Northern Arizona had a chance to finish a game that should have been theirs running away against UC Davis in their last venture onto the football field. They had the strong running game that the Aggies defense seemed like they couldn’t stop. It was supposed to be keeping UC Davis one dimensional and make quarterback Ben Scott make the mistakes the Lumberjack defense were supposed to take advantage of. Instead, they had a tie game going in the second half and found a way to blow it giving up two touchdowns in the third quarter that turned into the difference in the game. Losing to a winless team is something that coach Jerome Souers knows is unacceptable, and with Weber State coming to play at the Skydome this Saturday, he knows the team cannot afford to come showing up with their pants down again.
Home Cooking a Saving Grace
NAU’s two losses in conference have come on the road against Montana and UC Davis this season. With Weber State coming to Flagstaff the Jacks may be able to use their home field advantage in their game plan. The Wildcats have not been in Flagstaff and had to deal with the 7,000 feet elevation since 2010. The readjustment that those players, particularly on the defense, will have to make to ensure they have the proper amount of oxygen and reps during drives is going to be telling. If the players from Weber State are not jogging to the oxygen tanks by the middle of the second quarter, I would be tickled impressed. And the Jacks have had a strong showing from their offense in the two games they have had at home so far. Against Montana State the Jacks scored 49 points in a nail biter that was a challenge for the team as the defense gave up 27 points to the Bobcats in the second half. Against New Mexico Highlands the Jacks put up a dominating 41 to 5 beat down that showed promise for the team. If the men on the squad look to rekindle that hope they need to rely on their past dominance in the Skydome as well as the heated homecoming crowd that will be behind them during the contest.
Keep Weber’s Offense Pedestrian
While the Wildcats of Weber State have shown early signs of being the class of the Big Sky, their offense continues to show desperate signs of improvement. Of the thirteen teams in the conference, Weber State ranks 12th in total scoring and total yards. The defense has definitely kept the Wildcats competitive with their scoring defense ranking in at 6th and total defense 5th. While NAU has had their problems as of late with sealing wins they have not found it difficult to put points on the board thus far. If quarterback Case Cookus can lead the unit down the field early and often it is likely that Weber State won’t be able to match the squad point for point in a shootout capacity. That being said, NAU’s 11th ranked pass defense and 9th best run defense may just give Weber State the openings they need to get back in the game if NAU continues to show those late game breakdowns that have become common in the past weeks.
Referee’s Watching Weber
Weber State may not shock people with the numbers they gain or give up between whistles, their certainly raising eyebrows with the lack of composure they’ve played with this season. The team has an astonishing 46 penalties thus far this year, raking up a total of 472 total yards just through seven games. Those 67 average penalty yards may have done more damage to this Weber State team then any defense or offense they have faced this year. If the Lumberjacks can find a way to keep the attention off of them and their also high total of 38 penalties on the year, the Wildcats may just pin themselves into a bad spot or even give NAU the breaks they’ll need to milk the clock and continue on with drives. Either way, the game could turn into a long and drawn out process with how much these two teams like to stretch the rule book to the breaking points this season.
The game will kick off in Flagstaff at 4:00 PM on October the 24th.