2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football
2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	5–6 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Chris Ball (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	Aaron Pflugrad (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Clune (1st season)
Home stadium	Walkup Skydome
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

Last updated December 13, 2023

2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Montana $^	7	–	1	12	–	1
No. 4 Idaho ^	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 5 Montana State ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
Northern Arizona	5	–	3	5	–	6
No. 25 UC Davis	5	–	3	7	–	4
No. 15 Sacramento State ^	4	–	4	8	–	5
Portland State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Weber State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Eastern Washington	3	–	5	4	–	7
Idaho State	3	–	5	3	–	8
Cal Poly	1	–	7	3	–	8
Northern Colorado	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team will represent Northern Arizona University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They Lumberjacks are led by fifth-year head coach Chris Ball and play home games at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Preseason

Polls

On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Lumberjacks were predicted to finish ninth in the Big Sky by the coaches and eight by the media.^[1]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Montana State	120 (10)
2	UC Davis	96 (1)
3	Sacramento State	94 (1)
4	Weber State	91
5	Idaho	89
6	Montana	84
7	Eastern Washington	52
8	Portland State	45
9	Northern Arizona	44
10	Northern Colorado	37
11	Cal Poly	25
12	Idaho State	15

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Montana State	447 (26)
2	Idaho	410 (8)
3	Montana	359 (2)
4	Sacramento State	334 (3)
5	UC Davis	330
6	Weber State	320
7	Eastern Washington	216
8	Northern Arizona	178
9	Portland State	167
10	Northern Colorado	109
11	Cal Poly	103
12	Idaho State	69

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	at Arizona *	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	P12N	L 3–38	48,159
September 9	1:00 p.m.	at No. 17 North Dakota *	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	L 22–37	10,009
September 16	1:00 p.m.	Utah Tech *	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	L 36–50	7,102
September 23	1:00 p.m.	No. 13 Montana	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	W 28–14	6,428
September 30	6:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	ESPN+	L 30–31	12,549
October 7	6:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Weber State	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	ESPN+	W 27–10	7,694
October 14	1:00 p.m.	Portland State	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	L 21–45	9,713
October 28	1:00 p.m.	No. 25 UC Davis	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	W 38–21	6,931
November 4	12:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Montana State	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	L 21–45	21,297
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Northern Colorado	Walkup, Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	W 28–7	6,003
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Washington	Roos Field Cheney, WA	ESPN+	W 49–42	4,078
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[2]

Game summaries

at Arizona

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	3	0	0	3
Wildcats	7	7	21	3	38

at Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ

Date: September 2, 2023
Game time: 7:00 p.m.
Game weather: Sunny, 88 °F (31 °C)
Game attendance: 48,159
Referee: Cravonne Barrett
TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): J. B. Long (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst)

Game information

First quarter

(11:13) ARIZ – Jacob Cowing 4-yard pass from Jayden de Laura, Tyler Loop kick (Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 3:47; Arizona 7–0)

Second quarter

(13:24) ARIZ – Jonah Coleman 7-yard pass from Jayden de Laura, Tyler Loop kick (Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards, 3:04; Arizona 14–0)
(0:00) NAU – Marcus Lye 49-yard field goal (Drive: 16 plays, 49 yards, 7:43; Arizona 14–3)

Third quarter

(11:26) ARIZ – Tacario Davis 85-yard blocked field goal return, Tyler Loop kick (Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 3:34; Arizona 21–3)
(4:34) ARIZ – Tetairoa McMillan 5-yard pass from Jayden de Laura, Tyler Loop kick (Drive: 4 plays, 37 yards, 2:04; Arizona 28–3)
(2:02) ARIZ – Jayden de Laura 53-yard run, Tyler Loop kick (Drive: 3 plays, 63 yards, 1:07; Arizona 35–3)

Fourth quarter

(10:46) ARIZ – Tyler Loop 35-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 2:32; Arizona 38–3)

Statistics	NAU	ARIZ
First downs	17	22
Total yards	264	478
Rushing yards	41–78	27–186
Passing yards	186	292
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18–29–0	20–26–1
Time of possession	35:04	24:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Arizona	Passing	Kai Millner	14/22, 166 yards
	Rushing	T. J. McDaniel	14 carries, 56 yards
	Receiving	Coleman Owen	5 receptions, 90 yards
Arizona	Passing	Jayden de Laura	18/24, 285 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Michael Wiley	10 carries, 54 yards
	Receiving	Michael Wiley	6 receptions, 57 yards

