2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 2023

| team = Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

| sport = football

| image = Northern Arizona Athletics logo.svg

| image_size = 250

| conference = Big Sky Conference

| short_conf = Big Sky

| record = 5–6

| conf_record = 5–3

| head_coach = Chris Ball

| hc_year = 5th

| off_coach = Aaron Pflugrad

| oc_year = 6th

| off_scheme =

| def_coach = Kevin Clune

| dc_year = 1st

| def_scheme =

| captain =

| stadium = Walkup Skydome

}}

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.{{cite web|title=Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites|url=https://bigskyconf.com/news/2023/7/23/montana-state-tabbed-preseason-football-favorites.aspx|date=July 25, 2021|access-date=July 26, 2023}}

class="wikitable" style="display: inline-table;"

|+Coaches poll

align="center"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Northern Arizona Lumberjacks|Predicted finish|Team|Votes (1st place)}}

align="center"

| 1

| Montana State

| 120 (10)

align="center"

| 2

| UC Davis

| 96 (1)

align="center"

| 3

| Sacramento State

| 94 (1)

align="center"

| 4

| Weber State

| 91

align="center"

| 5

| Idaho

| 89

align="center"

| 6

| Montana

| 84

align="center"

| 7

| Eastern Washington

| 52

align="center"

| 8

| Portland State

| 45

align="center"

| 9

| Northern Arizona

| 44

align="center"

| 10

| Northern Colorado

| 37

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| 11

| Cal Poly

| 25

align="center"

| 12

| Idaho State

| 15

class="wikitable" style="display: inline-table;"

|+Media poll

align="center"

{{CollegeSecondaryHeader|team=Northern Arizona Lumberjacks|Predicted finish|Team|Votes (1st place)}}

align="center"

| 1

| Montana State

| 447 (26)

align="center"

| 2

| Idaho

| 410 (8)

align="center"

| 3

| Montana

| 359 (2)

align="center"

| 4

| Sacramento State

| 334 (3)

align="center"

| 5

| UC Davis

| 330

align="center"

| 6

| Weber State

| 320

align="center"

| 7

| Eastern Washington

| 216

align="center"

| 8

| Northern Arizona

| 178

align="center"

| 9

| Portland State

| 167

align="center"

| 10

| Northern Colorado

| 109

align="center"

| 11

| Cal Poly

| 103

align="center"

| 12

| Idaho State

| 69

Schedule

{{CFB schedule

| rankyear = 2023

| rankdivision = NCAA Division I FCS

| poll = STATS

| timezone = Mountain

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 2

| time = 7:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| nonconf = y

| away = y

| opponent = Arizona

| site_stadium = Arizona Stadium

| site_cityst = Tucson, AZ

| tv = P12N

| score = 3–38

| attend = 48,159

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 9

| time = 1:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| nonconf = y

| away = y

| opprank = 17

| opponent = North Dakota

| site_stadium = Alerus Center

| site_cityst = Grand Forks, ND

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 22–37

| attend = 10,009

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 16

| time = 1:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Utah Tech

| site_stadium = Walkup Skydome

| site_cityst = Flagstaff, AZ

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 36–50

| attend = 7,102

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 23

| time = 1:00 p.m.

| w/l = w

| opponent = Montana

| opprank = 13

| site_stadium = Walkup Skydome

| site_cityst = Flagstaff, AZ

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 28–14

| attend = 6,428

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 30

| time = 6:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| away = y

| opponent = Sacramento State

| opprank = 8

| site_stadium = Hornet Stadium

| site_cityst = Sacramento, CA

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 30–31

| attend = 12,549

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 7

| time = 6:00 p.m.

| w/l = w

| away = y

| opponent = Weber State

| opprank = 13

| site_stadium = Stewart Stadium

| site_cityst = Ogden, UT

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 27–10

| attend = 7,694

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 14

| time = 1:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| opponent = Portland State

| site_stadium = Walkup Skydome

| site_cityst = Flagstaff, AZ

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 21–45

| attend = 9,713

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 28

| time = 1:00 p.m.

| w/l = w

| homecoming = y

| opponent = UC Davis

| opprank = 25

| site_stadium = Walkup Skydome

| site_cityst = Flagstaff, AZ

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 38–21

| attend = 6,931

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 4

| time = 12:00 p.m.

