Northern Arizona Football comes in at No. 25 in the stats and is FCS Top 25

Statistics Conduct an FCS Top 25 poll

The Northern Arizona football team found itself Monday morning in a place it hasn'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 being No. 20 on Sept. 10, 2018, 316 weeks ago.

The win 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 its first-year head coach Brian Wright which was discontinued on December 3, 2023. Saturday's win marked his 40th^Th As head coach, he took the Lumberjacks to 3-2 this year and 1-0 in the Big Sky Conference. NAU's only losses came on the road to No. 20 Arizona and No. 15/18 Incarnate Word.

The Lumberjacks have been on the rise in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches' Poll and the Stats Perform Top 25 all season, 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: 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 at the top of the poll, followed by North Dakota State.

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

Kickoff will take place in Moscow, Idaho on ESPN+ at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.