1977 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

The 1977 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 1977 NCAA Division II football season. In their third year under head coach Joe Salem, the Lumberjacks compiled a 9–3 record (5–1 against conference opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 324 to 204, and finished second out of seven teams in the Big Sky.[1]

1977 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record9–3 (5–1 Big Sky)
Head coach
Home stadiumLumberjack Stadium, NAU Ensphere
1977 Big Sky Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. T–5 Boise State $ 6 –0 –09 –2 –0
No. T–5 Northern Arizona ^ 5 –1 –09 –3 –0
Montana State 3 –3 –06 –4 –0
Weber State 2 –4 –04 –6 –0
Idaho State 2 –4 –03 –8 –0
Idaho 2 –4 –03 –8 –0
Montana 1 –5 –04 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • Boise State concluded its regular season after the NCAA Division II playoffs started; runner-up Northern Arizona was awarded playoff bid.
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll

The team played its season and home opener on September 3 at Lumberjack Stadium before moving to the newly-constructed NAU Ensphere, later renamed the Walkup Skydome, in Flagstaff, Arizona.[2] The first game in the new stadium was played on September 17 against Montana.[1]

The Lumberjacks earned a berth in the 1977 NCAA Division II Playoffs, losing in the first round to Jacksonville State.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 3Augustana (SD)*
W 31–30  8,250
September 10at Idaho State
W 28–7  7,200
September 17Montana
W 25–2412,860
September 24at Weber State
W 36–1010,014
October 1at UNLV*No. 8
L 16–2013,397[3]
October 8at Cal Poly Pomona*
W 16–0  2,500
October 15Cal State Fullerton
  • NAU Ensphere
  • Flagstaff, AZ
W 24–915,988[4]
October 22at Boise State
L 13–2720,448[5]
November 5Montana State
  • NAU Ensphere
  • Flagstaff, AZ
W 28–2114,216
November 12Eastern Montana*No. T–10
  • NAU Ensphere
  • Flagstaff, AZ
W 70–010,244
November 19Nebraska–Omaha*No. T–5
  • NAU Ensphere
  • Flagstaff, AZ
W 37–2111,838
November 26 No. 9 Jacksonville State*No. T–5
L 0–35  7,500[6]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Source:[7]

Northern Arizona did not play Idaho, so a non-conference game was designated to count in the standings for each team. Both were home games against Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) opponents; Idaho lost to Pacific, while NAU defeated Cal State Fullerton.

References
  1. "2013 Northern Arizona Football Media Guide" (PDF). Northern Arizona University. 2013. p. 78. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  2. Rick Velotta (October 14, 1977). "NAU Enters Big Time This Weekend". Arizona Daily Sun – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  4. Dave Distel (October 16, 1977). "Titans Play Give Away in 24–9 Defeat". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. III-17. Retrieved February 6, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  5. "Boise downs NAU". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 23, 1977. p. 2B.
  6. "Jacksonville too quick, pummels Northern Arizona". The Arizona Republic. November 27, 1977. Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.