Arizona vs. Northern Arizona: Prediction, Preview, and Betting Odds
Week two of the college football season is here. Arizona plays Northern Arizona and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview and betting odds ahead of the match up.
GAME INFO
Saturday, Sept. 7; 9 p.m. (CT); Arizona Stadium; Tucson, Ariz.
TV: ESPN+
Records: Arizona, 1-0; Northern Arizona, 1-0.
Last Week: Arizona def. New Mexico, 61-39; Northern Arizona def. Lincoln (CA), 66-6.
Series History: Arizona leads series, 16-2.
Last Meeting: Arizona def. NAU, 38-3 (2023).
Fun Fact: Both teams have new head coaches. Arizona’s Brent Brennan was once a graduate assistant for the Wildcats, and his brother played football for them. Brian Wright is the new coach at NAU. He led the Division II Pittsburg State Gorillas to two straight playoff berths before taking over the Lumberjacks.
Arizona vs Northern Arizona Betting Lines and Odds
Opening Line: Arizona (-28)
Over/Under: 63.5
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
RB Seth Cromwell
Wright’s experience with Pittsburg State gave him some credibility with some of the top players in the division. That includes Cromwell, who played for Missouri Western last year and in the same conference as the Gorillas. He was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year after he rushed for 758 yards and 18 touchdowns. He gained less than 50 yards rushing last week, but he didn’t play the entire game due to the lopsided nature of the contest.
DB Alex McLaughlin
Experience can be hard to come by during coaching transitions, but Johnson is one of last year’s Lumberjacks that stayed and Wright is glad he did. He was an FCS Freshman All-American after he finished 2023 with 71 tackles (34 solo), four interceptions (which led NAU), six pass-breakups, five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He faced Arizona in last year’s meeting and had 10 tackles with two pass-breakups.
Arizona Wildcats
RB Quali Conley
The Wildcats are trying to figure out their running back situation. As many as four backs could touch the ball early this season until they figure it out. Conley made a strong case against New Mexico as he rushed for nearly 100 yards and scored three touchdowns. This week’s game is likely to answer rotation questions. It’s the game following — against Kansas State — that will probably help answer those questions.
LB Jacob Manu
Arizona’s defense was not at its best last week, as it gave up more than 400 total yards and 31 points to the Lobos, who are now 0-2 on the season. Against New Mexico he had seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. He’s coming off an All-Pac-12 season in which he had 116 tackles, including 45 solo. He is on the Senior Bowl watch list and is considered one of the top linebackers in the Big 12.
KEY STORYLINES
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
The Lumberjacks haven’t won a playoff game in FCS since 2003 and are coming off a 5-6 season before Wright took over in the offseason. The Big Sky Conference is one of the toughest FCS conferences, and NAU faces an uphill climb in joining the ranks of the best in the league. The win over Lincoln really didn’t tell the Lumberjacks much about how they’ll measure up with Arizona or Big Sky opponents.
Arizona Wildcats
The incredible performance of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is all the talk of the Big 12 and, quite frankly, the country. He’s about the only player that was able to overshadow what Colorado’s Travis Hunter did in Week 1. The bigger issue for Arizona right now is the defense, which gave up more than 400 yards in offense to a Lobos team that lost to nationally-ranked Montana State the week before. So, yes, quarterback Noah Fifita needs to spread the ball around more. But the defense needs to sharpen up to prepare for the Big 12 games that are coming.
PREDICTION: Arizona 67, Northern Arizona 20
This will be more lopsided than last week’s opening win over New Mexico. NAU beat an unaffiliated team last week and is working with a new head coach. The Wildcats should have this in the bag by the third quarter.
