The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team has a chance to match its longest home win streak ever against the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Saturday, Sept. 6. Both teams are 0-1.
Kickoff is at 2 p.m. MST, at Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
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NAU is No. 19 in this week’s FCS poll, falling one spot after losing its first game at Arizona State, 38-19, on Aug. 30.
The Lumberjacks are looking for their first win of the season in their home opener against the Trailblazers, the first of six at Findlay Toyota Field in the Walkup Skydome this year. NAU has a seven-game home win streak extending back to the last two home games of the 2023 season.
If NAU defeats Utah Tech, the win would extend the program’s longest streak to eight, which was last reached between 1978 and 1979, according to NAU.
“I was really pleased with our community and the way they came out for our last home game last year against Eastern Washington,” Lumberjacks’ coach Brian Wright said, about the home crowd in last season’s final home game, according to an NAU news release. “We had an opportunity to go undefeated and to go to the playoffs and our community showed up. I hope they’ll build off of that and come see a great group of people working extremely hard to put a good product on the field.”
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Here’s how you can view and listen to the Sept. 6 game:
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Radio: NBC Sports (KDUS 1060 AM, Phoenix), 93.5 FM and 930 AM (KAFF, Flagstaff), ESPN (KFFN 104.9 FM/1490 AM, Tucson
What NAU did against ASU
The Lumberjacks totaled 331 yards against the Sun Devils, relying mostly on their passing game that produced 242 in the air. NAU’s junior quarterback Ty Pennington went 22-of-35 for 204 yards and a touchdown to tight end and Chandler High School product Nason Coleman, his first career reception and TD.
Pennington spread the ball around to 11 different teammates, but wideouts Kolbe Katsis and Jayson Raines caught most of Pennington’s passes, combining for 11 catches for 147 yards. For special teams, Katsis put up 80 yards in kick returns, and accounted for a team-high 156 all-purpose yards.
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What to know about Utah Tech
The Trailblazers were 1-11 last season. They’re coming off a home-opening loss to California-Davis, 31-24, on Aug. 30. Utah Tech used two QBs, freshman Bronson Barben and Reggie Graff. Barden threw for 222 yards, went 24-of-39, had two interceptions, and led Utah Tech with 28 rushing yards on nine carries. Graff was 4-of-5 for 50 yards, and rushed six times for 23 yards that resulted in two TDs. Utah Tech’s top receivers were Kaden Eggett, Tru Tanner and Dominic Oliver, who had 58, 57 and 50 yards each.
NAU defeated Utah Tech 45-17 last year. This is the third matchup for both teams, splitting the previous two meetings in the Skydome. NAU had a 2-1 all-time series lead over Utah Tech, which plays in the United Athletic Conference.
What’s next for NAU after Utah Tech
NAU will travel to Southern Utah on Sept. 13 for its Big Sky Conference opener. Kickoff in Cedar City, Utah, is at 5:30 p.m. MST, streaming on ESPN+.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Northern Arizona set for home opener against Utah Tech
