FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — For the first time in seven years, the No. 21 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will play in the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs!
NAU, which finished the regular season with 8-4 record and 6-4 record in the Big Sky Conference, showed the FCS Playoffs selection committee they deserved a spot as they closed out the regular season on a tear winning their last five games.
The Lumberjacks were not one of the 16 teams given an official seed and will travel to Abilene, Texas to play No. 15 seed Abilene Christian on Saturday, Nov. 30. Kickoff for that game is scheduled to be at 1 p.m. Arizona time and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
If NAU is able to pull the upset and defeat Abilene Christian, then a tough test will await in the second round against No. 2 North Dakota State.
This is the seventh time NAU will make an appearance in the playoffs. They have only advanced past the first round once, in 2003, when they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. NAU's last playoff appearance was in 2017. The Lumberjacks lost to San Diego, 41-10, in the first round that year.
This will be just the second time NAU will play a football game against Abilene Christian, according to NAUAthletics.com. The last time they met on the gridiron was on Sept. 6, 2014, and NAU won that game, 27-21.
The FCS national champion will be crowned on Jan. 6, 2025, in Frisco, Texas. South Dakota State, which was given the No. 3 seed this year, is the two-time reigning national champion.
The full FCS Playoff bracket can be seen in the images below.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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