2001 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team
{{short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college sports team season
| year = 2001
| team = Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
| sport = football
| image = Northern Arizona Athletics Script.png
| image_size = 150
| conference = Big Sky Conference
| short_conf = Big Sky
| TSNRank = 16
| record = 8–4
| conf_record = 5–2
| head_coach = Jerome Souers
| hc_year = 4th
| captain =
| stadium = J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome
| champion =
| bowl = NCAA Division I-AA First Round
| bowl_result = L 31–34 at Sam Houston State
}}
{{2001 Big Sky Conference football standings}}
The 2001 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky) during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks compiled an 8–4 record (5–2 against conference opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 368 to 307, and tied for second place out of nine teams in the Big Sky.{{cite web|title=2013 Northern Arizona Football Media Guide|publisher=Northern Arizona University|year=2013|page=79|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/nau.sidearmsports.com/documents/2017/5/26/2013_Football_Media_Guide-Web.pdf|accessdate=September 4, 2021|archive-date=October 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004022233/https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/nau.sidearmsports.com/documents/2017/5/26/2013_Football_Media_Guide-Web.pdf|url-status=dead}}
For the third time in school history, the Lumberjacks qualified to play in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. They lost by a 34–31 score to Sam Houston State in the first round.2013 Media Guide, p. 17.
The team played its home games at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, commonly known as the Walkup Skydome, in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The team's statistical leaders included Marcus King with 1,287 rushing yards (including 271 yards against Portland State and 248 yards against Eastern Washington) and Preston Parsons with 2,267 passing yards.2013 Media Guide, p. 64. Linebacker Keith O'Neil received first-team All-Big Sky honors and later played four years in the National Football League.
Schedule
{{CFB schedule
| rankyear = 2001
| rankdivision = NCAA Division I-AA
| poll = The Sports Network
| rank = y
| attend = y
| source = y
|{{tooltip|August 30|Friday}}||Cal State Northridge
|September 8||{{cfb link|year=2001|team=Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks|title=Stephen F. Austin}}||Walkup Skydome|Flagstaff, AZ|W 10–3|7,011|{{cite news|title=Ugly, but it counts|newspaper=Arizona Daily Sun|author=Zack Hall|date=September 9, 2001|pages=B1, B6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86607663/ugly-but-it-counts/|via=Newspapers.com}}
|September 22|at|{{cfb link|year=2001|team=Southern Utah Thunderbirds|title=Southern Utah}}|25|Eccles Coliseum|Cedar City, UT (rivalry)|W 41–12|6,201|
|September 29|at|No. 23 {{cfb link|year=2001|team=Portland State Vikings|title=Portland State}}|21|PGE Park|Portland, OR|L 30–33|7,231|
|October 6||{{cfb link|year=2001|team=Idaho State Bengals|title=Idaho State}}||Walkup Skydome|Flagstaff, AZ|W 51–26|10,810|
|October 13|at|{{cfb link|year=2001|team=Weber State Wildcats|title=Weber State}}|22|Stewart Stadium|Ogden, UT|W 42–32|6,893|
|October 20||No. 2 Montana|18|Walkup Skydome|Flagstaff, AZ|L 37–48|11,387|
|October 27|at|Montana State|21|Bobcat Stadium|Bozeman, MT|W 35–28|10,857|{{cite news|title=What starts well, ends well|newspaper=Arizona Daily Sun|author=Zack Hall|date=October 28, 2001|pages=B1, B6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86393816/what-starts-well-ends-well/}}
|November 3||No. 21 {{cfb link|year=2001|team=Eastern Washington Eagles|title=Eastern Washington}}|17|Walkup Skydome|Flagstaff, AZ|W 42–33|4,164|
|November 10|at|Sacramento State|16|Hornet Stadium|Sacramento, CA|W 50–40|5,510|
|November 17|at|Oregon State|13|Reser Stadium|Corvallis, OR|L 10–45|39,096|
|December 1|at|No. 13 Sam Houston State|15|Bowers Stadium|Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)|L 31–34|8,134|{{cite news|title=Season slips away|newspaper=Arizona Daily Sun|author=Zack Hall|date=December 2, 2001|pages=B1, B7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86607497/season-slips-away/|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football navbox}}