ARCATA >> When preparing for Azusa Pacific the past four seasons, Humboldt State started with the Cougars’ star running back, Terrell Watson, an absolute bull of a ball carrier who re-made the school’s record books.

This season, ‘Not Terrell Watson’ will be carrying the load for Azusa’s run game.

“Thankfully, (Watson is) with the Cincinnati Bengals now,” Humboldt State head coach Rob Smith quipped during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “We’ve seen him for as long as I can remember. The kid would never graduate — he was there the next year and the next year, that type of thing.”

There may not be a Watson wearing an Azusa uniform anymore, but the Cougars, the two-time defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion, are still a mighty early-season challenge for these Lumberjacks. Kickoff tonight is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Southern California heat.

“They’ve been the top dog in the GNAC the last couple of years and they’ve only been with us in Division II for a couple of years,” Smith said. “They’ve moved that program along to one of the top not just within our conference and here on the West Coast, but at the national level as well.”

While Azusa — currently ranked No. 17 nationally in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches Poll — may have lost Watson, it still has an experienced quarterback in sophomore Chad Jeffries.

The 6-foot-2 Jeffries, who attended San Diego State for two years but did not play in a game, went 17 of 32 for 269 yards in Azusa’s season-opening win over West Texas A&M on Sept. 3. He completed nearly 62 percent of his passes as a true freshman last season.

“Jeffries is a returning, experienced quarterback, so you certainly start there,” Smith said. “They’ve got two running back who are not Watson-like in terms of size, but who is? It’s rare that you can get a 6-foot-2, 240-pound back who can flat out play. They have a couple of different style backs, but are still productive in what they do.”

Humboldt’s 29-20 season-opening win over Western Oregon last Saturday at the Redwood Bowl has handed the Jacks an early lead in the GNAC with two non-conference games — albeit against Azusa and Dixie State — coming up.

Smith was pleased with how his defense played against the Wolves outside of a few select drives where Western got the bulk of its yardage.

However, Smith made it a point this week to say that he wants more out of his passing game in light of how it played in Week 1.

The Jacks’ head coach described Robert Webber’s performance in the season-opening win as “not his best,” with the sophomore signal caller throwing for just 107 yards while completing 14 of 27 passes against Western Oregon.

“Our pass game and just our offensive rhythm, I thought we came out really strong early on. And then in the late second and throughout third quarter, we kind of went into an offensive funk a little bit,” Smith said. “We had a difficult time piecing things together, so we’ve got to get that rhythm back that is so critical to our offense. We didn’t throw the ball as effectively or as well as we thought we could or would.”

But, when push comes to shove, Smith and the Jacks are approaching this Saturday just like they were looking at their game seven days ago — a chance to show just how strong their credentials are against one of the GNAC’s best.

“When you’ve won 25 of 28 games, you’re going to have a little swagger, and Azusa Pacific does,” Smith said. “If our goals include a conference championship, which they most certainly do, then let’s play the conference champion and see where we’re at.”

Danny Penza can be reached evenings at 707-441-0528