FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 17, 2024) – Back in Flagstaff for Homecoming, the Northern Arizona football team is preparing to host Idaho State this Saturday, October 19th at Findlay Toyota Field.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network. Tickets are also available HERE.

Northern Arizona is 3-4 this year and 1-2 in the Big Sky Conference. NAU is 2-0 at the Skydome this season, most recently defeating No. 10 Sacramento State on Sept. 28. The win vaulted the Lumberjacks into the national rankings for the first time in six years after checking in at No. 25 in the FCS Stats Top 25 poll. The following week, NAU moved to No. 24, but received only votes in that week's poll.

The Lumberjacks are looking to right the ship and get back in the win column after losses at No. 10 Idaho 23-17 and No. 14 Montana 31-20. Northern Arizona had endured a challenging stretch, facing four consecutive ranked opponents, three of which were on the road. In fact, all of NAU's opponents except Lincoln or Utah Tech were nationally ranked.

Idaho State also has an identical record of 3-4 and 1-2. The Bengals suffered a 37-17 loss to No. 3 Montana State, but bounced back the following week with a game-winning field goal at Cal Poly. Most recently, Idaho State lost at home to Portland State 42-38.

ISU loves to throw the football and ranks seventh nationally with 289.8 offensive yards per game. They are also third in the country in first-down offense with 171. Quarterback Tracy Kobe leads the offense with 1,543 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns. His favorite target is Jeff Weimer, who caught 40 passes for 583 yards and four touchdowns.

Northern Arizona leads the all-time series at 37-16-1. The tie took place in 1965, a 0-0 result in Flagstaff. All-time in Flagstaff, NAU is 21-3-1. The Bengals haven't won in Flagstaff since 1984, a 29-15 victory. The Lumberjacks have won two straight in the series, a 24-10 win in Pocatello in 2022 and a 48-17 win in 2021 in Flagstaff. Idaho State's last win was a 56-42 triumph in 2018 in Pocatello.

Five Lumberjacks have thrown a pass this season. Ty Pennington Started six games and completed 83 of his 126 pass attempts (65.87%) with no interceptions and four fumbles while accumulating 957 passing yards. He has thrown seven touchdown passes to five different players for a length of 62. On the ground, he is NAU's third-leading rusher with 43 rushing passes for 165 net rushing yards, an average of 3.8 yards per carry. He has three rushing touchdowns and a long of 20.

PJ London saw four games of action and started the first game of his career at Montana. This season, he has completed 20 of his 36 pass attempts (55.56%) with three interceptions for 236 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he rushed 19 times for 90 yards and a rushing touchdown. Angel Flores played in three games, completing 12 of his 16 pass attempts for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

Before the season began, no Lumberjacks had attempted a running back. After six games, Northern Arizona has four players who have rushed for over 100 yards this season. Next to Pennington, Darvon Hubbard posted 323 rushing yards with 71 carries and three touchdowns. Seth Cromwell ran 44 times for 177 yards and two scores J'Wan Evans has 204 yards on just 26 carries plus one touchdown in six games. Kenveon Stonea true freshman, is the other guy to find the end zone so far this year.

Fifteen different Lumberjacks have caught a pass this season, but it's a tight end Bryzai White who leads the way with 281 yards on 18 catches and three touchdowns. Ta'ir Brooks has three touchdowns and accumulates 188 yards on 10 catches. BJ Fleming (177 yards, 13 catches), Tay Lanier (218 yards, 17 catches), Isaiah Eastman (114 yards, 9 catches) and Darvon Hubbard (109 yards, 12 catches) all have over 100 receiving yards so far this year.

Michael Beresford, Mikale Greer, Tommy Ellis, Zach Lewis And DJ VanHook Lead the team in interceptions with one each. Alex McLaughlin leads the team with 48 total tackles and 4.5 sacks to go, as well as two forced fumbles. Ammon Allen has collected 43 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss, along with a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown. Tommy Ellis Rounds things out with 47 tackles, a sack and an INT. Five different players recovered one fumble, while four different players forced five fumbles.

Marcus Lye is a perfect 20-for-20 ratio on PAT attempts and a 7-for-9 ratio on field goal attempts. He made two 50-yard field goals in two of the last three games.

Following this week, NAU will have a bye before hosting Weber State at Findlay Toyota Field on Saturday, November 2nd at 1 p.m