FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 8, 2026) – Returning to Findlay Toyota Field at the Walkup Skydome, No. 24/23 Northern Arizona plays its only home game of September this Saturday, hosting UIW at 2 p.m. MST. The game is NAU's annual Family Weekend contest as well as its Hall of Fame Game, celebrating NAU Athletics' 2026 Hall of Fame Class.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network with
James Malamas, Kevin Stephens and Adriana Sparks on the call. The pregame show on the radio broadcast begins at 1 p.m. MST.
With the game being Family Weekend, fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets now with an anticipated sellout. Fans can purchase tickets at this
link. Additionally, former Lumberjack quarterback Case Cookus will officially be inducted into the
Hall of Fame, alongside Amy Patton (women's basketball), George Beamish (cross country/track & field) and the 2013-14 swimming & diving team.
The Lumberjacks (1-1) will look to bounce back from a 35-7 loss last Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. to Arizona. NAU was held to 193 yards of total offense and scored its lone touchdown on a pick-6 by
Noble Young-Blackgoat. The 193 offensive yards was NAU's lowest single-game total since head coach
Brian Wright's arrival. Defensively though, NAU forced three turnovers and the 'Jacks head into the week tied for fifth in the FCS in takeaways.
"We had some good moments, some not so good moments and some ugly moments last week," Wright said. "There's a lot of work today and things to improve on this week. There were good things that happened, some individual effort that stood out. We've got a really good opponent coming to the Dome on Saturday and we need to have a great week of practice."
NAU and UIW are familiar foes with this season being the third consecutive season that the two teams will meet. Both teams have claimed a victory on their home field with the Cardinals winning, 38-14, in 2024 and the Lumberjacks responding with a 31-23 victory last season. The two teams will meet for a final time to close out the contracted series in 2027 in San Antonio, Texas.
Following its defeat at Arizona last week, NAU is ranked No. 24 in this week's Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and No. 23 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. UIW, coming off a bye last week and a 76-14 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Aug. 29, is receiving votes in the Coaches Poll.
Offensively, NAU has been led this season by
Ty Pennington,
Quran Gossett and
Jeter Purdy. Through two games, Pennington has thrown for 344 yards and two touchdowns, with his main target being Purdy, who has recorded eight receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown. Gossett leads the team with 123 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Shoes Brinkley ranks 44th in the FCS, and sixth in the Big Sky, with 8.5 tackles per game, pacing the team with 17 total tackles.
Jahaad Fort, who forced and recovered a fumble last week, is one of two FCS players with an interception, fumble recovery and forced fumble through the first two weeks of the season.
NAU, which will play three consecutive road games after Saturday before returning to the Skydome on Oct. 10 versus Montana, has enjoyed recent success on Family Weekend, winning seven of its last eight Family Weekend games. The Lumberjacks have also won 12 of their last 14 home games in the Skydome.
This week, the 'Jacks will host the Cardinals, who set a school record with 76 points scored in their season opener. Picked to finish fifth in the Southland Conference Preseason Poll, UIW raced out to a 41-0 lead over Oklahoma Panhandle State and led 62-0 at halftime against the NAIA foe. The Cardinals racked up 474 yards of total offense and scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game, including a pair of punt return touchdowns by Jayden Hibbler.
Emmett Brown, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, earned the start at quarterback and threw for three touchdowns in minimal action. He completed 5-of-7 passes for 127 yards. Wide receiver Roy Alexander was named the Southland Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by Phil Steele and was a preseason All-American. Alexander transferred back to UIW after a season at Texas Tech and ranked second in the FCS in 2024 with 100 receptions and 13 touchdown receptions.
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