NAU football faces another tough Big Sky test at Idaho State

No. 19 Northern Arizona travels to No. 14 Idaho State on Saturday, Oct. 3, in another Big Sky Conference showdown between FCS top 20 football teams.

The Lumberjacks (3-2 overall, 2-1 conference) dropped last week's game at No. 1 Montana State, 28-14.

Idaho State (4-0, 1-0 conference) defeated Southern Utah 28-24 last week. The Bengals have climbed into the top 15 of both FCS polls.

The Bengals enter the game with their best start in 31 years. That included an impressive 29-17 victory over FBS Utah State to start the 2026 season. The Bengals last opened a season 4-0 in 1995.

Idaho State has won eight consecutive games dating back to last season.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Jordan Cooke has thrown for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Idaho State leads the Big Sky and ranks eighth nationally with 38.5 points a game. Chedon James, a fifth-year senior receiver, has recorded 17 receptions for 310 yards and four touchdowns.

Against Southern Utah, the Bengals amassed 242 rushing yards, a season high. Sophomore running back Tytan Mason had four yards on 10 carries.

"They're very efficient on offense with a really good quarterback, good receivers," NAU head coach Brian Wright said in an NAU press release. "They've found a way to run the football when they want to."

Defensively, Idaho State ranks seventh nationally in passing yards allowed at just 144 yards a game.

NAU quarterback Ty Pennington has completed 61% of his passes for 1,047 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. NAU has also struggled converting their third-down attempts, ranking last in the Big Sky converting only 26%.

NAU has won four straight against Idaho State and 14 out of the last 15 meetings dating back to 2005. The Bengals last victory over NAU came in 2018.

The matchup will mark the second of a three-game stretch against nationally ranked opponents for NAU. After, the Lumberjacks will return to Flagstaff to face No. 2 Montana on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. MST.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NAU football faces another tough Big Sky test at Idaho State