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2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

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2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record5–6 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAaron Pflugrad (6th season)
Defensive coordinatorKevin Clune (1st season)
Home stadiumWalkup Skydome
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Montana $^   7 1     13 2  
No. 8 Idaho ^   6 2     9 4  
No. 9 Montana State ^   6 2     8 4  
Northern Arizona   5 3     5 6  
No. 24 UC Davis   5 3     7 4  
No. 13 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 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

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Polls

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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

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 27:00 p.m.at Arizona*P12NL 3–3848,159
September 91:00 p.m.at No. 17 North Dakota*ESPN+L 22–3710,009
September 161:00 p.m.Utah Tech*ESPN+L 36–507,102
September 231:00 p.m.No. 13 Montana
  • Walkup Skydome
  • Flagstaff, AZ
ESPN+W 28–146,428
September 306:00 p.m.at No. 8 Sacramento StateESPN+L 30–3112,549
October 76:00 p.m.at No. 13 Weber StateESPN+W 27–107,694
October 141:00 p.m.Portland State
  • Walkup Skydome
  • Flagstaff, AZ
ESPN+L 21–459,713
October 281:00 p.m.No. 25 UC Davisdagger
  • Walkup Skydome
  • Flagstaff, AZ
ESPN+W 38–216,931
November 412:00 p.m.at No. 6 Montana StateESPN+L 21–4521,297
November 111:00 p.m.Northern Colorado
  • Walkup, Skydome
  • Flagstaff, AZ
ESPN+W 28–76,003
November 182:00 p.m.at Eastern WashingtonESPN+W 49–424,078

[2]

Game summaries

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at Arizona

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Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lumberjacks 0 3 003
Wildcats 7 7 21338

at Arizona StadiumTucson, 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

at No. 8 Sacramento State

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Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1–3) at No. 8 Sacramento State Hornets (3–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lumberjacks 7 14 7230
No. 8 Hornets 14 10 0731

at Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, CA

  • Date: September 30, 2023
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C) • 0 mph • Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 12,549
  • Referee: Gregg Wilson
  • TV announcers (KMAX-TV/ESPN+): Play-by-Play: Jason Ross • Analysis: Darren Arbet
Game information
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

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  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.