SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (November 7, 2026) – Ty Pennington and Quran Gossett pounded Cal Poly on the ground, powering No. 6/6 Northern Arizona to a season-high 238 yards rushing and five touchdowns in a 38-10 road victory on Saturday.
 
Pennington rushed for a career-high 111 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown, and Gossett ran for a career-high three touchdowns along with 83 yards. As a team, NAU averaged 6.4 yards per carry in its fifth 200-yard rushing game of the season and third straight overall.
 
"We averaged over six yards a carry, had five rushing touchdowns and really did some good things in the run game," said head coach Brian Wright. "We capitalized in the rushing attack on a day that I wasn't proud of the way that we protected the quarterback and threw the football today."
 
The win was the fifth straight for the Lumberjacks as they improved to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in Big Sky play. At the conclusion of the game, NAU was in sole possession of first place in the league standings with Montana State trailing on the road at Idaho State.
 
Pennington only threw for 130 yards – with 72 of those yards to Joey Stout – but NAU's strong running game and all-around defensive performance was more than enough for the 'Jacks to remain undefeated in nine all-time trips to San Luis Obispo.
 
The Mustangs (4-7, 3-5 Big Sky) were held in check with a season-low 249 yards of offense. Not only was Cal Poly's yardage the lowest of its season, but it was also the fewest allowed by NAU this fall.
 
"We went out there with a mindset of four quarters of dominant football," said Shoes Brinkley, who led the team with seven tackles. "That's what we displayed today."
 
After the teams traded three-and-outs to start the game, Devin Murphy put a halt on a 10-play Cal Poly drive, stripping Bo Kelly on a sack with Ziggy Loa jumping on the fumble. The 'Jacks took the turnover and converted it into the game's first touchdown on a 5-yard run by Gossett.
 
Undeterred, the Mustangs responded with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter with Tayvion McCoy scoring on a 13-yard end-around. 
 
Francisco Orduno Jr. moved the 'Jacks back in front, 10-7, with 7:21 left in the first half. Orduno Jr.'s 24-yard field goal capped a 16-play, 69-yard drive covering over seven minutes. Luke Edgecomb followed with a punt block – NAU's first of the season – on the next drive, setting up Gossett's second rushing touchdown to increase the Lumberjacks' lead to 17-7. 
 
Gossett added his career-high third rushing touchdown right before halftime from three yards out to push NAU's advantage to 24-7 at the intermission.
 
The Lumberjacks opened the second half with a bang as Ty Pennington bounced off a Mustang tackler and outraced the defense for a 59-yard touchdown run. The teams alternated three-and-outs on four consecutive drives before Cal Poly snapped 23-0 NAU run with a 39-yard field goal.
 
For the second time in the game, NAU answered a Cal Poly scoring drive with one of its own, tying its longest touchdown drive of the season in terms of plays (12). Two plays after Jon Wilson converted a third-and-10 with a 19-yard rush, Jeter Purdy took a handoff to the left for his first career rushing touchdown of six yards. Pennington hit Deuce Zimmerman for the 2-point conversion to pad NAU's lead to 38-10 with 12:38 to play.
 
NAU came up with two final defensive stops to close the game, the first of which occurred deep in its own territory. With Cal Poly facing fourth-and-goal from the NAU 2-yard line, Nijrell Eason II locked down McCoy on an attempt to the end zone. To punctuate the victory, Jordan Lee recorded his career interception off a deflection on Cal Poly's final offensive play.
 
"I'm proud of how we showed up to the stadium today," Wright said. "We were focused and took the field with the right mindset. There was some good team football today. There was some really good defense, some good special teams and we got in the end zone enough."
 
Several Lumberjacks had impressive individual performances including Murphy, who continued his torrid pass rushing. Murphy had his second multi-sack game, increasing his season total to 7.5. Shahid Wilson broke up two passes, including one in the end zone, and Wilson complemented NAU's rushing attack with 39 yards on eight carries, averaging just shy of 5.0 yards per carry.
 
The Lumberjacks completed the regular season with a 4-2 road record, matching their highest road win total since 2013.
 
NAU concludes the regular season with two games at Findlay Toyota Field at the Walkup Skydome, starting with a nationally-ranked matchup versus Weber State next Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. MST. Tickets can be purchased for NAU's Military Appreciation Game here.
 
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