| Northern Arizona at No. 8/9 Sacramento State |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Sept. 28, 2023) – Another week, another ranked opponent for the Northern Arizona University football team and the Lumberjacks are up to the challenge.
After a thrilling 28-14 win over the visiting No. 11/13 Montana Grizzlies last week, NAU is making the trip to Sacramento, Calif., to face No. 8/9 Sacramento State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time from Hornet Stadium with the game set to be broadcast locally on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare Lumberjack Radio Network.
Northern Arizona is 1-3 overall and a perfect 1-0 in Big Sky Conference play. The Hornets are 3-1 and 0-1 after having their 22-game regular season, 19-game conference and 15-game road win streaks snapped by No. 7 Idaho in the finally seconds of the game.
Eloi Kwete earned his first career Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week award after a four-sack, four-and-a-half tackles for loss performance against the Griz where he also had a forced fumble, a pass breakup and five tackles. The defense racked up seven sacks for 59 yards and 12 tackles for a loss of 73 yards and held the Grizzlies to just 18 yards rushing, marking the second-straight game NAU as held its opponents to under 75 rushing yards.
Kwete ranks
18th nationally with 4.5 sacks on the year and his five tackles for loss ranks 80th. He will face a Hornet offense that hadn't allowed a sack all season up until last week, as Sacramento State is tied for fourth nationally and lead the Big Sky with 0.50 sacks allowed per game.
The victory was the first for NAU over a ranked opponent since 2018, snapping a 14-game losing streak to ranked foes. The Lumberjacks are also 1-0 in Big Sky play for the first time since the Spring of 2021 and are looking to start 2-0 for the first time since 2017 since NAU started conference play 6-0.
Sacramento State leads the all-time series, 13-9, but the Lumberjacks have a slight 6-5 advantage in Hornet Stadium. Northern Arizona has lost two-straight to the Hornets, including a 44-0 loss on the road the last time the teams faced on Oct. 23, 2021. The Lumberjacks' last victory overall against the Hornets came on Oct. 28, 2017, in a 37-17 victory in Flagstaff and the last win in Sacramento happened on Oct. 12, 2013, when NAU escaped with a 39-38 victory.
True freshman quarterback
Adam Damante earned his first career start against the Grizzlies on Saturday. In three games played, Damante has completed 71.6%
(48-67-4) of his pass attempts, a mark that ranks fourth in the country. He has thrown for 483 yards and three touchdown passes to three different players and has thrown for over 200 yards in two-straight games.
In three games and three starts,
Kai Millner has completed 38 of his 64 pass at
tempts (59.4%) for 458 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Five 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 so far this season.
Chase Belcher has been doing it all, as he has thrown a touchdown pass, caught a
touchdown pass, and rushed for a touchdown this season. He has 98 rushing yards
on 21 carries, 93 receiving yards on seven catches, and 48 passing yards on one completion. Coleman Owen is NAU's top receiver. He has hauled in 270 yards on 20 catches with one touchdown. He is averaging 13.5 yards per catch and 67.5 yards per game.
Devon Starling leads the Lumberjacks with 252 rushing yards, a mark that ranks
53rd nationally, on 57 carries. He has scored a touchdown in two-straight games.
True freshman
Alex McLaughlin leads the team with 31 total tackles, 14 of which
are solo which is also a team-high. McLaughlin has done it all, as he also has one
of the team's two interceptions and three breakups which is the second-most on the team. He has played in and started all four games. McLaughlin is the only Lumberjack to record double digit tackles this season, coming away with 10 at Arizona.
Sacramento State has a signature Pac-12 victory over Stanford and has been ranked in 18 consecutive AFCA coaches polls and the FCS Stats Perform media polls, checking in at No. 8/9 this week.
The Hornets have the 20
th-best offense in the country, averaging 424.2 yards of total offense per game, ranking 25
th with 32.2 points per contest. They are 11
th in third down conversions (50%) and 21
st on fourth down conversions (71.4%). Additionally, they have 91 first downs on the year and are 24
th in the country with an average of 183.5 rushing yards per game. On the defensive side, the Hornets are only allowed 177 passing yards per game.
Kaiden Bennett has completed 61 of his 100 pass attempts for 912 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Marcus Fulcher is the team's leading rusher with 240 yards on 54 carries and four touchdowns.
Following Saturday's game, the Lumberjacks head back out on the road to compete for the Red Rock Rivalry trophy against Weber State. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 13/14 in the latest polls. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time on Saturday, Oct. 7.
