NEWBERG, Ore. -- For the final time in 2026, the George Fox football team will be hitting the road.

Fox's most recent game was one to remember: the Bruins (5-3, 2-3 NWC) recorded their largest win in program history, a 55-0 drubbing of Willamette. In the game, GFU scored 45 points in the first half on a steady run game. Now, they'll travel to Forest Grove and face Pacific (2-6, 2-3 NWC).

Quarterback JJ Leman threw two touchdown passes in the game against Willamette, finishing 12/24 for 199 yards, and rushing for a score as well. Leman, who has thrown for 1,724 yards and 12 touchdowns, is listed as the starter in Fox's two-deep, with Austin Ramsey as the backup. Ramsey has appeared in GFU's last four games, throwing for 362 yards and three TDs.

When it comes to the ground game, the Bruins have been amping up their carries more over the past few weeks. Starter Brody Snyder has recorded 39 carries in the past three games, while backup Lyal Viers (who recorded just one rush in the first three games of the season) has run the ball 25 times. Against Willamette, Snyder had 80 yards on the ground and one touchdown, while Viers had 79 yards and a TD.

Superstar receiver Karsen Denault became just the second Bruin to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark in the win over Willamette, reaching 1,037 yards on the year after a four-catch, 73-yard performance. While Denault didn't have a touchdown against the Bearcats, tight end Raiden Gonzales recorded his first career TD on a 22-yard catch. The pair are slated to start alongside receivers Bupe Chisanga Jr. and Kaelan Frey.

There will be a change for the Bruins on the line. While Kyle Martin was listed as the starting center for Fox's game against Willamette, it was Matt Bradley who earned the start after Martin was sidelined with an injury. Heading into the game against Pacific, Bradley is now the starter on Fox's two-deep. The other four starters up front (Miky Amare, Rylan McGraw, Toby Esqueda, and Sean Brewster) will stay the same.

The defensive side of the ball has plenty to be proud of — after all, the 2026 crew became the first group to record two shutouts in the season. The Bruins held Willamette to just 135 yards (with 56 of those yards coming on plays that ended in a fumble) and only allowed three snaps in the red zone.

Eli Miller forced two fumbles — two of six fumbles the Bearcats had on the day — and had six tackles to help lead the way for Fox. The defensive back is listed as a starter with Austin Harrison, Ben Nuss, Ty Borde, and Zak Holsey.

Up front on the line, Jacob Erickson recovered a fumble that Miller forced and had the lone sack of the game. Erickson has continued to grow his program-record number of sacks, now up to 8.0 on the season and 37.5 in his career. Not to be outdone, Erickson's fellow DE starter Kuyper Assink has 20.0 in his career and 6.0 on the season.

Rounding out the defensive starters are Duke Alderete-Labuguen and Mika Petaia, who start at linebacker. Both linebackers had four tackles against Willamette, while backup Jack Neale — who had six tackles on the day — is listed as Petaia's backup.

Despite the offensive fireworks and the defensive lockdown, it was kicker Ben Rembisz who made the headlines. The senior broke Taylor Saben's record for points in a career, hitting 184 career points thanks to seven PATs and two field goals. Thanks to his efforts, Rembisz was named NWC Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time in his career. While Rembisz will handle the kicking duties, Jacob Hundven will be the kickoff man and Riley Rutledge will be the punter. Noah Bjornstedt will handle the snaps.

After a 0-6 start to the season, the Pacific Boxers have had a recent revolution. The Boxers defeated Willamette, 22-3, before exploding for 47 points in a 47-34 victory over Puget Sound. 

The Pacific offense had recorded just 39 points in the first six games, but has scored 69 points in its past two — and running back Carson Mullins has been a huge reason for the Boxers' renaissance. Mullins, who stepped in for graduating All-American Brody Bantolina, ran for 164 yards against Willamette and 167 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, Mullins leads the conference with 671 yards and five touchdowns.

Reagan Nucanor has been the signal-caller for Pacific in seven of their 10 games, throwing for 741 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions on the season. In the past two games, the sophomore has been able to scramble if needed, rushing for a pair of touchdowns. The Boxers don't pass much (Karsen Denault has more receiving yards than the entire Pacific team), instead relying on Mullins to carry the load, but Riley Camarillo has been the top target for Nucanor. Camarillo has 21 more catches than any other Boxer with 35, and has 289 yards and two TDs.

Defensively, senior Noah Narain leads the team with 62 sacks, while Alex Deuser has a team-high 2.5 sacks. Pacific has struggled to turn teams over, though, only intercepting six passes, the lowest in the conference, and recovering three fumbles, the second-lowest.

The Bruins have a chance for their second three-game win streak of the season and a shot at their first winning season since 2022 with a Saturday victory.

Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 1:00 pm. Live stats, live stream, and ticketing links are all available on the GFU Athletics website.