“Weird things happen in domes.”
It’s become a cliché for both the Big Sky Conference and the Missouri Valley Football Conference over the years. That’s because the vast majority of college football teams that play in domes reside in one of those two conferences.
At the FBS level, Syracuse plays at the facility formerly known as the Carrier Dome (sponsored wireless company name be damned). UNLV plays at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, while UTSA plays at the Alamodome.
In the Missouri Valley, there’s the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota; the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa; and the DakotaDome in Vermillion, South Dakota. North Dakota State also plays in the Fargodome. The Bison competed in the Missouri Valley until this season, when they joined the Mountain West at the FBS level.
Some of the strangest domes in the country reside in Big Sky country. Idaho State plays at Holt Arena, once a gem of the college football world that now looks like an antiquated Halloween house. Idaho plays at the Kibbie Dome, a facility that looks part grain silo, part airplane hangar and has a cult following dating to the days of the NCAA Football video game series and Idaho’s time in the FBS.
And then there’s the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The facility sits 6,880 feet above sea level, making it the second-highest football stadium in the country, behind only War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyoming. The well-lit, loud and quirky venue has been a house of mirrors for opponents over the years, even if Northern Arizona has made just a half-dozen FCS playoff appearances in program history.
NAU is 167-89 all-time at home, but the Lumberjacks have given opponents fits over the years, even when they haven’t consistently protected their home turf.
But was the dome’s anomalous nature the reason No. 2 Montana’s previously palpable momentum came to a crashing halt Saturday at the Skydome? Or are the Grizzlies simply too short-handed defensively after a rash of injuries left both the defensive front and secondary looking like MASH units? Or are mistakes, penalties and special teams miscues to blame?
Perhaps a third possibility deserves consideration: Ty Pennington and the Lumberjacks are legitimate Big Sky and FCS contenders after enduring one of the toughest stretches of their season. NAU won two of three games during that stretch, including Saturday’s 49-44 triumph over the visiting and suddenly reeling Griz.
“What a day in NAU football history,” head coach Brian Wright said after guiding his team through a stretch that included games against the top two teams in the FCS poll (Montana State & Montana) and a win over No. 12 Idaho State in between.
“The resiliency of the players, coaches, administrators, everyone that touches the lives of our players played a role today. I’m proud of our organization and the growth that we’ve made. I watched our guys prepare to win all week, and that is a testament to the character of our program.”
Wright is a familiar name in Big Sky circles, dating to his time as Montana State’s offensive coordinator in 2010 and 2011, when he helped develop Bobcat legend DeNarius McGhee. Wright led the Lumberjacks to the FCS playoffs in his debut season in 2024, marking the sixth postseason appearance in program history.
Last season, an overtime loss to Idaho on Halloween and a season-ending 48-28 defeat to a previously struggling Weber State team kept NAU out of the playoffs.
This season, with Pennington leading the way as a rare three-year starting QB, the Lumberjacks entered the year with high expectations. But a challenging schedule left questions about where NAU might fit in the Big Sky title race and the national picture.
That stretch began with a nationally televised game against defending national champion and top-ranked Montana State in Bozeman on Sept. 26. NAU had its chances, going for it inside its own 10 yard line three times and failing to convert on all three, a hugely impactful factor in its 28-14 loss to the two-time defending league champs.
The gauntlet continued with a trip to Holt Arena to face previously undefeated No. 12 Idaho State (a 38-31 win) before Saturday’s showdown with a Griz team coming off back-to-back Big Sky wins in which its offense scored 98 points.
After Saturday’s win, NAU has firmly established itself as a conference title contender and could enter the conversation for a national seed if the ‘Jacks keep rolling.
“All the work we put in the spring, the summer, the winter, we trusted the process,” said Shahid Wilson, who intercepted a pass as part of the comprehensive effort that helped NAU earn its third win in its last six matchups against Montana. “At the end of the day, this is a stepping stone. We have bigger goals to reach and bigger things we want to do.”
Northern Arizona pulled out all the stops Saturday, and Pennington led the way. The Lumberjacks left nothing in reserve, delivering a performance that should propel them into the FCS top 10.
NAU scored on a “Philly Special” trick play, returned a kickoff for a touchdown and watched Pennington account for six total touchdowns. After a back-and-forth first half in which Montana answered the bell twice to take a 24-20 lead into the break, NAU seized the momentum and carried it to a signature victory.
The 49 points were the most Northern Arizona has ever scored against Montana.
Pennington showcased his swagger, toughness and veteran savvy while leading his team to a signature win over the No. 2 team in the FCS. He threw for 323 yards and a touchdown, rushed 16 times for 52 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass on a quarterback-to-running-back-to-quarterback version of the Philly Special that gave NAU a 28-24 lead it would never relinquish.
