FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Nov. 21, 2024) – A lot will be at stake when the No. 21 Northern Arizona football team hosts Eastern Washington for the final regular season game of the year. Kickoff is set for Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time at Findlay Toyota Field inside the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network. Tickets are available at nauathletics.com/buy. Use the promo code "DEFEND" for discounts.
NAU is nationally ranked for the second consecutive week and the fourth time this season in the FCS Stats Perform Top 25, coming in at No. 21.
The Lumberjacks, who sit at 7-4 and 5-2 in Big Sky Conference play, are still playing meaningful football in November. Northern Arizona has won four-straight and are 3-0 in the month of November and a win would keep the 'Jacks in contention for the FCS Playoffs, a place they haven't been since 2017.
That year also marked the last time NAU has had a winning season (7-4) outside of the shortened Spring of 2021, and the last time the Lumberjacks have won five in a row. NAU has not won eight games in a season since 2013 when the team won nine.
Northern Arizona has found magic in the Skydome this year and are looking to go undefeated at home for just the third time in program history, also achieving the feat in 2015 and 1978. The Lumberjacks have won five games on three other occasions in 2017, 2015 and 2013 and the record for consecutive wins is eight set from 1978-79. Dating back to last year, the Lumberjacks have won six-straight games in Flagstaff.
It won't be an easy task, as Eastern Washington (4-7, 3-4) is coming off a 77-42 victory against Idaho State last week. The Eagles set a program record with 77 points and scored a touchdown on all 11 possessions – racking up 478 rushing yards on 52 carries with 10 rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Kekoa Visperas earned Co-Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors after throwing for 206 yards with one receiving touchdown and four rushing touchdowns, completing all 14 of his pass attempts.
The Eagles rank fifth in the FCS in points per game with 37.5 and are averaging over 43 points in their last seven games. Eastern Washington is also second in third-down conversions (57.3%), but they'll have to face a Lumberjack defense that is fifth in the country in third-down conversion defense, only allowing opponents to convert 28.9 percent of the time.
EWU also ranks second in the FCS in most first downs per game (25.1) and fewest turnovers lost (6) while ranking fifth in rushing yards per game (238).
On the other hand, Northern Arizona boasts the second-best defense in the Big Sky, allowing just 304 yards per game to rank 13
th in the FCS. NAU also locks down on passing yards, allowing 172 yards to rank 15
th in the nation.
Prior to kickoff, Northern Arizona will honor 14 seniors before their final regular season game in the Skydome. The seniors are
Christopher Smith,
DJ VanHook,
Bryzai White,
Xander Werner,
J'Wan Evans,
Michael Harkins,
Sean Farfan,
Tommy Ellis,
Jonny Bottorff,
Ralph Frias III,
Jack Forsyth and
Daniel Robledo. NAU will also honor graduate assistants
Romero Ragsdale and
Tanner Stephens.
Eastern Washington leads the all-time series, 23-12 and have won four out of the last five games against NAU and nine out of the last 13. The Eagles have not traveled to Flagstaff since the 2016 season where it came away with a 50-35 victory. Northern Arizona leads the all-time series in the Skydome 11-7 with the last win coming in 2014.
Last season, NAU won 49-42 in Cheney in the final game of the season. The Lumberjacks jumped out to a 35-7 lead, only to have the Eagles work their way back to tie the contest 35-35 in the fourth quarter with 28 unanswered points. From there,
Angel Flores completed two touchdown passes to help regain the lead. EWU would score with a minute left, but the onside kick was unsuccessful and NAU held on to the win.
Ty Pennington ranks 11
th in the nation in completion percentage (68.7%) and 19
th in passing efficiency (152.3) while racking up 217.1 yards of total offense per game that ranks 37
th. He's completed 156 of his 227 pass attempts with just one interception that did not come until the 11
th game of the season at Northern Colorado. He's thrown for 12 touchdowns and 1,811 yards while adding 384 rushing yards and six rushing scores.
Seth Cromwell has rushed for over 130 yards in consecutive games. He leads NAU with 550 rushing yards on 97 carries, good for 5.7 yards per attempt to go with eight rushing touchdowns.
Darvon Hubbard has racked up 396 yards in nine games played with four touchdowns.
Bryzai White leads the team with 36 receptions for 506 yards and four touchdowns, followed by
Kolbe Katsis with 32 catches for 368 yards and a score.
On the defensive front, six players have accounted for 11 interceptions this season – led by
DJ VanHook and
Mikale Greer with three each.
Tommy Ellis leads the team with 79 tackles, while
Alex McLaughlin has 72 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles that have been recovered for touchdowns.
As a team, Northern Arizona averaged 30.73 points per game with 404.7 yards of total offense, including 209.18 through the air and 195.5 on the ground.
