| Northern Arizona at No. 15/18 UIW |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Sept. 19, 2024) – For the third-straight week, the Northern Arizona football team will head out on the road to face its next opponent, as the Lumberjacks are readying to take on No. 15/18 Incarnate Word on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Mountain Standard time from Gayle & Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and Mitch Strohman and Kevin Stephens will have the call on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network.
Northern Arizona is 2-1 for its best start since the 2019 season, and a win over No. 15/18 ranked UIW would improve NAU to 3-1 for the first time since 2013. The Cardinals are 1-2 on the season and are coming in ranked in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 for the 42
nd-straight week at No. 15. UIW is also ranked No. 18 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. Northern Arizona is receiving votes in both polls.
Playing in the Big Sky Conference, NAU is no stranger to facing ranked FCS opponents and have won three out of its last six games against them, all coming last season. Earlier this year, the Lumberjacks hung with No. 20 ranked Arizona, falling 22-10. NAU's last win over a ranked opponent came on Oct. 28, 2023, against No. 25/25 UC Davis in Flagstaff.
Last week, the Lumberjacks led from start to finish in a 45-17 win at Utah Tech. NAU outgained the Trailblazers 560-to-291 in total offense, including 339 rushing yards compared to 116 for UTU. Sophomore quarterback
Ty Pennington was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the win, the first NAU quarterback to earn the honors since 2021.
In the win, Pennington completed eight of his 14 pass attempts for 123 yards with two passing touchdowns, finding
Isaiah Eastman for a 31-yard score and connecting with
Ta'ir Brooks for an eight-yard receiving touchdown to help NAU score on six-straight drives. Additionally, he did not throw an interception for the third-straight game.
The Sand Springs, Okla., native was instrumental in NAU's run game as well. Pennington rushed for 67 yards on nine carries with a long of 19, good for 7.4 yards per carry. He scored twice with his legs, both two-yard scurries into the endzone, to help him account for four of Northern Arizona's six touchdowns on the night.
The Cardinals are led by Zach Calzada who ranks third in the FCS with 922 passing yards, helping UIW average 307.3 passing yards per game. As a team, UIW also ranks 17
th in yards of total offense per game with 421.3. UIW topped Big Sky foe Northern Colorado 28-7 to open the season and have since lost consecutive games to No. 1 South Dakota State and No. 8 Southern Illinois, both on the road.
Saturday marks the first meeting between the two, as NAU is currently 4-2 all-time against current teams against the Southland. The Lumberjacks have also won four-straight games in the state of Texas, all against different opponents, dating back to 2014.
Prior to the Lincoln game, no Lumberjacks had taken a snap at running back for Northern Arizona before. By the conclusion, NAU had four different running backs rush for at least 30 yards with three finding the endzone. Three 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 147 rushing yards on 22 carries with one touchdown.
Seth Cromwell has rushed 25 times for 115 yards and two scores, while
J'Wan Evans has 114 yards on just 10 carries plus one touchdown.
Kenveon Stone, a true freshman, is the other back to have found the endzone so far this year.
Fourteen different Lumberjacks have caught a pass this season.
Ta'ir Brooks has five catches with three catches going for touchdowns. He leads NAU with 129 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
BJ Fleming has hauled in 122 yards on five catches while
Isaiah Eastman has caught five passes for 72 yards. Tight ends,
Bryzai White and
Xander Werner, have also caught touchdown passes.
Michael Beresford,
Mikale Greer and
Tommy Ellis lead the team in interceptions with one each, while
Quinlan Popham also had a forced and recovered fumble.
Alex McLaughlin has led the team in the tackles in two out of the last three games, racking up 11 against Arizona. He is eight tackles away from 100 in his career and has 21 so far this season to lead the team and to go with one sack for a loss of five yards.
Linebackers
Tommy Ellis (19 tackles) and
Ammon Allen (20) help round out the team's defense behind McLaughlin.
Marcus Lye is a perfect 12-for-12 on PAT attempts and is 2-for-3 on field goal attempts, making a 38-yarder against Arizona and a 24-yard attempt at Utah Tech. He has kicked off 20 times for 1,251 yards and 20 touchbacks.
Ben D'Aquila has punted eight times for 361 yards, with two over 50 and two inside the two.
Northern Arizona boasts the nation's ninth-best rushing offense with 213.7 yards per game and rank fourth nationally in third-down percentage defense, allowing opponents to convert 23.1 percent of the time.
Following Saturday, Northern Arizona returns home for the first time since Aug. 31 to open Big Sky Conference play against Sacramento State. The Hornets are currently ranked No. 11/11 and NAU will be looking to avenge a 31-30 loss on the road last year. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MST at Findlay Toyota Field in Flagstaff.
