Week 5 - #8 Sac State vs Northern Arizona
The 8th ranked Hornets (3-1, 0-1 BSC) host the revived Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-3, 1-0 BSC) in Hornet Stadium in which the Hornets are looking to get back to their winning ways. Head Coach Chris Ball and his Lumberjack program is looking to turn the corner in his 4th season at the helm.
The Jacks looked absolutely hapless through the first three games of the season as they fell behind in blowout fashion each game. NAU opened the season with a 3-28 drubbing at Arizona, followed by a 22-37 whooping at North Dakota and followed that up with an embarrassing home opening 36-50 loss to Utah Tech. It wasn’t until last week that the Jack fortunes turned in Flagstaff as they dominated an overrated 13th ranked Montana in a 28-14 win that was never in question.
The NAU offense runs the standard run-pass option out of the shotgun/pistol. The Jacks like to pull linemen on both the run and play action. They use a lot of misdirection with fly sweeps and counters to get a player into open field on the edge. True freshman quarterback Adam Damante (48/67, 483 yds, 3 TD, 4 INT) has injected new life into this offense. The play calling on passing plays is such that it is the short quick outs and play action passes to the tight end underneath to aid the development of the young quarterback. NAU does take the occasional shot down the field and has run some trickery to get points. The primary receiving target is Coleman Owen (20 rec, 270 yds, 1 TD) and 5 other receivers have at least 6 receptions. On the ground, Devon Starling (57 car, 252 yds, 2 TD, 5 rec, 42 yds) is the primary running back. Up front, NAU’s offensive line isn’t very big but they are athletic enough to pull and get out to the edge to make their blocks. NAU has shown to run temp at times to catch defenses off guard.
Offensive Team Stats
Defensively, the Jack operate out of the 3-3 and until last week, struggled to keep opponents out of the endzone. The NAU defense does a good job of finding the ball at the line of scrimmage and gang tackling to minimize long runs. NAU has gotten after the quarterback as they often bring a delayed rush from one of the edges to disrupt the passing game. Nickelback Alex McLaughlin (31 tak, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sac, 1 INT) leads the defense in tackles with defensive end Eloi Kwete (17 tak, 5 TFL, 4.5 sac) being a complete wrecking ball in the backfield.
Defensive Team Stats
On special teams, NAU has been abysmal in the kicking game. Kicker Marcus Lye (2/6 FG, 9/9 PAT) has struggled with accuracy but he has a long of 49 yards on the year and had one field goal blocked in week 1 at Arizona. Punter Eemil Herranen (16 pnt, 39.5 ypp) has a good hang time and a booming leg to boot and on the other end the Jacks blocked a punt last week that set the tone of their upset win. In the return game, NAU is averaging about 20 yards per kickoff return with Draycen Hall and George Steele splitting the duties.
Hornet Team Stats
Position Advantage
As a team, the Hornets have more talent than NAU but the Hornets can’t sleepwalk through this game and expect an easy win. I had this as a blowout win, however last week's performance against a middle of the road Montana team at home showed the potential that this Lumberjack squad has. NAU isn’t flashy, and they have to run trick plays to stretch the field on offense, but the capability of an upset is there if the Hornets are caught overlooking this game dreaming of their bye week vacation plans. I don’t think that happens, especially after the let down in Moscow last week. My money is on the Hornets coming out looking to make a statement and they take care of business against an overmatched opponent. Hornets win comfortably this weekend at home in front of a big crowd.
Stingers Up!
Montana at NAU Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZ0t72c9Gk
Edit: Added the link to the box score for the NAU-UM game.
The 8th ranked Hornets (3-1, 0-1 BSC) host the revived Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-3, 1-0 BSC) in Hornet Stadium in which the Hornets are looking to get back to their winning ways. Head Coach Chris Ball and his Lumberjack program is looking to turn the corner in his 4th season at the helm.
The Jacks looked absolutely hapless through the first three games of the season as they fell behind in blowout fashion each game. NAU opened the season with a 3-28 drubbing at Arizona, followed by a 22-37 whooping at North Dakota and followed that up with an embarrassing home opening 36-50 loss to Utah Tech. It wasn’t until last week that the Jack fortunes turned in Flagstaff as they dominated an overrated 13th ranked Montana in a 28-14 win that was never in question.
The NAU offense runs the standard run-pass option out of the shotgun/pistol. The Jacks like to pull linemen on both the run and play action. They use a lot of misdirection with fly sweeps and counters to get a player into open field on the edge. True freshman quarterback Adam Damante (48/67, 483 yds, 3 TD, 4 INT) has injected new life into this offense. The play calling on passing plays is such that it is the short quick outs and play action passes to the tight end underneath to aid the development of the young quarterback. NAU does take the occasional shot down the field and has run some trickery to get points. The primary receiving target is Coleman Owen (20 rec, 270 yds, 1 TD) and 5 other receivers have at least 6 receptions. On the ground, Devon Starling (57 car, 252 yds, 2 TD, 5 rec, 42 yds) is the primary running back. Up front, NAU’s offensive line isn’t very big but they are athletic enough to pull and get out to the edge to make their blocks. NAU has shown to run temp at times to catch defenses off guard.
