Though football is a team sport, today is going to be all about the quarterbacks when Northern Arizona hosts the Idaho State Bengals in a Big Sky Conference meeting at the Walkup Skydome.

After throwing for 508 yards on a record-setting 53 completion day last week against Northern Colorado, Bengals' QB Kevin Yost is going to present a new set of challenges to the Lumberjacks, and NAU quarterback Cary Grossart will feel the pressure of having to match Yost's performance.

"We have to have a great team approach to playing Idaho State," NAU head coach Jerome Souers said. "The best defense is going to be to keep their offense off the field."

That means the Jacks' offense will have to be productive, main possession by grinding time off the clock and most importantly, score points.

The Lumberjacks' running game being balanced with the passing attack will be key to keeping the Bengals' offense off the field, and Grossart said he's confident in the team's ability to do just that.

"Last week it was just about the little things, 10 guys on the same page and one guy making a mistake, so we need all 11," Grossart said. "We have some good things we're going to do and we'll be able to score."

Getting the ball the running backs Zach Bauman and Giovannie Dixon sounds like the answer to a complicated problem, but if the Bengals hone in on the NAU rushing game -- like a lot of teams tend to do -- then the Jacks will adjust and go to the air.

And they have plenty of weapons to do it with.

"I'm going to keep coming to Ify (Umodu) because he's a guy, no matter what kind of coverage teams throw at him, he can make a play," Grossart said. "Khalil Paden had a good week last week, and after seeing that they'll know they have to watch out for two or three guys. We're going to spread the ball around and get those guys some catches.

Umodu has become Grossart's go-to receiver, as the sophomore leads the team with 21 catches for 349 yards (16.6 per catch) and a pair of touchdowns. Paden has caught 10 passes for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well, and eight of the 12 receivers to catch a pass from Grossart this season average over 10 yards per catch.

Souers said Grossart has taken well to leading the Jacks' offense.

"I'm proud of the way our kids bounced back and of the way Cary led our offense to give us a chance to win last week," he said.

Facing a rush-first team in Portland State last week gave the NAU defense a challenge, but moving to a mostly pass oriented offense -- and one that runs the quickest tempo in the Big Sky -- is a challenge in itself.

"Now we go to an extreme passing team, they've got nothing to lose and they're going to play the game at an up-beat tempo as fast as we've ever seen," Souers said. "It's like a 2-minute offense all the time."

Souers said it will be up to more than just the players knowing their assignments on any given play, as the coaches will have to take a lot of responsibility in getting defensive plays in on time before the Bengals quick-snap the ball.

"Defensively, we need to play with the kind of discipline it's going to take to win," Souers said. "With (Yost), if you leave any open spot he's going to find it and exploit it. And we're talking about getting in plays with six to eight seconds by the time everybody has to get back for the snap of the ball, so it's a tempo we won't have seen.

Souers said that with Yost and the corps of receivers he has, the Lumberjacks' defense will have to really watch throws to the entire field, especially the perimeter.

"They have two really dynamic receivers and four guys who are catching the ball really well," Souers said. "Rodrick Rumble and Derek Graves, their tight end are guys we have to watch."

"Their quarterback sits back there and just zings the ball, he makes every throw on the field," Souers added. "They really do a great job of splitting the ball out to the perimeter, and have some of the best athletes one-on-one in open space."

Rumble had 14 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown last week, and leads the Bengals with 34 grabs for 520 yards overall. The Bengals (2-1 overall, 1-0 BSC) are coming in off two-straight wins, including last week's 50-20 win over Northern Colorado.

The team has passed for 1,405 yards, but has rushed for a total of only 109 with Yost as the leading rusher going for 87 yards on 29 carries.

Grossart said part of his growth as the Jacks' quarterback now includes his desire to be able to run the ball with more confidence than he has in the first three games.

"We try to be as balanced as we can be and we're going to give the ball to Zach and some other guys and let them do their thing, and play action should let me throw the ball a bit more," Grossart said. "Hopefully I'll be able to get out and run a little bit, too.

Bauman leads the running game for NAU with 65 carries for 293 yards, while Grossart is 55 of 80 for 773 yards, five touchdowns and a pair of picks.

The NAU defense has given up just 689 total yards in three games through the air, and Randy Hale and Taylor Patton each have one interception.

"This game is going to be crazy," Souers said. "This is going to show how the Big Sky Conference is. It's going to be very entertaining and who knows what's going to happen. It really has that kind of a feel to it. This is a Big Sky Conference game where you'll need to hang onto your hats; it's going to come down to the last play of the game.

Grossart added that he's really looking forward to having Yost as a shadow competitor all day.

"From what I've heard he (Yost) threw the ball all over the place last week and he had a lot of success," Grossart said. "He was also able to hang in there and take some hits I guess. He's a great player and I'm going to try to come out and match that and do what I'm prepared to do this week.

After losing in the waning minutes last week after a missed field goal, Souers said the team has some extra momentum coming into today's game.

"Everybody tells you the cliché about football being a game of inches, and you don't remember that until you play a game where one guy gets a finger on the ball and it affects 3 1/2 hours of work," he said. "You can't let up; for us it's discipline and taking care of the details. When it comes down to a close game, that pays you back."

Bill Harris can be reached at bharris@azdailysun.com, or 556-2251.