over 50 percent of the time, and take care of the football with only five turnovers on the season. Northern Arizona allows opponents on convert on third down just 36.7 percent of the time.
The Bobcats boast the two top running backs in the conference in Jared White and quarterback Sean Chambers who average 9.0 and 8.1 yards per carry, respectively. Chamber also has 11 rushing touchdowns on the season which ranks second in the conference. Brody Grebe ranks second in the Big Sky with 9.5 tackles for loss this year to go with 6.5 sacks.
Northern Arizona has split time between quarterbacks, with freshman
Adam Damante making five starts. He's thrown six touchdowns and completed 116 of his 168 pass attempts for 1,146 yards and leads the Big Sky in completion percentage.
Angel Flores came off the bench in the second half against UC Davis and contributed to three of the team's five touchdowns with a passing, rushing, and receiving score. In just four games, Flores has completed eight of his 11 pass attempts for 108 yards and two touchdowns. He also has three rushing touchdowns and has racked up 169 rushing yards on 32 carries.
Devon Starling leads the Lumberjacks in rushing yards with 512 on 110 carries plus four touchdowns.
Hendrix Johnson is closing in on breaking NAU's all-time receptions record, needing just eight to break Shawn Collins' record of 201 set from 1985-88. With 22 more receiving yards, he can also crack Northern Arizona's career top-five.
Northern Arizona returns home for the final time this season on Saturday, Nov. 11 for a 1 p.m. MST matchup with Northern Colorado for Senior Day and Veteran's Day.
