Throughout the summer, the UNDSports.com staff will take a deeper look into the 2012 opponents for the North Dakota football team as it embarks on its first season in the Big Sky Conference.
North Dakota will look to snap a two-game Homecoming losing streak against a Northern Arizona squad that will be will be making its first trip to Grand Forks on Saturday, Oct. 13. The teams have met only twice before with both victories going the way of NAU by a wide margin as the Lumberjacks won in Flagstaff 39-10 in 1967 and 41-0 in 1985.
Jerome Souers had been the longest-tenured head coach in the Big Sky until UC Davis joined as a football-only playing member this summer. The Aggies' Bob Biggs is entering his 20th season at the school, while Souers is embarking on his 15th in Flagstaff.
Souers boasts a 76-82 career record, which includes a 4-7 campaign in 2011. Those 76 career wins are the fifth most among Big Sky coaches. His Lumberjacks were in virtually every contest a year ago as five of their seven losses were decided by eight points or less.
North Dakota will look to snap a two-game Homecoming losing streak against a Northern Arizona squad that will be will be making its first trip to Grand Forks on Saturday, Oct. 13. The teams have met only twice before with both victories going the way of NAU by a wide margin as the Lumberjacks won in Flagstaff 39-10 in 1967 and 41-0 in 1985.
Jerome Souers had been the longest-tenured head coach in the Big Sky until UC Davis joined as a football-only playing member this summer. The Aggies' Bob Biggs is entering his 20th season at the school, while Souers is embarking on his 15th in Flagstaff.
Souers boasts a 76-82 career record, which includes a 4-7 campaign in 2011. Those 76 career wins are the fifth most among Big Sky coaches. His Lumberjacks were in virtually every contest a year ago as five of their seven losses were decided by eight points or less.
Junior running back Zach Bauman is the poster child for the NAU football program and deservedly so. He was a unanimous first team All-Big Sky pick a season ago after rushing for 1,435 yards and 15 touchdowns. Bauman was the only back in league action to surpass the 1,000-yard plateau in Big Sky games as well (1,093).
Bauman's 2,494 career rushing yards are fifth most in school history and 10th most among active rushers in the FCS.
Handing the ball off to Bauman will be senior signal caller Cary Grossart, who earned honorable mention All-Big Sky accolades in his first season as the starter at NAU in 2011. He was the most efficient passer in the Big Sky (156.0) and ranked third with 249.5 passing yards per game.
Bauman and Grossart had NAU ranked second among Big Sky schools in total offense (434.5 ypg), but only sixth in scoring at 28.1 ppg.
Defensively, the Lumberjacks yielded 26.7 ppg a season ago, which was third best in the Big Sky, but NAU will have to replace its leading tackler in linebacker Scott McKeever (47 tackles) and top sack man in defensive lineman Isaac Bond (7.5 sacks).
Sophomore Craig Frum returns to his linebacking post after an impressive rookie season in which he ranked second on the team with 45 tackles. Junior defensive lineman Tim Wilkinson had seven tackles for a loss as a sophomore and added two sacks.
Bauman's 2,494 career rushing yards are fifth most in school history and 10th most among active rushers in the FCS.
Handing the ball off to Bauman will be senior signal caller Cary Grossart, who earned honorable mention All-Big Sky accolades in his first season as the starter at NAU in 2011. He was the most efficient passer in the Big Sky (156.0) and ranked third with 249.5 passing yards per game.
Bauman and Grossart had NAU ranked second among Big Sky schools in total offense (434.5 ypg), but only sixth in scoring at 28.1 ppg.
Defensively, the Lumberjacks yielded 26.7 ppg a season ago, which was third best in the Big Sky, but NAU will have to replace its leading tackler in linebacker Scott McKeever (47 tackles) and top sack man in defensive lineman Isaac Bond (7.5 sacks).
Sophomore Craig Frum returns to his linebacking post after an impressive rookie season in which he ranked second on the team with 45 tackles. Junior defensive lineman Tim Wilkinson had seven tackles for a loss as a sophomore and added two sacks.
Did You Know?
It will be the third straight season that UND's homecoming opponent will be a conference foe. The two previous opponents (Southern Utah; 2010 and Cal Poly; 2011) are now both members of the Big Sky along with UND.
Northern Arizona and North Dakota were the only two teams in the Big Sky preseason polls that fluctuated more than one spot from where they stood in the coaches' poll to where they stood in the media poll. The Lumberjacks were seventh in the coaches' poll and ninth in the media poll, while UND was 10th in the coaches' poll and sixth in the media poll.
Souers led NAU to its only Big Sky Conference title in school history in 2003. Souers was an Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalist that season. The Lumberjacks' best finish since then was a third-place showing in 2007.
It will be the third straight season that UND's homecoming opponent will be a conference foe. The two previous opponents (Southern Utah; 2010 and Cal Poly; 2011) are now both members of the Big Sky along with UND.
Northern Arizona and North Dakota were the only two teams in the Big Sky preseason polls that fluctuated more than one spot from where they stood in the coaches' poll to where they stood in the media poll. The Lumberjacks were seventh in the coaches' poll and ninth in the media poll, while UND was 10th in the coaches' poll and sixth in the media poll.
Souers led NAU to its only Big Sky Conference title in school history in 2003. Souers was an Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalist that season. The Lumberjacks' best finish since then was a third-place showing in 2007.
