After spending the last three weeks on the road, Northern Arizona University's football team returns to Flagstaff on Saturday, Oct. 10, to face the No. 2 Montana Grizzlies in a Big Sky Conference matchup.
The game kicks off at 2 p.m. MST at Walkup Skydome and will stream live on ESPN+.
NAU enters the game 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference after knocking off No. 12 Idaho State, 38-31, Oct. 3, in Pocatello, Idaho.
The victory was NAU's first win over an FCS ranked team in nearly three years and moved the Lumberjacks up six spots to No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS poll. They are No. 14 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. Montana (5-1, 3-0 conference) is No. 2 in the Stats Perform poll and No. 3 in the coaches poll.
The Grizzlies are the only remaining
undefeated team in Big Sky Conference play and have won their last two games by a combined score of 98-36.
The Lumberjacks closed a brutal three-game road trip with the win at Idaho State.
NAU produced a season-high 506 yards of offense, averaging 8.2 yards per play. The Bengals entered the game averaging 38.5 points a game but were held to 21 by the Lumberjacks' defense.
NAU quarterback Ty Pennington completed 21 of 27 passes for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while running back Kenveon Stone rushed for 103 yards and added two touchdowns. Tight end Jeter Purdy had a huge night, catching six passes for a career-high 146 yards and a touchdown, including an 86-yard touchdown reception that gave NAU an early lead.
The Lumberjacks have averaged 458.7 yards of total offense over their last three games, which also included another ranked opponent, Montana State.
NAU coach Brian Wright sees the game as an opportunity.
"I don't look at this as make or break," Wright said in an NAU press release. "I look at it as another opportunity against a really good team."
Wright added: "There's one team in the league right now that doesn't have any Big Sky losses and that's the team coming here that we're about to play."
Grizzlies boast potent offense
Montana is coming off a 36-14 victory over Northern Colorado after dominating UC Davis 62-22 the week before.
Montana ranks eighth nationally in the FCS in total offense at 464 yards a game and are 11th in scoring, averaging 37.2 points a game.
Senior quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat has thrown for 1,595 yards, 14 touchdowns and only one interception, so far in 2026. Senior running back Eli Gillman has rushed for 738 yards and leads the FCS with 14 total touchdowns. He recently became the Big Sky's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 60. Junior wide receiver Brooks Davis leads the FCS nationally with 772 yards and has seven touchdowns.
Recent history
NAU has won three of the last four meetings in Flagstaff. The Grizzlies and Lumberjacks have split their last eight matchups going back to 2012. Their last meeting came in 2024, as the Lumberjacks fell to the Grizzlies 31-20 in Missoula.
This week's matchup will mark the fifth game at the Skydome in the last decade in which both NAU and its opponent are ranked. The Lumberjacks went 1-3 in the previous four contests.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: No. 13 NAU football returns to Flagstaff to face No. 2 Montana
