# 2017 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

The 2017 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 20th-year head coach Jerome Souers and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 6–2 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They received an at-large bid into the FCS Playoffs where they were lost to San Diego in the first round.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 8:00 p.m. | at Arizona* | | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | P12N | L 24–62 | 43,620 |
| September 9 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 22 Western Illinois* | | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | FCSP, FSAZ+, Pluto TV | L 20–38 | 9,053 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | at Cal Poly | | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | ELVN | W 28–10 | 7,726 |
| September 30 | 4:00 p.m. | Northern Colorado | | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | KASW, NAU-TV | W 48–20 | 5,107 |
| October 7 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 11 Illinois State* | | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | FCSP, FSAZ+, Pluto TV | W 37–16 | 10,420 |
| October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | at Portland State | | Providence ParkPortland, OR | Pluto TV | W 42–20 | 4,430 |
| October 21 | 4:00 p.m. | UC Davis | | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | KASW, NAU-TV | W 45–31 | 5,093 |
| October 28 | 4:00 p.m. | Sacramento State | | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | KASW, NAU-TV | W 37–17 | 6,068 |
| November 4 | 2:30 p.m. | at Montana | No. 18 | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | RTNW | L 15–17 | 22,747 |
| November 11 | 5:00 p.m. | Montana State | No. 24 | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | ELVN | W 37–36 | 6,187 |
| November 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 14 Southern Utah | No. 23 | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT (Grand Canyon Rivalry) | ELVN | L 20–48 | 10,842 |
| November 25 | 6:00 p.m. | San Diego* | No. 25 | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | L 10–41 | 4,068 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
| Wildcats | 14 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 62 |

### Western Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Leathernecks | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |

### At Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| Mustangs | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |

### Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 20 |
| Lumberjacks | 7 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 48 |

### Illinois State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Redbirds | 0 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 37 |

### At Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 14 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| Vikings | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 20 |

### UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 31 |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 28 | 7 | 10 | 45 |

### Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hornets | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Lumberjacks | 10 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 37 |

### At Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Lumberjacks | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| Grizzlies | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |

### Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 36 |
| No. 24 Lumberjacks | 3 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 37 |

### At Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 23 Lumberjacks | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| No. 14 Thunderbirds | 3 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 48 |

## FCS Playoffs
### San Diego–First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Toreros | 10 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
| No. 25 Lumberjacks | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 24 | 23 | 25 | RV |
| Coaches | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | 24 | 22 | 24 | 16 | 24 | 23 | RV | RV |