ARCATA — After addressing the challenge of crossing the border into Canada, the Humboldt State football team will make the shortest portion of its long journey, heading to Burnaby, B.C. to face the Simon Fraser Clan at 2 p.m. Saturday on Terry Fox Field.

Off to a 2-0 start overall and 1-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Lumberjacks hope to remain unscathed by answering the challenge of playing a tough SFU squad that is even tougher on its home turf. The Clan, 1-2 overall and 0-2 in league, opened the season by claiming their first win as an NCAA affiliate, a 36-28 victory over Pacific University.

Head-to-Head
Humboldt State powered to a pair of wins over SFU last season, moving the Jacks in front of the Clan in the all-time series, 4-3.

On-the-Air
Humboldt State football can be once again heard over the airwaves on KATA, 1340 AM, the North Coast's ESPN radio affiliate. Former Lumberjack player and BiCoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers describes the action and HSU Hall-of-Famer Burt Nordstrom adds commentary. The broadcast begins at 1:45 p.m. All broadcasts are also streamed live through the hsujacks.com web site. …HSU also offers live video streaming of games in Redwood Bowl.  Simon Fraser also plans to stream this week's game at http://www.educationcdn.com/schools/clan/

LiveStats
All Humboldt State football home games feature LiveStats. This week's road game at Simon Fraser can be found at http://cgi.sfu.ca/~athlwww/livestats/football/xlive.htm

Injury Report
Having a week off from competition means having an extra week to heal, and the Jacks certainly needed it after a very physical game against Central Washington. Unfortunately, that's not enough time to heal the most prominent injury, wide receiver Pat Gondkoff's knee. Gondkoff is out for the season after sustaining the injury early in the Central Washington game. …

Lumberjack Notes
For the first time in Rob Smith's four years directing the program, the Jacks experienced a bye week in the schedule. Positive and negatives can result from taking a week off competition, but Smith prefers to focus on the advantages. "The bye couldn't have come at a better time," Smith said. "The Central Washington game was very physical, so that gave the players time to recover. It also gave us time to focus on what's ahead. But having a bye can also affect a team's momentum." …One change in the usual practice routine involved getting bench players and redshirts more time on the field. The additional repetitions for some could become critical as the season progresses. "Backup players have to realize that they're always one play away from having to step up and perform. Something happens every season, and there's adversity yet to come that all our players need to prepare for."…An interesting contrast between the Jacks and Clan is the clash up front. Simon Fraser has demonstrated a furious pass rush, and leads the league in quarterback sacks with 11. Humboldt State's offensive line has been protective of quarterback Mike Proulx, leading the GNAC with no sacks allowed in the first two games. …That sturdy protection also ranks Humboldt State in a tie for first nationally in the sacks allowed statistical category. HSU's other prominent rankings are eighth in passing offense with 335 yards passing a game, and 14th in net punting at 38.14 yards per boot. The Jacks are also 18th in pass efficiency and 18th in total offense with 472 yards gained per game. …While HSU has opened the GNAC season with a win in its only game, Western Oregon has two league victories without a loss. Dixie State is 1-0 following its home win over Simon Fraser last week, while Central Washington and Simon Fraser trail in the early going at 0-2. "There is a lot of parity in this conference. We've seen that already," Smith said. "There is no cut-and-dry favorite. You have to go out on the field and bring your best every week." …The Jacks' travel route takes them to Portand on Thursday, where they'll spend the night. They'll be back on the road early Friday, arriving at the USA-Canada border in plenty of time to deal with any passport or other issues.

Opponent Notes
Following their season-opening win, the Clan have dropped two games in very different manners. Two weeks ago Simon Fraser dropped a tightly-contested game against Western Oregon at home, losing 35-28 and amassing 260 yards rushing. Last week, SFU traveled to St. George, Utah, where it was thumped, 42-7, but Dixie State. "Simon Fraser did not play well at Dixie. Their two games were like two different teams on the field," Smith said. "We expect them to bounce back this week, especially at home. They seem to respond very well to the home crowd and home field." …Simon Fraser's team average of 232.7 yards rushing per game leads the GNAC. Bo Palmer leads the league individually, averaging 117.7 yards rushing per game, and Gabriel Ephard is third in conference at 79 yards per contest. Right between the duo is HSU's Lyndon Rowells, averaging 101.5 yards a game. The Clan's Bobby Pospischil has returned 12 kickoffs for 339 yards, most among conference players.

Smith Says
“The days of sneaking up on people are over for our program. We've worked hard to be successful. Every week we have to focus on ourselves and what we need to do to improve. Whoever our opponent is, our preparation is no different."
 
Game Conditions
Saturday's weather forecast calls for a sunny afternoon with a high temperature of 70 degrees.