FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Northern Arizona on Saturday will look to capture its first Big Sky road win when it heads to Portland State.
Kickoff at Providence Park is set for 4:05 p.m.
The Lumberjacks are 15-5 all-time against Portland State, including 7-3 as the road team.
NAU (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky) dropped from the national polls after a 24-17 loss at Northern Colorado on Oct. 4. The Lumberjacks had a bye last week as they get readied to face Portland State for the first time since 2012. NAU has won five of the last six meetings versus the Vikings.
Quarterbacking NAU versus PSU will be Chase Cartwright. In NAU's Big Sky opener, Cartwright led the Lumberjacks to a thrilling 38-35 win over Cal Poly at home. Cartwright has completed 31-of-48 passes with one interception. His 64.6 completion percentage has led to six thrown touchdowns. NAU is averaging 28.7 points per game, and is 1-3 on the road so far this season.
Junior running back Casey Jahn has a team-best 478 rushing yards, including a pair of 100-plus yard rushing games. Jahn ranks fourth in the Big Sky in all-purpose yards with an average of 113.0. Senior Ify Umodu leads the receiving unit with 314 yards, and is making his way up the NAU career records chart in yards and receptions.
For the defense, senior linebacker Austin Hasquet has a team-high 53 tackles and ranks 11th in the league in the category. While NAU is in the middle of the pack in scoring offense, total offense, and pass defense, it ranks third in scoring defense, total defense, and pass defense.
Coach Nigel Burton is 20-31 in five seasons at Portland State. The Vikings won their Big Sky opener against UC Davis, 23-14, but fell to North Dakota on the road last weekend, 24-16.
PSU (2-4, 1-1) has scored 21 points or less in all four of its losses. The biggest loss of the season for the Vikings was a 59-21 defeat at Washington State. The Vikings have had a balanced attack so far this season (1,080 rushing yards and 1,098 passing yards).
