Kickoff: Saturday, September 5 at 8:30 PM CT
Location: Casino Del Sol Stadium
TV: ESPN+
DraftKings line (Aug. 30): ARIZ -31.5
Over/under: 56.5

The setup

Northern Arizona trailed Eastern Washington 24-3, then scored 24 unanswered points and won 34-27, snapping a 20-game losing streak when behind at halftime. Arizona cannot assume an early lead ends this game; NAU just erased its worst-case script one week ago.

What I’m watching

N Arizona beat Eastern Washington 34-27 in Week 0, with Ty Pennington completing 15 of 27 for 164 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. N Arizona already established the run, finishing with 201 rushing yards. Arizona allowed 143.2 rushing yards per game in 2025, which makes this a more meaningful follow-up test.

Personnel snapshot

• What carries over for the FBS team: N Arizona’s Brian Wright is in Year 3; Arizona’s Brent Brennan is in Year 3. Arizona returns 10 starters—6 on offense and 4 on defense.
• Where points should be available: Arizona averaged 31.5 points per game last season; N Arizona allowed 30.8. If those identities survive the roster changes, this is where the favorite should create separation.
• The quarterback matchup: Ty Pennington led N Arizona’s passing in Week 0 (15 of 27 for 164 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT); Noah Fifita returns as Arizona’s starter (2,963 yards, 26 TD and 5 INT in 2025). Neither passer should need to win the game alone; avoiding the first bad turnover is the more important opening-night test.

Three quick analysis points

• The youth movement: True freshman Lindsey Graves sparked that comeback with a 100-yard kickoff-return touchdown and now leads the FCS at 58.0 yards per return. For an FCS underdog, that is the cleanest possible shortcut around Arizona’s talent advantage: skip the offense and erase the whole field.
• The quarterback angle: Northern Arizona rushed for 201 yards in Week 0, with Quran Gossett gaining 103 and quarterback Ty Pennington adding 61. Arizona allowed 143.2 rushing yards per game last season, so NAU’s best way to protect itself from Noah Fifita is to keep moving the chains on the ground.
• The turnover test: Arizona finished first nationally in pass-efficiency defense, allowed 165.3 passing yards per game and intercepted 22 passes; Pennington threw for 164 yards with one interception in the opener. The single biggest mismatch is NAU’s ordinary passing debut against the Wildcats’ elite 2025 ball-hawking résumé.

Prediction

I make final predictions on my TikTok/YouTube/Instagram/Facebook pages @uthinkuknowsports.

Full disclosure: I use AI tools to format my research into an article encompassing all of the information.