NAU Erases 21-Point Deficit, Stuns Eastern Washington 34-27 in Home Opener

August 29, 2026

Northern Arizona opened its season the hard way, falling behind by three touchdowns at home before storming back to beat Eastern Washington 34-27 at The Walkup Skydome.

Eastern Washington controlled the first half almost from the opening whistle, scoring on four of their first seven possessions and building a 24-3 lead in the second quarter. NAU's defense struggled to find answers early, and for a stretch, this looked like it could get out of hand fast.

Then Lindsay Graves flipped the game. A 100-yard kickoff return gave NAU life with 2:44 left in the half, and the Lumberjacks didn't let up — an interception on the ensuing Eastern Washington drive set up a Quran Gossett 2-yard touchdown run that cut the deficit to 24-17 heading into the break. What looked like a blowout in the making was suddenly a one-score game.

NAU carried that momentum into the second half. A field goal trimmed the lead to four, and two drives later, quarterback Ty Pennington found Jeter Purdy for a 30-yard touchdown to give the Lumberjacks their first lead of the game. Eastern Washington answered to tie it back up, but NAU had the response ready — an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Pennington hitting Nassim Isaac for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal, putting NAU up for good with 3:54 remaining. The defense sealed it, stopping the Eagles inside their own 10-yard line as the clock ran out.

Pennington finished with 164 passing yards and two touchdown passes to go with 61 rushing yards, while Purdy hauled in 7 catches for 105 yards. Head coach Brian Wright credited his team's composure after the game, saying there was no panic in the group even as the deficit stretched to three scores.

Coming back from 21 down against a Big Sky opponent is the kind of result that says more about a team's identity than any season-opening win against a lesser opponent could. NAU had every excuse to fold in that second quarter. Instead, the response was 24 unanswered points and a signature opening statement.

Final: NAU 34, Eastern Washington 27