This Saturday, Northern Arizona University football will take on in-state rival University of Arizona in Tucson at 7pm.
Both teams had big wins last week, each under new head coaches; the Lumberjacks beat Lincoln 66-6 while the Wildcats beat New Mexico 61-39.
Important to note, Wildcat receiver Tetairoa McMillan set a program record, leading to him winning the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
With the transfer portal being very alive during the offseason, NAU found themselves taking in two former Wildcats, redshirt freshman defensive back, Canyon Moses and redshirt sophomore linebacker, Ammon Allen.
“I wanted a bigger chance to get more playing time, and coaches left there—and coach Akina (Senior Defensive Assistant/Secondary at UOA) he stayed as the defensive coordinator, so I just decided to get in the portal,” said Ammon Allen when asked about why he chose to transfer.
Canyon Moses also shared part of why he chose to hit the portal saying, “One of the main reasons I felt like I needed to transfer was to get time on the field, and over there is not the best mentally for some people, so I think you just have to do whatever works best for you.”
Last time the two teams matched up was in the 2023 season when NAU traveled to Tucson and lost 38-3. University of Arizona leads the rivalry with 16 wins and 2 losses, but one of those losses was recently in the 2021 season when the Lumberjacks held off the Wildcats to secure a 21-19 victory.
Ahead of this weeks matchup against their former team, both players shared their thoughts and feelings about going back to Tucson.
“It’ll be nice to see some of the guys but it will also be super intense because they’re not my team anymore. Once I step on the white lines, it’s going to be war—we’re going for that win,” said Allen.
“Honestly, it’s going to be really fun and a really competitive match. Obviously, we got players on both sides of the ball that can compete with them so it’s going to be pretty fun,” said Moses.
During the postgame press conference after the Lumberjacks win over Lincoln Allen was asked if he thought coaches would pull him to try and get some information on going against the Wildcats.
“I think they could, coach Akina the defensive coordinator—I knew him from my time there but the offensive coordinator and head coach are all new so I’m not familiar with their play, but whatever they need I’m here for it,” said Allen.
University of Arizona saw a lot of success last year under their former head coach Jedd Fisch, however after a head coaching position opened at the University of Washington, the Wildcats were left with their own head coach opening.
According to Moses and Allen, most of their former team was a bit taken back when they heard the news that Fisch was leaving for the University of Washington.
“I was super surprised because he did say he was going to commit to staying there for a few years. That team meeting wasn’t the best, a lot of people walked out and a lot of the guys were mad,” said Allen.
Jedd Fisch would win his first game as head coach of the Huskies when they beat Weber State 35-3 on Saturday August 31.
Head coach Brian Wright spoke during Saturday’s post-game conference on his thoughts for the upcoming game in which he answered, “We finally get to evaluate us against somebody else other than us, which we’ve been doing for those 272 days. Certainly, we have a lot of work to do and a big challenge coming up this week.”
University of Arizona is currently holding the 20th spot in the AP Top 25, while Northern Arizona University is ranked 4th in the Big Sky Conference making Saturday’s game a good match up.
