Central Washington University Athletics

The Central Washington University football team has already won a share of the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown, but will look to secure sole possession of the conference championship when they square off with 16^th ranked Humboldt State University Saturday in Arcata, Calif.
 
There is much more than a conference championship on the line for the Lumberjacks who have fallen to 10^th in the NCAA Division II Super Region 4 regional rankings, and a win over the Wildcats could propel them back into the top 7 and a spot in the NCAA Playoffs.
 
The Wildcats are ranked 2^nd in the region and will be competing for their playoff lives and for the opportunity to stay in Ellensburg and play in front of their home crowd.
 
The game will be streaming live on ESPN3 as a part of the NCAA Showcase flex schedule.
 
LIVE STATS: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/humboldt/#
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Defense Moves up the Ladder
After holding Simon Fraser to just 30 yards of total offense the CWU defense now ranks 3^rd nationally in terms of total defense, allowing just 240.3 yards per game.
 
The Wildcat D also ranks in the top 10 in the following categories:
1^st – Team Sacks (4.7 per game)
2^nd – Rush Defense (55.0 per game)
3^rd – Tackles for loss (10.4 per game)
4^th – Third Down Conversion Defense (25.5%)
6^th – Red Zone Defense
7^th – Interceptions (17)
 
Sack Happy
The Wildcats lead the nation in sacks per game at 4.70 and in total sacks with 47.  The school record for sacks in a season is 53 which was accomplished during the 1989 season where CWU went 10-1-1.

Team Effort
Rarely does a top-15 rushing attack feature no ball carriers averaging less than 100-yards a game.  Christian Cummings, who has missed the last four games due to season ending injury, left averaging 84.8 yards per game, but in his absence the Wildcats have yet miss a beat averaging 228.4 yards per game and have had three different leading rushers in the last four games.
 
Last week, Hasani Childs joined the party by rushing for 226 yards against Simon Fraser, setting a new career-high.
 
Undefeated when Undefeated
In the history of CWU football, the Wildcats have entered the final game of the regular season undefeated seven different times.  Central Washington is 7-0 in such contests, the last coming in 2009.
 
ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS
The Lumberjack's lone blemish on the season came on Oct. 7 where the Wildcats defeated Humboldt State 55-27 in Ellensburg, Wash. The stingy CWU defense held the Lumberjacks to just 367 yards of total offense, its lowest output of the season, In fact, HSU has eclipsed 420 yards of offense in every game other game this season, including five games where they put up over 500 yards.
 
Humboldt State ranks 6th nationally in total offense averaging over 510 yards a game, Individually, running back Ja'Quan Gardner averages 137.4 yards per game which is 7th best in the nation, and has scored the third most rushing touchdowns in all of NCAA DII with 18.
 
Quarterback Robert Webber has also had an exceptional season, throwing for 288 yards a game and leads the GNAC with 27 passing touchdowns which ranks 7th in the nation.
 
Defense has been an issue all season for the 8-1 Lumberjacks who rank 107th in the nation in total defense allowing 394.1 yards per game, and 83rd in scoring defense allowing 26.7 points per game. They have given up over 500 yards of offense three times this season, including 546 in the last meeting with CWU.
 
The HSU defense has been very solid against the run (115 yards per game), but have allowed 279.0 yards per game via the pass, ranking 165th out of 168 Division II programs.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats hold a 23-11-1 all-time record against the Lumberjacks including both contests last season, and this season's 55-27 victory in Ellensburg.  When ranked in the Top 25, CWU is 7-2 all-time against HSU, 6-1 in the Division II Era.  The Wildcats are 10-7-1 on the road against Humboldt State, but have won two of the last three.