Records entering the game: The Jacks enter with the better record, 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference. The Vikings will be looking to improve on their season and conference marks of 2-4 and 1-3, respectively.
Last year’s meeting: 37-17, Northern Arizona. Quarterback Drew Hubel was not able to find his rhythm and had to be replaced by Tygue Howland. A concrete wall of Arizona defenders allowed a net negative 14 yards rushing. The defense also racked up 10 sacks and created three Portland State turnovers.
Kavanaugh gets his chance: With starting quarterback Drew Hubel expected to sit this one out because of a knee injury, sophomore backup Connor Kavanaugh will get the nod. He has good scrambling ability, adding another dimension to the offense. Entering this game, he has eight completions on 13 attempts with one interception, for a total of 73 yards. He has not had a pass over 23 yards, which could work against his long-distance receivers.
Scouting the Lumberjacks: It would not be an exaggeration to say that Northern Arizona comes into this game with more momentum than any other team in the conference, even the still-perfect Montana. The Jacks are coming off a huge win over Montana State with a victory margin of 13 points.
Quarterback Michael Herrick’s 170.2 passer rating is the highest in the conference and his main target, Ed Berry, just surpassed Portland State’s Ray Fry to lead the Big Sky with 111.4 receiving yards per game.
Scouting the Vikings: The defense will have their work cut out for them in this game. Not only do they have the pass to contend with, they have to stop the run: Northern Arizona running back Alex Henderson is averaging 89.6 yards per game.
The Vikings have had success this season bottling up big runners and, from what could be seen at practice this week, this game should not be an exception. Linebacker Erik Pedersen was back in practice on Thursday after being out for surgery to repair a broken bone in his hand and should be in tomorrow’s game.
Kavanaugh will get a couple of breaks with this game. The Jacks—along with the Viks—have the worst pass defense efficiencies in the conference. Northern Arizona is also allowing their opponents to convert on third down 55.2 percent of the time, which is something the Vikings have struggled to do against other defenses.