The 2001 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky) during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks compiled an 8–4 record (5–2 against conference opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 368 to 307, and tied for second place out of nine teams in the Big Sky.[1]
| 2001 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football | |
|---|---|
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NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 31–34 at Sam Houston State | |
| Conference | Big Sky Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | No. 16 |
| Record | 8–4 (5–2 Big Sky) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Montana $^ | 7 | – | 0 | 15 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Northern Arizona ^ | 5 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland State | 5 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana State | 4 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Washington | 3 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weber State | 2 | – | 5 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho State | 1 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacramento State | 1 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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For the third time in school history, the Lumberjacks qualified to play in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. They lost by a 34–31 score to Sam Houston State in the first round.[2]
The team played its home games at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, commonly known as the Walkup Skydome, in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The team's statistical leaders included Marcus King with 1,287 rushing yards (including 271 yards against Portland State and 248 yards against Eastern Washington) and Preston Parsons with 2,267 passing yards.[3] Linebacker Keith O'Neil received first-team All-Big Sky honors and later played four years in the National Football League.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | Cal State Northridge* | W 30–17 | 4,633 | [4] | ||||
| September 8 | Stephen F. Austin |
| W 10–3 | 7,011 | [5] | |||
| September 22 | at Southern Utah | No. 25 | W 41–12 | 6,201 | ||||
| September 29 | at No. 23 Portland State | No. 21 | L 30–33 | 7,231 | ||||
| October 6 | Idaho State |
| W 51–26 | 10,810 | ||||
| October 13 | at Weber State | No. 22 | W 42–32 | 6,893 | ||||
| October 20 | No. 2 Montana | No. 18 |
| L 37–48 | 11,387 | |||
| October 27 | at Montana State | No. 21 | W 35–28 | 10,857 | [6] | |||
| November 3 | No. 21 Eastern Washington | No. 17 |
| W 42–33 | 4,164 | |||
| November 10 | at Sacramento State | No. 16 | W 50–40 | 5,510 | ||||
| November 17 | at Oregon State | No. 13 | L 10–45 | 39,096 | ||||
| December 1 | at No. 13 Sam Houston State | No. 15 | L 31–34 | 8,134 | [7] | |||
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References
edit- ^ "2013 Northern Arizona Football Media Guide" (PDF). Northern Arizona University. 2013. p. 79. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- ^ 2013 Media Guide, p. 17.
- ^ 2013 Media Guide, p. 64.
- ^ Gary Fox (August 31, 2001). "Big-time finish carries NAU in opener". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. p. C11. Retrieved October 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Zack Hall (September 9, 2001). "Ugly, but it counts". Arizona Daily Sun. pp. B1, B6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Zack Hall (October 28, 2001). "What starts well, ends well". Arizona Daily Sun. pp. B1, B6.
- ^ Zack Hall (December 2, 2001). "Season slips away". Arizona Daily Sun. pp. B1, B7 – via Newspapers.com.
