Southern Utah's football team opens Great West Conference play this weekend when the Thunderbirds face off against UC Davis in Davis, Calif., Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (PDT).
The Thunderbirds (3-3, 0-0 Great West), who are coming off a 14-7 home win over Youngstown State, will be looking to open GWC play with a win for the first time since the league was formed in 2004. SUU, a 34-20 winner at Texas State on Sept. 27, will also be trying to win three games in a row for the first time since winning six straight to end the 200 season.
UC Davis (2-4, 0-0 Great West) snapped a two-game skid with a 34-30 home win over Northern Colorado on Saturday. The Aggies are 2-0 at home this season, with wins over Portland State (38-24, Sept. 13) and UNC, and although they are 0-4 on the road two of those losses have come against ranked FCS teams: at Central Arkansas (24-21) and at Montana (29-24), and one has come at FBS San Jose State (13-10). The other was at Northeastern (27-10).
The Game: Southern Utah (3-3, 0-0) at UC Davis (2-4, 0-0), Saturday, 6:00 p.m. (PDT) at Aggie Stadium (10,743/Artificial).
The Series: Saturday's game will mark the 13th meeting between the two schools. The series began with a 28-27 SUU win in Cedar City in 1993. UC Davis holds a 9-3 edge in the series, including a 6-0 advantage in games played in Davis. UC Davis notched a 41-21 win in Cedar City last year to give it five wins in the last six meetings. The last Thunderbird win in the series was a 19-15 triumph in Cedar City during the 2004 season.
Radio: All of Southern Utah's 2008 football games will be available over the Thunderbird Sports Network. Due to this weekend's LDS Church Conference, however, SUU flagship station KSUU (91.1 FM) will be the only station carrying Saturday's game. KSUU carries every game on the worldwide web at www.suu.edu/ksuu as well. With the exception of this week's game, Thunderbird Radio Network affiliate KSUB AM (590), which covers southwest Utah, also broadcasts every game. Art Challis is in his 34th season as the Thunderbirds' football voice. He is joined on home broadcasts by former SUU coach and athletic director Steve Lunt. Chris Holmes will provide color commentary for this week's broadcast.
TV: There will be no live television for Saturday's game. However, highlight feeds of all five Thunderbird home games will be available via SUU's FTP site. For information on obtaining those feeds contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner.
Fernandez, Ward Earn GWC Player of the Week Honors: Southern Utah University's Aaron Fernandez and Trevor Ward both earned Great West Conference player of the week honors following the Thunderbirds 14-7 win over Youngstown State on Saturday.
Fernandez, a defensive tackle from Mesa, Ariz. (Mesa CC/Red Mountain HS), tallied eight tackles (four solo), was in on a sack and had 1.5 tackles for losses in the win but his big play came in the third quarter when he scooped up a fumble and rambled 54 yards for what proved to be the winning score.
Ward, a punter from Ogden, Utah (Bonneville HS) punted six times for 257 yards, a 42.8 yard per punt average. He was particularly effective in the fourth quarter when he set the Penguins up with long fields on their final two possessions, pinning them on the one, and then on the 18-yard lines to begin their final two drives.
This is Ward's second honor this season. He is the first GWC player to earn player of the week recognition twice in 2008.
SUU has now had six players named GWC player of the week this season. In addition to the three named above, cornerback Akeem Anifowoshe earned the honor for his play at Texas State, linebacker D.J. Senter was named following the Montana game and return specialist Nick Miller was selected after the Adams State game.
GWFC Teleconference: The Great West Conference holds a weekly teleconference, beginning at 12:45 p.m. (MST). The conference's head coaches all address their previous and upcoming games. For information on accessing the teleconferences, contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner. The schedule follows:
12:45 p.m. - Introduction by Great West Commissioner Ed Grom
12:47 p.m. - Cal Poly Coach Rich Ellerson
12:55 p.m. - USD Coach Ed Meierkort
1:03 p.m. - UND Coach Chris Mussman
1:11 p.m. - SUU Coach Ed Lamb
1:19 p.m. - UC Davis coach Bob Biggs
Thunderbird Club Luncheons: The Thunderbird Club's weekly no-host luncheon is held Mondays at noon at the Cedar City Crystal Inn. The public is invited to attend the luncheons where Southern Utah's in-season coaches talk about their upcoming contests and review the past week's action.
The Coaches: SUU's Ed Lamb (BYU, 1996) has a record of 3z-3 in his first season as the Thunderbird head coach and his first season as a head coach overall. Lamb spent the past three seasons at the University of San Diego where he coordinated the special teams and recruiting and was the Toreros' defensive backs coach. Prior to his time at USD Lamb spent two seasons as defensive coordinator at Idaho. He also served a season at BYU as a linebackers coach and four seasons at Redlands, three as defensive coordinator and one as defensive line coach.
