NAU headed to FCS playoffs for 1st time since 2013
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The Northern Arizona football team earned an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, it was announced Sunday, and will host the San Diego in the first round.
The Lumberjacks and Toreros will meet at 6 p.m. Saturday at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
NAU, which finished the regular season 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference, will make its first playoff appearance since 2013 and the sixth in the program’s history. This season’s postseason berth is the fifth under current NAU head coach Jerome Souers.
“I am elated for all members of the program who fought through an 0-2 start and the adversity our program faced this season to keep focus, come back, compete and earn this opportunity,” Souers said.
“We have been on the fringe and on the outside looking in during previous seasons. It is tough being a bubble team. We play in a strong conference with a lot of good teams that were very deserving. The selection committee has a truly difficult job. I am glad they rewarded us for our difficult schedule and we are excited to have the opportunity to move forward in the postseason.”
The winner of Saturday’s game will travel to No. 2 seed North Dakota State on Dec. 2 in Fargo, N.D. The Bison claimed five consecutive FCS championships from 2011-15. James Madison won the 2016 FCS title and is the No. 1 seed in this year’s playoff bracket.
San Diego captured an automatic playoff bid after winning the Pioneer League regular season championship with a 9-2 overall record and a perfect 8-0 conference mark.
The Toreros will make their third postseason appearance in the last four seasons and own a 2-1 playoff record in that span. San Diego defeated Cal Poly in the first round in 2016 before falling to North Dakota State. In 2014, the Toreros dropped an opening-round matchup at Montana.
