FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 17, 2024) – Back in Flagstaff for Homecoming, the Northern Arizona football team is preparing to play host to Idaho State this Saturday, Oct. 19, at Findlay Toyota Field.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network. Tickets are also available HERE.
Northern Arizona is 3-4 on the year and 1-2 in Big Sky Conference play. NAU is 2-0 at the Skydome this season, most recently knocking off then No. 10 Sacramento State on Sept. 28. The win propelled the Lumberjacks into the national rankings for the first time in six years after checking in at No. 25 in the FCS Stats Perform Top 25 poll. The following week, NAU lifted itself to No. 24, but only received votes in this week's poll.
The Lumberjacks are looking to right the ship and get back into the win column after falling 23-17 at No. 10 Idaho and 31-20 at No. 14 Montana. Northern Arizona has had a challenging stretch, facing four-straight ranked opponents with three coming on the road. In fact, all of NAU's opponents outside of Lincoln or Utah Tech have been nationally ranked.
Idaho State has an identical record of 3-4 and 1-2 as well. The Bengals were handed a 37-17 loss to No. 3 Montana State but bounced back the following week with a game-winning field goal at Cal Poly. Most recently, Idaho State lost 42-38 at home to Portland State.
ISU loves to throw the football, ranking seventh nationally in passing offense with 289.8 offensive yards per game. They are also third in the country in first down offense with 171. Quarterback Tracy Kobe paces the offense with 1,543 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns. His favorite target is Jeff Weimer who has caught 40 passes for 583 yards and four touchdowns.
Northern Arizona leads the all-time series, 37-16-1. The tie came in 1965, a 0-0 result in Flagstaff. All-time in Flagstaff, NAU is 21-3-1. The Bengals have not won in Flagstaff since 1984 which was a 29-15 win. The Lumberjacks have won two-straight in the series, a 24-10 win in Pocatello in 2022 and a 48-17 win in 2021 in Flagstaff. Idaho State's last win was a 56-42 triumph in 2018 in Pocatello.
Five Lumberjacks have thrown a pass this season.
Ty Pennington has started six games, completing 83 of his 126 pass attempts (65.87%) with no interceptions and four fumbles, accumulating 957 passing yards. He has thrown seven touchdown passes to five different players with a long of 62. On the ground, he is NAU's third-leading rusher, rushing 43 times for 165 net rushing yards, averaging 3.8 yards per carry. He has three rushing touchdowns and a long of 20.
PJ London has seen four games of action and started the first game of his career at Montana. On the season, he has completed 20 of his 36 pass attempts (55.56%) with three interceptions for 236 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he has rushed 19 times for 90 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Angel Flores has played in three games, completing 12 of his 16 pass attempts for 204 yards and three touchdowns.
Prior to the start of the season, no Lumberjacks had taken a snap at running back. Six games in, Northern Arizona has four players who have already rushed for over 100 yards this season. In addition to Pennington,
Darvon Hubbard has racked up 323 rushing yards on 71 carries with three touchdowns.
Seth Cromwell has rushed 44 times for 177 yards and two scores, while
J'Wan Evans has 204 yards on just 26 carries plus one touchdown in six games.
Kenveon Stone, a true freshman, is the other back to have found the endzone so far this year.
Fifteen different Lumberjacks have caught a pass this season but it's tight end
Bryzai White who leads the way with 281 yards on 18 catches and three touchdowns.
Ta'ir Brooks has three touchdowns, collecting 188 yards on 10 catches.
BJ Fleming (177 yds, 13 catches),
Tay Lanier (218 yards, 17 catches),
Isaiah Eastman (114 yards, 9 catches) and
Darvon Hubbard (109 yards, 12 catches) all have over 100 receiving yards so far this year.
Michael Beresford,
Mikale Greer,
Tommy Ellis,
Zach Lewis and
DJ VanHook lead the team in interceptions with one each.
Alex McLaughlin leads the team with 48 total tackles and 4.5 sacks to go with two forced fumbles.
Ammon Allen has racked up 43 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss to go with a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown.
Tommy Ellis rounds things out with 47 tackles, a sack, and an INT. Five different players have recovered a fumble while four different players have forced five fumbles.
Marcus Lye is a perfect 20-for-20 on PAT attempts and is 7-for-9 on field goal attempts. He has made two field goals over 50 yards in two out of the last three games.
Following this week, NAU has a bye before hosting Weber State at Findlay Toyota Field on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.
