1977 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

1977 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football
NCAA Division II First Round, L 0–34 vs. Jacksonville State
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	9–3 (5–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Joe Salem (3rd season)
Home stadium	Lumberjack Stadium, NAU Ensphere

1977 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. T–5 Boise State $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. T–5 Northern Arizona ^	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Montana State	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Weber State	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Idaho State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Idaho	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Montana	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	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 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]

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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	Augustana (SD)*		Lumberjack Stadium Flagstaff, AZ	W 31–30	8,250	[3]
September 10	at Idaho State		ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID	W 28–7	7,200	[4]
September 17	Montana		NAU Ensphere Flagstaff, AZ	W 25–24	12,860	[5]
September 24	at Weber State		Wildcat Stadium Ogden, UT	W 36–10	10,014	[6]
October 1	at UNLV*	No. 8	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	L 16–20	13,397–13,497	[7][8]
October 8	at Cal Poly Pomona*		Kellogg Field Pomona, CA	W 16–0	2,500	[9]
October 15	Cal State Fullerton		NAU Ensphere Flagstaff, AZ	W 24–9	15,988	[10]
October 22	at Boise State		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	L 13–27	20,448	[11]
November 5	Montana State		NAU Ensphere Flagstaff, AZ	W 28–21	14,216	[12]
November 12	Eastern Montana*	No. T–10	NAU Ensphere Flagstaff, AZ	W 70–0	10,244	[13]
November 19	Nebraska–Omaha*	No. T–5	NAU Ensphere Flagstaff, AZ	W 37–21	11,838	[14]
November 26	No. 9 Jacksonville State*	No. T–5	NAU Ensphere Flagstaff, AZ (NCAA Division II First Round)	L 0–35	7,500	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[16]

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. "Augustana clipped by Northern Arizona". Argus-Leader. September 4, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "NAU dumps Bengals". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. September 11, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "54-yard kick wins for NAU". The Spokesman-Review. September 18, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Lumberjacks play 'together,' hammer Cats". The Arizona Daily Sun. September 25, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "UNLV ends Axers' luck". The Arizona Republic. October 2, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (UNLV)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
9. "Sluggish Lumberjacks dispense with Pomona". The Arizona Daily Sun. October 9, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. 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.
11. "Boise downs NAU". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 23, 1977. p. 2B.
12. "Northern Arizona clips Montana State, 28–21". Idaho State Journal. November 6, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Poor Jackets buried, 70–0". The Billings Gazette. November 13, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "UNO has spirit, not enough rally". Omaha World-Herald. November 20, 1977. Retrieved December 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Jacksonville too quick, pummels Northern Arizona". The Arizona Republic. November 27, 1977. Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Northern Arizona)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 22, 2022.