“Ty is not only the toughest player in America, he is the best player in America,” Wright said. “What that guy did today was amazing. That guy put us on our shoulders like I’ve never seen a football player do. He threw touchdowns, he ran for touchdowns, he caught a touchdown. I would hope after today, he gets the recognition he deserves around the country.”
For all the credit due to Northern Arizona, Montana is back to the drawing board.
After a resounding 62-22 win at No. 10 UC Davis sent shockwaves across the FCS, the Griz followed it up by rolling up nearly 600 total yards in a comfortable win over Northern Colorado. But last week, on homecoming in Missoula, the Griz left plenty of points on the field despite their 36-14 victory.
During the second half against UNC, Montana’s defenders also started dropping like flies.
Safety Brock Beaner went down against UC Davis and hasn’t played since. Cornerback Brady Beaner was injured last week and was limited Saturday in Flagstaff. Safety Braeden Orlandi went down against UNC but managed to play Saturday, making five tackles. Defensive back Sage Salopek also got dinged against UNC but played Saturday. Senior safety Kade Cutler has been out since the beginning of the season.
Add those injuries to the long-term absences of senior defensive linemen Jake Mason and Hayden Schwartz, along with senior captain Solomon Tuliapupu’s departure from the team, and the Griz defense is searching for the right combination of players.
Northern Arizona gashed Montana from start to finish. Pennington, who threw for 323 yards, connected with All-Big Sky tight end Jeter Purdy for a 27-yard touchdown to answer Montana’s opening score.
The teams traded blows, with the Griz delivering several crucial responses. Trailing 14-10, Keali’i Ah Yat hit Landon Ransom-Goelz for the biggest play of the Rice transfer’s young Montana career. Ransom-Goelz raced 70 yards for a touchdown and finished with seven catches for 128 yards.
Pennington’s second rushing touchdown put the Lumberjacks back in front, 21-17, but Montana answered again. All-American senior Eli Gillman scored his second rushing touchdown of the day, giving him 70 in his illustrious career. He needs just nine more touchdowns to eclipse the incomparable Cooper Kupp for the all-time FCS record.
The Griz carried a 24-20 lead into halftime. But NAU snatched the momentum right back with a 10-play, 73-yard drive capped by the Philly Special. Running back Joey Stout threw back to Pennington, who caught the touchdown pass to put the Lumberjacks ahead for good.
“Our biggest thing is our leaders on the team, our senior leaders and our younger guys buy in even more,” Montana senior captain and linebacker Peyton Wing said. “We know what to do. We know how to get better. … We’re good at getting over it and fixing it and not hanging our heads, fixing what we need to fix and moving on because it’s a long season and we got a lot of opportunity ahead of us.”
Northern Arizona averaged just 2.7 yards per carry, but the hosts still manufactured 27 first downs and possessed the ball for nearly 33 minutes, keeping Montana at bay.
“We really didn’t do a good job of communicating on the defense in terms of what gaps we had and how we were going to stop them,” Montana head coach Bobby Kennedy said.
Lekeldrick Bridges caught a touchdown, Gillman added a touchdown reception and Jo Silver kicked a 35-yard field goal as the Griz tried to keep pace. But Montana could never regain the upper hand, falling for the second time during the Bobby Kennedy era.
“We’re still confident, and we know we got a lot of playmakers,” said Gillman, who rushed for 94 yards and finished with 140 yards from scrimmage. “We know our quarterback can do it all. There was no hesitation out of us being down two scores. We knew we were going to keep fighting until the clock hit zero. I think that’s what we did.”
“We have a whole lot of potential, and we got a whole lot of season left. So, just keeping their heads up and keeping their confidence rolling.”
The teams traded touchdowns on their next drives, bringing the score to 49-39 with three minutes remaining after Pennington’s final touchdown run of the night. Down two scores, Montana kicked a field goal with 1:34 remaining to make it 49-42.
The ‘Jacks were unable to run out the clock. Pennington took a safety with six seconds left, but the Grizzlies’ last-ditch lateral attempt on the ensuing kickoff ended in a fumble as time expired.
“At halftime, we really collected ourselves,” Pennington said. “We got away from our standard and had to remind ourselves what we’re here to do and the kind of team we are. That allowed us to feed off each other’s energy — offense, defense, special teams. We had each other’s backs, and we know what we’re capable of.”
Northern Arizona hosts Portland State for homecoming next weekend. The Vikings beat Utah Tech 30-14 this week.
The Griz, meanwhile, host Idaho as part of the 40th-anniversary celebration of Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The game also marks the latest chapter in the battle for the Little Brown Stein. Idaho, which stunned No. 1 Montana State 35-34 a week ago, lost 38-27 to Weber State on Saturday.
