The 2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season . The Lumberjacks were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Ball and played 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 * P12N L 3–3848,159 September 9 1:00 p.m. at No. 17 North Dakota * ESPN+ L 22–3710,009 September 16 1:00 p.m. Utah Tech * ESPN+ L 36–507,102 September 23 1:00 p.m. No. 13 Montana Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ ESPN+ W 28–146,428 September 30 6:00 p.m. at No. 8 Sacramento State ESPN+ L 30–3112,549 October 7 6:00 p.m. at No. 13 Weber State ESPN+ W 27–107,694 October 14 1:00 p.m. Portland State Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ ESPN+ L 21–459,713 October 28 1:00 p.m. No. 25 UC Davis dagger Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ ESPN+ W 38–216,931 November 4 12:00 p.m. at No. 6 Montana State ESPN+ L 21–4521,297 November 11 1:00 p.m. Northern Colorado Walkup, Skydome Flagstaff, AZ ESPN+ W 28–76,003 November 18 2:00 p.m. at Eastern Washington ESPN+ W 49–424,078
[ 2]
Game summaries at Arizona
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter
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, 2023Game time : 7:00 p.m.Game weather : Sunny, 88 °F (31 °C)Game attendance : 48,159Referee : Cravonne BarrettTV 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
at No. 8 Sacramento State
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1–3) at No. 8 Sacramento State Hornets (3–1) – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Lumberjacks
7
14
7 2 30
No. 8 Hornets 14
10
0 7 31
at Hornet Stadium , Sacramento, CA
Date : September 30, 2023Game time : 6:00 p.m. PST Game weather : 67 °F (19 °C) • 0 mph • CloudyGame attendance : 12,549Referee : Gregg WilsonTV announcers (KMAX-TV/ESPN+) : Play-by-Play: Jason Ross • Analysis: Darren Arbet
Game information
First Quarter (11:54) NAU – Chase Belcher 3-yard run (Marcus Lye kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 81 yards, 1:37; Northern Arizona 7–0 )
(8:36) SAC – Carlos Hill 16-yard pass from Kaiden Bennett (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:18; Tied 7–7 )
(1:32) SAC – Elijah Tau-Tolliver 3-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 4:58; Sacramento State 14–7 ) Second Quarter (14:29) NAU – Devon Starling 8-yard run (Marcus Lye kick failed) (Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 1:58; Sacramento State 14–13 )
(8:08) NAU – Coleman Owen 19-yard pass from Adam Damante (Adam Damante pass to Devon Starling for two-point conversion) (Drive: 8 plays, 98 yards, 4:05; Northern Arizona 21–14 )
(5:25) SAC – Zeke Burnett 7-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 2:38; Tied 21–21 )
(1:22) SAC – Zach Schreiner 31-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 32 yards, 3:09; Sacramento State 24–21 ) Third Quarter (7:55) NAU – Devon Starling 8-yard run (Szymon Gawlick kick) (Drive: 16 plays, 99 yards, 6:54; Northern Arizona 28–24 ) Fourth Quarter (8:31) SAC – Coleman Kuntz 2-yard run (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 18 plays, 81 yards, 6:54; Sacramento State 31–28 )
(0:02) NAU – Team Safety (Drive: 4 plays, -13 yards, 1:34; Sacramento State 31–30 )
Line Over/Under
Statistics
NAU
SAC
First downs
21
25
Total yards
450
418
Rushing yards
195
161
Passing yards
255
257
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
24–34–1
18–27–0
Time of possession
30:13
29:47
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Northern Arizona Passing
Adam Damante
23/33, 196 yards, TD, INT
Rushing
Devon Starling
21 carries, 117 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Elijah Taylor
2 receptions, 73 yards
Sacramento State Passing
Kaiden Bennett
18/27, 257 yards, TD
Rushing
22 carries, 76 yards
Receiving
Jared Gipson
5 receptions, 108 yards
References
Venues Bowls & rivalries People Seasons
