FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 6, 2026) – No. 13/14 Northern Arizona makes its return home to Findlay Toyota Field at the Walkup Skydome on Saturday versus No. 2/3 Montana at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast by Scripps Sports and ESPN+.
James Malamas, Kevin Stephens and Adriana Sparks will have the call on the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network. The radio pregame show begins at 1 p.m. MST.
It will be the first home game for NAU since the 'Jacks defeated UIW on Sept. 12. NAU, who is 11-2 in the Walkup Skydome since 2024, completed a stretch of three consecutive road games last week with a 38-31 victory over No. 12/14 Idaho State. Tickets for NAU's annual Hispanic Heritage Game can be purchased at this
link.
NAU (4-2, 2-1 Big Sky) had the biggest jump in the national rankings this week, following its first ranked road win in nearly three years. Following the Lumberjacks' win at previously unbeaten Idaho State, NAU moved up six spots to No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and five spots to No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The 'Jacks welcome Montana, the only remaining undefeated team in Big Sky play, to the Walkup Skydome where NAU has won three of the last four head-to-head meetings.
Despite Montana leading the all-time series, 38-15, NAU and Montana have split the last eight matchups overall dating back to 2012 with each team primarily having success on its home field.
No. 2/3 Montana, an FCS semifinalist last season, is 5-1 overall following its 36-14 victory over Northern Colorado last week. The week prior, the Grizzlies thrashed previous No. 9/10 UC Davis, 62-22, on the road. The Grizzlies are 3-0 in conference play, ahead of five teams including NAU at 2-1.
"I don't look at this as make or break," said head coach
Brian Wright. "I look at it as another opportunity against a really good opponent. I'm looking forward to being back home after a long stretch on the road. It's another critical game in the Big Sky Conference. They all count the same. There's one team in the league right now without that doesn't have any Big Sky losses and that's the team coming here that we're about to play."
Saturday's game will only be the fifth game in the Walkup Skydome in which both NAU and its opponent were ranked at the same time in the last decade. NAU is 1-3 in the previous four such games.
The Lumberjacks posted a season-best 506 yards of offense in last week's victory, and received a pair of career-best performances from
Kenveon Stone and
Jeter Purdy. Stone rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns, while Purdy caught six passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Purdy leads the team with 345 receiving yards and three touchdowns and is averaging 18.2 yards per reception. Stone is tied for 15th in the FCS with six rushing touchdowns, all coming in the last four games, and is averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
Quarterbacking the team,
Ty Pennington moved up to sixth all-time in program history in career passing yards (6,703) and touchdown passes (41) in Pocatello last week. Pennington already ranked sixth in total offense (7,492), seventh in completions (546) and second in career completion percentage (.651).
Last week at Idaho State continued an upward trend for NAU's offense, which has averaged 458.7 yards of total offense over the last three weeks. NAU has been equally impressive in the air (274.3) and on the ground (184.3), while averaging 7.3 yards per play.
The Lumberjacks forced another two turnovers, both interceptions by
Jahaad Fort and
Ammon Allen, against Idaho State. It was their fifth game, of six, with multiple takeaways this season. NAU continues to have sole possession of first in the FCS with 16 takeaways. Its 16 takeaways is second-most in all of Division I behind only New Mexico (19).
The interception was Fort's team-leading third of the season after not recording a pick last year. Allen notched his first career interception, and in two games since returning from a devasting knee injury, he has posted 14 total tackles.
NAU's defense will face a high-octane Montana offense that ranks eighth in the FCS in total offense (464.3) and 11th in scoring offense (37.2). The Grizzlies are the only team in the Big Sky ranked in the top 20 nationally in both rushing (192.5) and passing (271.8) on a per game basis.
The offense runs through an elite set of players. Keali'i Ah Yat ranks sixth in the FCS with 1,595 passing yards, Eli Gillman is third with 783 rushing yards and Brooks Davis leads the country with 772 receiving yards. Gillman also is the FCS leader with 14 total touchdowns.
Defensively, the Grizzlies are a tough team to run on, ranking second in the league with 132.0 yards allowed per game on the ground. Montana is tied with NAU for the Big Sky lead and third in the FCS with seven fumbles recovered. Tyler King leads the Big Sky with 4.5 sacks.
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