NAU linebacker Cody Dowd didn't mince words when talking about the importance of today's game against Montana State.

"This is the most important game of the season," Dowd said. "With how the conference is laying out this year, we have to win this game."

If the Lumberjacks (3-2, 1-1 Big Sky Conference) fall to the No. 9 Bobcats (5-1, 3-0), their road to the postseason becomes much tougher. After losing 21-14 to No. 12 Eastern Washington last week, NAU is in the thick of the toughest portion of its conference schedule and visits No. 11 Montana next week, where it hasn't won since 1986.

Lose today, and the Jacks should essentially kiss their dreams of a Big Sky championship goodbye.

"If we don't win this game and other teams win out, we don't have a chance," Dowd said.

It's one reason why practice this week has been especially tense for NAU.

On Thursday, a few scuffles broke out and there was plenty of name-calling, though much of it was directed at members of the offensive line.

The unit is hampered with injuries and will likely miss center Jeff Hines for the second-consecutive game. Against Eastern Washington, the line had a difficult time keeping the Eagles' pass rushers out of quarterback Michael Herrick's face as he threw three interceptions before injuring his left, non-throwing arm on the final play of the first half. Backup Chasen Stangel was inserted in the game and did plenty of scrambling to avoid would-be tacklers.

"Everybody's frustrated because we knew we could beat those (Eastern Washington) guys," Dowd said.

The offensive line has shuffled its members around -- guard Kris Poindexter got the start at center last week -- and likely will be the key to whether the Jacks walk away with a victory today.

Despite the injuries, they're not making excuses.

"I told these guys we're so deep, we won't miss too much of a beat if people start getting hurt," offensive line coach Eric Reid said. "The key to any offense is the offensive line, to get it moving. I wouldn't say it's the reason for our success, or lack of success, but we need them to play solid every down."

But that doesn't mean the defense has it any easier. As strong as the unit has been -- it's allowed an average of 18.4 points and 80.4 rushing yards per game -- it faces the best yard-gaining team in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Bobcats lead the conference in yards per game (516.2) and scoring (44.5 points per game).

"Very good might be an understatement," NAU coach Jerome Souers said of the Bobcat offense. "It's not realistic to say you're going to stop it. What you hope to do is play well enough to manage it."

The offense features dynamic redshirt freshman quarterback Denarius McGhee, who has thrown for 1,568 yards and 13 touchdowns this season while gaining 149 yards on the ground.

"He's just a really good athlete," Dowd said. "He likes to get out of the pocket and throw the ball. He does that because a lot of guys respect his speed. So if you stay in coverage and don't account for him, he's going to take off and pass you by."

However, McGhee's been hampered with an injury and missed a lot of practice this week. His status is uncertain for Saturday and backup Cody Kempt may get the starting nod.

"We'll just have to see," Montana State coach Rob Ash said in a conference call. "We'll get two guys ready and we'll decide on Saturday how he feels."

Although this could be the Jacks' most important test yet, they're happy to finally play within the confines of the Walkup Skydome for the first time since Sept. 2 in the season opener against Western New Mexico.

"It was hard. I'm not going to lie, that was hard," Souers said of the four-week road trip. "I thought our guys battled through it. They didn't make excuses.

"They've played so hard in the absence of any (crowd) support. I hope our students and fans can come in and get behind a team that's been working their tails off."

With their second home game, Dowd believes they have two advantages today.

"One, is the altitude," he said. "Two, if we can get a crowd like we did (against Western New Mexico) and we get the parents in here, I think we could get quite a big crowd -- it's going to help because (Montana State) likes to make a lot of adjustments and audibles on offense.

"If we can get the crowd loud while they're on offense, it's going to cause a lot of confusion."

Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.