Related Research Articles

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's basketball team represents Northern Arizona University, located in Flagstaff, Arizona, in NCAA Division I men's competition. The school's team has competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1970. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 2000. Northern Arizona also appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1998. In 2023, the Lumberjacks have reached the Big Sky conference tournament title game as a Cinderella team as they were the 9th seed in the tournament. The Lumberjacks are currently led by head coach Shane Burcar who replaced Jack Murphy in June 2019. NAU Lumberjack basketball games are broadcast on KAFF Country Legends 93.5/AM 930 in Flagstaff, Fun Oldies 1450 AM/100.9 in Prescott and Money Radio 1510AM in Phoenix, with commentary provided by the "Voice of the Lumberjacks" Mitch Strohman, Coach Dave Brown with the play-by-play and Dave Zorn, host of the NAU Halftime Report. All games can be also heard online at KAFFLegends.com

The NAU Lumberjacks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Northern Arizona University located in Flagstaff, Arizona. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1915. The team plays its home games at the 10,500 seat Walkup Skydome. Brian Wright was hired as the Head Football Coach on December 3, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team</span> American college football season

The 2011 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lumberjacks were led by 14th-year head coach Jerome Souers and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They finished the season with an overall record of 4–7 and a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in Big Sky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team</span> American college football season

The 2013 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 16th-year head coach Jerome Souers and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 9–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in second place. They were received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the first round to South Dakota State.

The Grand Canyon Rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The Grand Canyon Trophy is presented to the winner of the game. The Lumberjacks are the current holder of the trophy.

The 2018 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 21st-year head coach Jerome Souers and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 4–6, 3–4 in Big Sky play to finish in eighth place.

The 2019 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 1st-year head coach Chris Ball and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place.

The 2020 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 2nd-year head coach Chris Ball and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They played as members of the Big Sky Conference.

The 2021 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Ball and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team</span> American college football season

The 2003 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their sixth year under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks compiled a 9–4 record, outscored opponents by a total of 409 to 305, and finished in a three-way tie for the Big Sky championship.

The 1996 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The team compiled a 9–3 record and was No. 6 in the NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant rankings. Running back Archie Amerson won the Walter Payton Award as the most outstanding offensive player in NCAA Division I-AA football.

The 1990 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their first year under head coach Steve Axman, the Lumberjacks compiled a 5–6 record, were outscored by a total of 416 to 290, and placed in a four-way tie for fifth out of nine teams in the Big Sky. The team played its home games at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, commonly known as the Walkup Skydome, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The 1999 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their second year under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks compiled an 8–4 record, outscored opponents by a total of 409 to 370, and tied for second place in the Big Sky. The Lumberjacks were invited to play in the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost in the first round to eventual national champion Georgia Southern by a 72–29 score.

The 1978 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their fourth and final year under head coach Joe Salem, the Lumberjacks compiled an 8–2 record, outscored opponents by a total of 259 to 174, and won the Big Sky championship. The team played its home games at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, commonly known as the Walkup Skydome, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The 1977 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1977 NCAA Division II football season. In their third year under head coach Joe Salem, the Lumberjacks compiled a 9–3 record, outscored opponents by a total of 324 to 204, and finished second out of seven teams in the Big Sky.

The 1927 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona Teachers College as an independent during the 1927 college football season. The Lumberjacks compiled a 6–1–2 record, shut out eight of nine opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 208 to 24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team</span> American college football season

The 2005 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2005 NCAA Division I FCS football season. In their eighth year under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks compiled a 3–8 record, were outscored by a total of 338 to 233, and finished in a tie for last place in the Big Sky.

The 1998 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their first year under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks compiled a 6–5 record, outscored opponents by a total of 241 to 227, and tied for seventh place in the Big Sky.

The 2022 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jason Eck, the Vandals were 7–4 in the regular season and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. It was the program's first winning season in six years.

The 2022 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Ball and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome.

References

↑ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
↑ "2023 Northern Arizona Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 7, 2023.

This college football 2020s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.

[2] "2023 Northern Arizona Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 7, 2023.

[1]

[2]

v t e Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football
Venues	Skidmore Field (1915 –1957) Lumberjack Stadium (1958–1977) Walkup Skydome (1977–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Southern Utah: Grand Canyon Rivalry
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023