Northern Arizona football is ranked No. 25 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25

Statistics Run FCS Top 25 Poll

The Northern Arizona football team found itself Monday morning in a place it hadn’t been in 2,212 days: in the national rankings.

The Lumberjacks were ranked No. 25 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, their first national ranking since hitting No. 20 on September 10, 2018 – that was 316 weeks ago.

The performance comes two days after defeating No. 10/10 Sacramento State at home in Flagstaff by a score of 36-14. The win was convincing as the defense held the Hornets without a touchdown until the fourth quarter and had four takeaways.

Northern Arizona is led by a first-year head coach Brian Wright which was passed on December 3, 2023. Saturday’s victory marked his 40th^e as head coach, leading the Lumberjacks to 3-2 and 1-0 in Big Sky Conference play this year. NAU’s only losses are on the road to No. 20 Arizona and No. 15/18 Incarnate Word.

The Lumberjacks have been rising all season in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches’ Poll and the Stats Perform Top 25, receiving votes in the AFCA poll every week since the preseason. NAU received 22 votes this week.

Northern Arizona joins six other Big Sky Conference teams in the top 25 in No. 3 Montana State, No. 8 Montana, No. 9 UC Davis, No. 10 Idaho, No. 17 Sacramento State and Weber State (RV ). Two-time defending champion South Dakota State is in first place in the poll, followed by North Dakota State.

NAU prepares to take on another ranked opponent in No. 10/12 Idaho on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Kibbie Dome. Northern Arizona’s last road win came in 2023 at No. 22/23 Weber State, one of three ranked wins for the Lumberjacks last season as NAU has four of its last seven games against ranked FCS opponents won. In 2024, the Lumberjacks went 1-1 against ranked FCS foes.

Kickoff from Moscow, Idaho is scheduled for 2:00 PM Mountain Standard time on ESPN+.