| w/l = l

| away = y

| opponent = Montana State

| opprank = 6

| site_stadium = Bobcat Stadium

| site_cityst = Bozeman, MT

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 21–45

| attend = 21,297

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 11

| time = 1:00 p.m.

| w/l = w

| opponent = Northern Colorado

| site_stadium = Walkup, Skydome

| site_cityst = Flagstaff, AZ

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 28–7

| attend = 6,003

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 18

| time = 2:00 p.m.

| w/l = w

| away = y

| opponent = Eastern Washington

| site_stadium = Roos Field

| site_cityst = Cheney, WA

| tv = ESPN+

| score = 49–42

| attend = 4,078

}}

{{cite web |title=2023 Northern Arizona Football Schedule |url=https://fbschedules.com/2023-northern-arizona-football-schedule/ |website=FBSchedules |access-date=7 March 2023}}

Game summaries

=at Arizona=

{{Americanfootballbox

|bg=#fff

|bg2=#eee

|titlestyle= {{CollegeSecondaryStyle|Northern Arizona Lumberjacks}};text-align:center

|state=autocollapse

|title=Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0–0) vs Arizona Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary

|date=September 2, 2023

|time=7:00 p.m.

|road=Lumberjacks

|R1=0|R2=3|R3=0|R4=0

|home=Wildcats

|H1=7|H2=7|H3=21|H4=3

|stadium=Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ

|attendance=48,159

|weather=Sunny, {{convert|88|F|C}}

|referee=Cravonne Barrett

|TV=Pac-12 Network

|TVAnnouncers= J. B. Long (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst)

|scoring=

;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)

}}

class="wikitable" style="float: left;" ! Statistics !! style="{{CollegeSecondaryStyle\|Northern Arizona Lumberjacks\|border=1}}"\|NAU!!style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle\|Arizona Wildcats\|border=1\|color=white}}"\|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

class="wikitable" style="float: right;" ! Team !! Category !! Player !! Statistics
rowspan=3 style="{{CollegeSecondaryStyle\|Northern Arizona Lumberjacks\|border=1}}; text-align:center;"\|Northern Arizona	Passing	Kai Millner	14/22, 166 yards
Rushing	T. J. McDaniel	14 carries, 56 yards
Receiving	Coleman Owen	5 receptions, 90 yards
rowspan=3 style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle\|Arizona Wildcats\|border=1\|color=white}}; text-align:center;"\|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 =

{{Americanfootballbox

|bg=#fff

|bg2=#eee

|titlestyle={{CollegeSecondaryStyle|Northern Arizona Lumberjacks}}; ;text-align:center;

|state=collapsed

|title=Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1–3) at No. 8 Sacramento State Hornets (3–1) – Game summary

|date= September 30, 2023

|time= 6:00 p.m. PST

|road=Lumberjacks

|R1=7 |R2=14 |R3=7 |R4=2

|home=No. 8 Hornets

|H1=14 |H2=10 |H3=0 |H4=7

|stadium=Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, CA

|attendance=12,549

|weather={{convert|67|°F|°C}} • 0 mph • Cloudy

|referee=Gregg Wilson

|TV= KMAX-TV/ESPN+

|TVAnnouncers=Play-by-Play: Jason Ross, Jr. • Analysis: Darren Arbet

|reference=

|scoring=

;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)

|stats=

;Line

SAC –20.0

;Over/Under

59.5

}}

class="wikitable" style="float: left;" ! Statistics !! style="{{CollegeSecondaryStyle\|Northern Arizona Lumberjacks}}"\|NAU!!style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle\|Sacramento State Hornets}}"\|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

class="wikitable" style="float: right;" ! Team !! Category !! Player !! Statistics
rowspan=3 style="{{CollegeSecondaryStyle\|Northern Arizona Lumberjacks}}; text-align:center;"\|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
rowspan=3 style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle\|Sacramento State Hornets}}; text-align:center;"\|Sacramento State	Passing	rowspan="2"\|Kaiden Bennett	18/27, 257 yards, TD
Rushing	22 carries, 76 yards
Receiving	Jared Gipson	5 receptions, 108 yards

References

Northern Arizona

Category:Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football seasons

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football