The Lumberjacks have to endure one more day of having red in their eyes.
After watching hours of game film this week of No. 13 Eastern Washington's 36-27 win over Montana earlier this season, the NAU football team has grown weary of the Eagles' brand-new red turf, dubbed "The Inferno."
"It's annoying. It's like looking at a stick of Big Red (gum) all day. It's terrible," left tackle Anthony Williams said. "I just hope I don't get sick playing on it, having to look down on it every play."
Williams was half-joking, but said there's some serious detriments to studying Eastern Washington's home games.
"It's hard -- when we get some of those wide views -- to pick all the players out. Their uniforms really blend into it," Williams said.
The Jacks (3-1, 1-0 Big Sky Conference) head into today's game with the Eagles (3-2, 2-1), hoping the camouflage aspect changes during live-game action. Linebacker Cody Dowd said he avoided watching the Eagles' lone home game as much as he could. He had a hard time studying the formations and watched mostly the away game, but said the turf and the sea of red shouldn't be anything to worry about today.
"I don't think it's going to be anything too special, honestly," Dowd said. "If you're on the field, sitting there at eye level -- red's a pretty noticeable color, so we'll have to see how it goes, but I don't think it's going to affect us.
"I think it's been way too big of a deal. Their jerseys don't match their turf, so it just looks a little weird."
Of more concern to Dowd and the Jacks is whether Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones will play. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior sat out last week's game against Weber State with an abdominal contusion and may sit out today.
In Jones' absence, transfer quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had his best game of the season after throwing for 377 yards and four touchdowns.
"I'm still unsure," Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin said about Jones' status in a conference call. "Obviously, there's a better chance this week than there was last week.
"If I had to guess, I'd say he's going to play but we're going to prepare either way."
The NAU defense is preparing either way, too, and hopes to do a better job of shutting down the running game this week. After holding opponents to 79 yards or fewer in each of their first three games, the Jacks lost containment on Southern Utah tailback Austin Minefee last Saturday as he burned the defense for more than 100 yards in the first half, including a 50-yard touchdown run. Before the game, the longest rush NAU allowed was 13 yards.
If Jones plays, it'll be a different type of challenge for NAU. Although the defense has faced some talented runners, Jones brings something new. He leads the Football Championship Subdivision in all-purpose yards with an average of 238.8 per game.
"He's very fast," Dowd said. "That's one thing we haven't seen too much this year, we've seen more power backs.
"With (Jones), it's (a matter of) keeping your feet square, because he likes to juke, and making sure your feet don't cross over."
No matter who's carrying the offensive load for the Eagles, the Jacks are plenty confident. They own some of the top defensive marks in the Big Sky, including scoring defense (17.8 points per game), run defense (84 yards per game) and total defense (270.8 ypg). And, of course, they're able to discern between the field and the opposing team.
"I still think our biggest concern is our opponent," NAU coach Jerome Souers said about facing The Inferno. "That's where our focus is."
"Colors are colors, but there's still bodies out there. Eastern beat Montana, not because of the color on the field, but because they executed their game plan."
Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.
