FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The No. 13 Northern Arizona football team hits the road for the first of two straight away games, taking on Northern Colorado at 12:35 p.m. on Saturday in Greeley, Colo.
Fans can also listen to the game on 105.1 FM The Big Talker in Flagstaff, Prescott and Sedona and online on The Big Talker website. The game can be seen on Big Sky TV. Fans can also watch the game at two big screens at Granny’s Closet in Flagstaff.
NAU (6-1, 4-0 Big Sky) will be looking for its seventh consecutive win. It would be the longest single-season win streak since the 1958 Lumberjack team won 11 consecutive to reach the NAIA National Championship game.
“Our focus has been and always will be one week at a time,” said head coach Jerome Souers. “We are focusing on Saturday. We are working on the things we need to do to get better fundamentally and dialing in the schemes we need to have prepared for a good Northern Colorado team.”
NAU and Northern Colorado will be meeting for the seventh time as members of the Big Sky Conference, with the Lumberjacks winning the previous six. The Lumberjacks are 5-1 all-time in Greeley and 9-2 all-time against the Bears. The Lumberjacks last lost to the Bears in 1978 by the score of 33-6 in Greeley. The last two games in Greeley have been decided by a combined 10 points.
“Historically this game has been a tough match up there,” Souers said. “It has always been down to the last drive and a battle until the end. We expect the same type of game.”
The Bears (2-5, 1-3 Big Sky) are coming off a 52-14 victory over Idaho State, totaling 527 yards of offense, the second-most since they joined the Big Sky.
“They found some new confidence,” said Souers. “I really believe a lot of times the difference between the better teams in the conference is confidence. When you find it, it is a good thing and players play more aggressively. Our job early on will be to survive the early wave of energy they are going to have.”
Northern Arizona (21.1) and Northern Colorado (19.1) are the top two punt return teams in the Big Sky Conference and feature the top two punt returners in the nation -- NAU's Austin Shanks (28.3) and Northern Colorado' Dominic Gunn (18.3).
“Both teams have volatile returners and excellent specialists,” Souers said. “It is going to be an interesting game to see how the strategies work out and who is going to execute.”
NAU ranks first in the Big Sky in pass defense (194.4) and second in total defense (343.0). The Lumberjacks were seventh in the league last season against the pass at 251.4 yards per game. They have nine interceptions in seven games after recording just six all of last season.
“Each week the defense has got better,” said Souers. “We want to get better each week in all facets of our game. We have watched some great improvement with our defense this year. Last week we saw a UC Davis team that was an outstanding team. We got better in the pass rush and pass defense. It is what we need to do against Northern Colorado, a team that is getting better every week.”
