It’s been a long off week, but Arizona Football (1-0) returns, and so does our weekly preview of their upcoming opponent, this week it’s NAU!
Losing sucks, and after Arizona Football lost to Hawaii to start the season, it’s certainly brought some of the worst out in fans, myself included. As Arizona came up just a yard short in their comeback attempt against the Rainbow Warriors, it’s led to a hellacious week, making fans feel as if the world is ending.
Rational? Irrational? Well, that’s a bit difficult say since it’s still incredibly early in the year, and there’s still a lot of football left to be played fortunately.
Arizona Wildcats
However, that doesn’t change the fact that expectations were relatively high coming in, and Arizona entered the opening week as 11-point favorites, only to disappoint and come up short… literally.
Nonetheless, through just one game, we are learning that this team may yet have a ways to go and there’s a lot of things needed to either be fixed or improved upon, and quickly!
Luckily, Arizona had their first bye week of the season, and this allowed them to have ample time to get some of those things figured out hopefully. More importantly, they will now have their easiest match-up of the season as they prepare to take on Division-1AA opponent, and in-state rival, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
That’s certainly no knock on NAU, nor is it a game that Arizona should essentially lose focus and take it easy. No, but in reality, this is a game the Wildcats should have absolutely no problems in winning, and this will be a great chance to get more guys reps, and hopefully get this team another step closer to where they need to be. Especially if the Cats are going to be able to turn this thing around! So let’s take a look!
Know Thy Foe:
Team: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-0)
Conference: Big Sky Conference
2018 Record: 4-6 (3-4); beat North Dakota 31-16 to end the season.
Head Coach: Chris Ball enters his first season as the head coach of the Lumberjacks after previously serving as a defensive coordinator at ASU from 2012-15 and the defensive coordinator for Memphis from 2016-18.
Key Returners/ Starters: It’s no secret the Lumberjacks are led offensively by senior quarterback Case Cookus, and in his career at NAU, he’s been pretty darn good. He’s got NFL arm talent, and the senior has certainly displayed that in his career, throwing for over 8,000 yards with 76 touchdowns to just 14 interceptions so far.
Additionally, they have some solid receivers that could really challenge the Cats vertically in Brandon Porter, true freshman Hendrix Johnson who has been a pleasant surprise thus far, and Stacy Chukwumezie has been pretty good as well. Together, the three combined for 12 receptions for 254 yards.
Defensively, the Lumberjacks seem pretty solid albeit a bit undersized, so this should benefit the Cats. However, NAU definitely has some athletes, and seem to be led by former local football star, Harrison Beemiller, a linebacker from Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson. The Lumberjacks also have some pretty good linebackers, so best watch out for guys like; Brandon Worthy and Carson Taylor.
Also as we said, NAU is also a bit undersized on the defensive line, so this is a game that Arizona should be able to dominate in the trenches, and really be able to establish the running game… or at least hopefully.
Key Injuries: CB – Lorenzo Burns is questionable for Saturday’s game, after suffering a concussion against Hawaii.
Game Information:
When: Saturday, September 7th, 2019
Time: 7:45 PM MST
Watch: Pac-12 Network
Where: Arizona Stadium (Tucson, AZ)
Spread: TBD
Overall Series Record: 14-1 Arizona. The Wildcats have a fairly lengthy history with their in-state rival, and hold a dominating, 14-1 series lead. Arizona currently holds a 13-game winning streak, with their last loss coming in 1932, when Arizona lost 7-6 in Phoenix.
Last Meeting vs. Arizona: Arizona beat NAU in Tucson, trouncing the Lumberjacks en route to the 62-24 win, in which the Wildcats ran for 506 yards.
My Prediction: Arizona 52 Northern Arizona 24. Arizona will win, and win relatively big. I don’t see NAU really competing, as they don’t have the athletes that Arizona does, nor do I see NAU winning this one.
Arizona will get things going early and will cruise to the comfortable win. Look for some younger to get reps and Arizona get a little tuned up for their game before they take on Texas Tech the following week!
Watch coach Sumlin as he discusses the Wildcats ahead of their week two match-up!
At Zona Zealots, we’re hoping for a better result in week two for the Wildcats and hope they can find some answers and get better! As always, Bear Down, Arizona and Beat the Lumberjacks!