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The second -- and final -- trip to California in the 2013 football season for Central Washington University takes place this Saturday when the Wildcats (2-2, 2-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) make their annual trek to Arcata, Calif., to face Humboldt State University (0-4, 0-3 GNAC) in a 6 p.m. game at the Redwood Bowl.

The Wildcats come into the game as one of four teams tied atop the GNAC standings after a low-scoring 7-3 win at Azusa Pacific University last Saturday (Sept. 28) in Glendora, Calif. CWU has also defeated Western Oregon University (20-7 on Sept. 14), while its only conference loss was a 21-14 home defeat against Simon Fraser University on Sept. 21. Those four teams are all deadlocked in first place through three weeks of conference action.

The seven points scored by CWU were the fewest in a Wildcat victory since a 7-0 win over Whitworth on Nov. 2, 1968 at Spokane.

Humboldt State was the coaches' pre-season choice to win the GNAC title, but the Lumberjacks have struggled with home losses to SFU (41-27 on Sept. 7) and Dixie State University (49-24 last Saturday). They have also lost to Division I-FCS Portland State University (43-6 on Sept. 14) and at Azusa Pacific (28-2 on Sept. 21).

The game will match up the two lowest-scoring offenses in the GNAC, with Humboldt State averaging 14.8 points per game and CWU at 13.8 per game. However, the Wildcats are allowing just 13.0 points and 289.8 yards per contest -- both tops in the conference -- while HSU surrenders 40.3 points and 511.0 yards per game.

CWU boasts the reigning GNAC/Red Lion Hotels Players of the Week on offense (sophomore running back Jordan Todd) and special teams (sophomore Isaiah Davis), who both had standout performances in the win at Azusa Pacific. Todd ran for 189 yards -- three shy of his career-high -- with 37 total carries, while Davis racked up 100 return yards against the Cougars.

The CWU defense allowed just 176 yards of total offense and three points to an Azusa Pacific squad that had accumulated an average of 27 points per game in its first three contests.

Senior safety Stan Langlow and junior linebacker JB Torsy anchor the CWU defense in the overall tackles department, with both ranking among the top 10 in the GNAC with 8.0 and 7.3 tackles per game, respectively. Seniors Gabe Bruno and Donnie Johnson, plus sophomore Tovar Sanchez, are the top pass rushers up front for CWU, with all three ranking among the league's top 10 in sacks. Bruno is also second in total tackles for losses.

CWU has a commanding 18-9-1 edge in the all-time series, although the two schools have traded streaky runs in the head-to-head match-ups. Humboldt State won five of the first six meetings (the first of those six was a 27-27 tie in 1958) before the Wildcats reeled off 16 consecutive series wins between 1998 and 2009. The two teams split series meetings in 2010 and 2012, but HSU has won four of the last six contests between the two, including three straight victories on its home turf in Arcata.

Although it is his first battle with the Lumberjacks as a head coach, CWU mentor John Picha (2-2, first year) is quite familiar with his counterpart on the HSU sidelines in Rob Smith (31-25, sixth year at HSU; 140-88-1, 23rd year overall). Picha opposed Smith as an assistant coach both over the past five seasons, but also when Smith guided Western Washington from 1989-2005. Smith is 12-19 against the Wildcats as a head coach.

The game can be tracked via live video, live stats, and live audio at the links above.