| Northern Arizona at Utah Tech |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Sept. 12, 2024) – Northern Arizona football's three-game road swing continues this week when the Lumberjacks travel to St. George, Utah, for a matchup against Utah Tech. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Standard time on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Greater Zion Stadium.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network with Mitch Strohman and Kevin Stephens on the call.
NAU sits at 1-1 on the year with a 66-6 win over Lincoln (CA) and most recently, a hard-fought 22-10 loss at No. 20 Arizona. The Lumberjacks led 10-6 at the half in Tucson, scoring 10 unanswered points over the Wildcats in the second quarter. Northern Arizona kept UA 0-for-10 on third down, but were outgained in total offense, 361 to 198.
Utah Tech is 0-2 with a pair of losses to No. 4 Montana State (31-7) and UNLV (72-14). The Trailblazers are members of the FCS and compete in the United Athletic Conference. Lance Anderson sits at the helm in his first year as head coach.
Saturday marks the third all-time meeting between the two squads with the series tied 1-1. The first meeting took place on Sept. 16, 2006, in Flagstaff where NAU won 66-14. Seventeen years later to the date, the Trailblazers flipped the script and beat NAU 50-36 last year in Flagstaff. The Lumberjacks turned the ball over five times and trailed 50-15 midway through the fourth quarter. NAU outscored the Trailblazers 21-3 in the fourth, scoring three-straight touchdowns, but the comeback fell short.
Both squads will have plenty of chances to become familiar with each other, as Saturday marks the second game of a six-game series. The two teams will alternate home and away games each year through the 2028 seasons. NAU travels to St. George in 2024, 2026 and 2028 and will host the Trailblazers in Flagstaff in 2023, 2025 and 2027.
The Lumberjacks are looking to improve to 2-1 for the first time since the 2019 season and are receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. While five 'Jacks have thrown a pass this season, it's redshirt sophomore
Ty Pennington who has gotten the nod to start the first two games. Pennington has completed 21 of his 33 pass attempts for 198 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, he is NAU's second-leading rusher with 73 yards on 15 carries, including one rushing touchdown.
Seth Cromwell leads NAU in rushing yards with 84 on 20 carries, plus two rushing scores against Lincoln. Through the air, NAU is relatively balanced with 13 different players having caught a pass this year and four different players have scored a receiving touchdown.
BJ Fleming has hauled in 122 yards on five catches to lead the team.
On the defensive front,
Alex McLaughlin has led the team in tackles in both games. Against Arizona, he tied a career-high with 11 to give him 18 tackles on the year.
Tommy Ellis is close behind with 14 total and the pair each lead the team with a sack each.
Mikale Greer and
Michael Beresford each have an interception.
Marcus Lye has been handling the kicking duties. So far, he's kicked off 12 times for 903 yards and 10 touchbacks. He is also 1-for-1 on field goal attempts, making a 38-yard attempt at Arizona. He is also a perfect 6-for-6 on extra point attempts for 12 kicking points on the year.
As a team, NAU averages 38 points per game while holding opponents to 14. They are fourth nationally in third down conversion defense, holding opponents to 5-of-24 (20.8%) on third down. NAU is 8-for-9 when trying to score in the redzone and put up 325 yards of total offense per game – including 163 through the air and 162 on the ground for a balanced attack.
The Trailblazers average 234.5 yards of total offense per game while their opponents average 593. They are 0-for-1 in the redzone this year and just 2-for-24 on third down. Utah Tech averages 10.5 points per game with an average of 70 rushing yards and 164.5 passing yards per contest.
Northern Arizona is amid a three-game road swing to end non-conference play. Next week, NAU takes on Incarnate Word who is currently ranked No. 12 in the FCS Stats Perform Top-25 and No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches' Top-25. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Mountain Standard time in San Antonio, Texas.
The following week, NAU returns home to open Big Sky Conference play against Sacramento State on Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.