Offensive Team Stats
- Points scored per game: 22.3 (10th BSC / 70th FCS)
- Total Offense: 386.5 ypg (136.3 rushing ypg / 250.3 passing ypg) - 5th (9th / 4th) BSC
- Sacks Allowed: 6 (T-5th BSC)
- Turnovers: 5/4 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone: 8/11 - 6/2 (TD/FG) - 10th BSC
Defensively, the Jack operate out of the 3-3 and until last week, struggled to keep opponents out of the endzone. The NAU defense does a good job of finding the ball at the line of scrimmage and gang tackling to minimize long runs. NAU has gotten after the quarterback as they often bring a delayed rush from one of the edges to disrupt the passing game. Nickelback Alex McLaughlin (31 tak, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sac, 1 INT) leads the defense in tackles with defensive end Eloi Kwete (17 tak, 5 TFL, 4.5 sac) being a complete wrecking ball in the backfield.
Defensive Team Stats
- Points allowed per game: 34.8 (9th BSC / 87th FCS)
- Total Defense: 486.8 ypg (106.5 rushing ypg / 280.3 passing ypg) - 8th (3rd / 11th) BSC
- Sacks : 10 (T-4th BSC)
- Turnovers: 2/2 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone: 13/14 - 10/3 (TD/FG) - 11th BSC
On special teams, NAU has been abysmal in the kicking game. Kicker Marcus Lye (2/6 FG, 9/9 PAT) has struggled with accuracy but he has a long of 49 yards on the year and had one field goal blocked in week 1 at Arizona. Punter Eemil Herranen (16 pnt, 39.5 ypp) has a good hang time and a booming leg to boot and on the other end the Jacks blocked a punt last week that set the tone of their upset win. In the return game, NAU is averaging about 20 yards per kickoff return with Draycen Hall and George Steele splitting the duties.
Hornet Team Stats
- Points scored per game: 32.3 (3rd BSC / T-25th FCS)
- Points allowed per game: 22.3 (4th BSC / 36th FCS)
- Total Offense: 424.3 ypg (183.5 rushing ypg / 240.8 passing ypg) - 3rd (3rd / 6th) BSC
- Total Defense: 327.0 ypg (149.8 rushing ypg / 177.3 passing ypg) - 3rd (7th / 3rd) BSC
- Turnovers: 4/1 (INT/Fum)
- Turnovers Forced: 4/2 (INT/Fum)
- Redzone Offense: 17/18 - 12/5 (TD/FG) - T-1st BSC
- Redzone Defense: 9/12 - 5/4 (TD/FG) - 2nd BSC
Position Advantage
- Quarterback: Hornets. Kaiden Bennett is the better athlete compared to Adam Damante. Both quarterbacks force the ball into coverage.
- Running Backs: Hornets. Marcus Fulcher is a more explosive runner compared to Devon Starling.
- Wide Receivers: Hornets. The Hornets have better playmakers, but the Jacks have just as good possession receivers.
- Tight Ends: Jacks. A healthy Marcus Phillip Jr is more effective than an unhealthy Marshel Martin by a wide margin.
- Offensive Line: Push. Hornet offensive line needs a resounding response from the punking they received a week ago or the outlook for the Hornets gets grim.
- Defensive Line: Push. Eloi Kwete will be the best lineman on the field, but the Hornets are collectively a better pass rushing unit.
- Linebackers: Jacks. Heston Lameta and Tommy Ellis play the run better than Aarmon Bailey and Brock Mather.
- Defensive Backs: Hornets. The Hornet secondary gives up less yardage per game and has allowed half as many touchdowns compared to the Jacks secondary. The Jacks secondary is better against the run.
- Punters: Push. Australia’s Cal McGough vs Finland's Eemil Herranen, 2 punters enter but only one will emerge with global bragging rights…
- Kickers: Hornets. Marcus Lye has struggled, Zach Schriener has not.
- Kick Returners: Push. Neither team has done anything notable in the kick return game this season.
As a team, the Hornets have more talent than NAU but the Hornets can’t sleepwalk through this game and expect an easy win. I had this as a blowout win, however last week's performance against a middle of the road Montana team at home showed the potential that this Lumberjack squad has. NAU isn’t flashy, and they have to run trick plays to stretch the field on offense, but the capability of an upset is there if the Hornets are caught overlooking this game dreaming of their bye week vacation plans. I don’t think that happens, especially after the let down in Moscow last week. My money is on the Hornets coming out looking to make a statement and they take care of business against an overmatched opponent. Hornets win comfortably this weekend at home in front of a big crowd.
Stingers Up!
Montana at NAU Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZ0t72c9Gk
Edit: Added the link to the box score for the NAU-UM game.