Northern Arizona goes for home win streak record vs Incarnate Word

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-1) could set two new marks on Saturday, Sept. 20.

NAU returns to Flagstaff looking to extend its current win streak to three and set a new program record nine home wins against the Incarnate Word Cardinals (1-2). NAU is No. 19 and UIW is No. 14 in this week’s FCS rankings.

Kickoff is at 2 p.m., streaming on ESPN+.

NAU and UIW’s upcoming meeting is the second of their four-game home-and-home series. UIW won the last season’s first game at home against NAU, 38-14.

“It was maybe the roughest game we had (last year) and they had a really good football team and I give them a lot of credit because they outplayed, outcoached and outexecuted us,” NAU coach Brian Wright said, according to an NAU press release. “We learned a lot last year and carried that through the rest of the season a year ago, but that was then.

“We’re headed in a good direction, but we have to make a lot of improvement to play them this Saturday,” Wright added.

Here’s how you can view and listen to the Sept. 20 game:

Streaming: ESPN+Radio: NBC Sports (KDUS 1060 AM, Phoenix), 93.5 FM and 930 AM (KAFF, Flagstaff), ESPN (KFFN 104.9 FM/1490 AM, Tucson)

What NAU did vs. Southern Utah

Led by quarterback Ty Pennington, the Big Sky Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week, NAU’s coming off a thrilling 52-49 road victory at Southern Utah on Sept. 13. NAU won the Grand Canyon Trophy in the teams’ renewed rivalry, which was their first meeting since 2021.

That followed NAU’s Week 2 home-opening win against Utah Tech 38-31 on Sept. 6. That victory matched the Lumberjacks’ longest winning streak of eight home wins dating back to 2023 at the Walkup Skydome. The record of nine was set in 1979.

Against Southern Utah, Pennington went 20-of-31 for 366 yards and had three touchdowns. NAU piled on a 28-point third quarter for a 42-28 advantage entering the fourth. Southern Utah scored three unanswered touchdowns.

NAU won the shootout with major contributions from running back Seth Cromwell’s 87 yards on 12 carries and two TDs, including his second TD and a two-point conversion pass to wideout Jayson Raines that put NAU back on top, 50-49, with 29 seconds left. Then NAU sealed the victory with a safety.

“Great teams find a way to win, even when the ball doesn’t bounce your way or you find yourself second-and-22 at the end (of Saturday’s game),” Wright said. “Championship caliber teams find a way to win in gritty moments like that. That builds confidence and I’m happy with that.

“On the flip side of that, we know we have to put ourselves in better positions. Play better, finish better in order to have success throughout the remainder of this schedule,” Wright added.

What to know about Incarnate Word

UIW, which plays in the Southland Conference, was routed last week at Texas-San Antonio, 48-20. The Cardinals’ quarterback Richard Torres has started all three games, averaging 206.0 passing yards per game at a 68.8% completion rate. Both marks rank him in the top 30 in the country. UIW’s UCF transfer EJ Colson is their backup QB, and produced 17-of-24 passes for 213 yards and three TDs when he replaced Torres against UTSA.

The Cardinals top receiver Chedon James is one of the FCS’ best at that position, ranked No. 9 with 21 catches and No. 19 with 249 receiving yards. James had eight receptions for 134 yards and three TDs against UTSA.