Opening the season against the toughest opponent on the schedule isn't always a bad thing, win or lose.

Northern Arizona's football Lumberjacks found that out last Saturday in a game against Arizona, and they're excited to take what they've learned and let it loose on the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in today's home opener at the Walkup Skydome.

The Lumberjacks went into the season with a run-first mentality, and everyone knew the Jacks were going to put a lot of faith in the running game. What a lot of people didn't expect was that NAU would be a threat through the air as well.

The Jacks amassed a total of 259 yards against the Wildcats, 179 yards in the air and 80 on the ground, and will be looking to put more yards on the score sheet -- as well as more points on the board -- against Fort Lewis today.

"I think the offense is good," NAU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said. "We took a look at the (Arizona game) film and saw a lot of details we needed to clean up. We learned a ton of things from the tape, and I'm really excited with the way the guys have practiced this week and I'm excited to watch them play (today)."

A big plus for NAU's offense is the start junior quarterback Cary Grossart had a week ago. Grossart completed 20 of 26 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown -- and one interception -- against the toughest defense he'll face all year.

Lindgren said he saw a lot of good things from Grossart against UA, but also saw a lot of room for improvement in the first-year starter.

"He took some delay-of-games as far as game management goes, so I'm looking for him to learn from that and be cleaner," Lindgren said.

Head coach Jerome Souers was just as impressed with Grossart, and said he'll look for his quarterback to help the Lumberjacks be the team they need to be.

"We need to be a team in control of the football, we need to be in a high efficiency range, we need to be patient and be able to run and throw the ball effectively," Souers said. "Cary showed some accuracy with his throwing and he made great decisions every snap we threw the ball."

Grossart's favorite target, redshirt freshman Ify Umodu, caught seven balls for a team-high 90 yards against Arizona, and he averaged 12.9 yards per catch and had a 36-yard reception for the team's longest play from scrimmage.

Umodu said the time he spent working during the summer with Grossart is starting to pay dividends.

"Cary's been able to come in and take the leading role and he does whatever it takes to bring the team to the best it can be," Umodu said. "I know how he plays and know how to get open and we have really good timing together."

It's that kind of passing game that's going to complement NAU's running schemes against Fort Lewis, and Lindgren said the Jacks are going to take everything the Skyhawks are going to give up.

"Zach Bauman is one of the strengths of our offense and we want to get him the ball as much as we can, and if we can control the line of scrimmage and run the ball we'll ride that run game," Lindgren said. "But, they complement each other, so the run game is going to open up play action and the passing game will open up softer coverage and open up the run."

Bauman ran for 99 yards on 27 carries against Arizona, and will see his fair share of touches against Fort Lewis.

"Zach went out and ran the ball a ton with some quality effectiveness and we've got to build on that," Souers said. "I'm encouraged with our run game."

Something the Lumberjacks will have to do is limit its own mistakes, and Souers said the Jacks are at the point where they're worried more about how they play rather than what the Skyhawks will do.

"There were certain things we did well, and even with as good a team we played we were our own worst enemy," Souers said. "We had over 20 missed tackles, we had some assignment errors, when you have those kinds of things you don't give yourself the chance to be successful."

A problem that Souers said he foresees is just how little NAU knows about Fort Lewis.

"We got film very late, we don't have a very good feel, but we're very focused on ourselves on our own side of the ball," Souers said. "We want to bring our best no matter what they run or how they play.

"We want to dictate the tempo of the game and the physicality of the game, and do it for four quarters," he added.

Umodu said that learning from their mistakes, focusing on their jobs, getting pumped up on self-evaluation and building their confidence should help the Jacks beat Fort Lewis.

"We saw that we could hang with Arizona and that gave us a lot of confidence," Umodu said. "We ran and threw the ball really well and that really boosted our confidence and we learned a lot about ourselves, the most important that we have a great team."

Opening the home season in front of a crowd excited to see the Jacks play in the newly-remodeled Walkup Skydome is also a boost for the Lumberjacks.

"Our guys are really excited to get in (the Dome) and it looks and feels almost totally new for us," Lindgren said. "The guys are looking for a good crowd, and we're looking to put up some points and have some fun."

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:05 this afternoon, and the game will be broadcast live on 105.1 FM, The Big Talker, as well as on local cable channel 4, and Fox College Sports Atlantic.

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