At age 34, Lamb is believed to be the youngest Division I head coach in the country this season. Georgia Southern's Chris Hatcher, 35, was the youngest last year.
UC Davis' Bob Biggs (UC Davis, 1973) is 121-58-1 in his 15th season at the helm of the Aggie program an in his 15th season overall as a head coach.
Affiliations: Southern Utah is in its fifth season in the Great West Conference, an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) league, after competing eight seasons as an NCAA I-AA independent. SUU is a member of the GWC in football only, and is affiliated with The Summit League in all its other sports except women's gymnastics, which competes in the Western Athletic Conference. UC Davis is also a football-only member of the Great West Conference, with the majority of its sports affiliated with the Big West Conference.
SUU In The FCS National Ranks:
Individuals: SUU has individuals ranked among the nation's top-50 FCS performers in eight categories this week, including two special teams, three offensive and three defensive categories. Return specialist/wide receiver Nick Miller is 10th in punt return average, at 15.5 ypr, 16th in all-purpose yards (162.17) and is just outside the top-50 in kickoff returns with an average of 21.79 ypr, which ranks 68th. Punter Trevor Ward is 11th in the nation with a 43.48 yards per punt average. In addition to Miller's all-purpose ranking, Tysson Poots has both of the other offensive marks, ranking 26th in receptions per game (6.0) and 33rd in receiving yards per game (79.3). On the defensive side of the ball, D.J. Senter is seventh in tackles per game with 12.0, while Robert Takeno is 11th with 11.0 and Akeem Anifowoshe is 79th with 8.17. Senter is also 13th in tackles for loss with an average of 1.67 per game and 35th in sacks at 0.67 per contest. Austin Curtis is tied for 58th in TFLs with 1.25 per game.
Team: As a team, SUU is seventh in the country in tackles-for-loss with an average of 8.67 per game, seventh in punt returns with an average of 17.31, 18th in net punting at 35.8 yards per punt, 32nd in kickoff returns at 21.79 yards per return, 46th in pass efficiency defense with a rating of 121.53 and is 48th in scoring defense at 23.83 ppg.
Thunderbird Quick Hits:
? Senior safety Troy Osborne (Peoria, Ariz.; Arizona State) came up with one of the biggest hits of the Youngstown State game when he drilled Penguin receiver Donald Jones in the end zone with 28 seconds to play. Osborne's hit broke up a near-certain completion that would have put YSU in position to either tie or go ahead in the final minute. Osborne missed four games after suffering an injury in the opener at Air Force. He returned to see limited duty at Texas State before returning to full-time status vs. YSU.
? Another big hit in the Youngstown State game was delivered by the Thunderbird DJs, senior linebacker D.J. Senter (Las Vegas, Nev.; Bishop Gorman HS) and junior cornerback D.J. Lucchesi (Panaca, Nev.; Lincoln County HS). The two converged to sack Penguin quarterback Paul Corsaro in the third period, forcing a fumble which DT Aaron Fernandez scooped up and returned 54 yards for what turned out to be the winning score.
? WR/KR Nick Miller (Scottsdale, Ariz.; Scottsdale CC) returned a kickoff 41 yards against Youngstown State on Saturday. It was the team's longest return this season and the second-longest of his SUU career, behind a 50-yarder last year at North Dakota State.
? Miller (Scottsdale, Ariz.; Scottsdale CC) has led the team in receiving yards in two straight games after pulling in five for 89 yards vs. Youngstown State. Miller caught a season-high six passes for a team-high 91 yards and a touchdown at Texas State. It was Miller's first TD catch since the opener at Air Force and marked the first game all year that sophomore Tysson Poots (Las Vegas, Nev.; Coronado HS) hadn't led the team in receptions and yards.
? Teams have been focusing on Poots lately. He had a season-low three catches for 29 yards vs. Youngstown State, and although he had six receptions at TSU he finished with a season-low 43 yards. Poots also saw a streak of four games with at least one touchdown catch come to an end vs. Youngstown State, as the Penguins kept him out of the end zone for the first time since the opener at Air Force. Poots is still atop the SUU scoring list with 30 points, however.
? RB Deckar Alexander (Fontana, Calif.; Menlo College) had 91 rushing yards vs. Youngstown State and 114 at Texas State. He tallied 32 carries at Texas State. It was the first time a Thunderbird had 30 or more carries since Chuck Henderson had 30 at Montana on Oct. 19, 2002 and the most by a T-Bird since Sept. 12, 1998, when Matt Cannon carried 34 times in a 45-35 SUU win at Montana. The 32 carries in a game are also tied for the seventh-most rushing attempts in SUU history (Zed Robinson vs. Santa Clara in 1991). The 114 yards at TSU mark the highest rushing total by a Thunderbird since Johnny Sanchez ran for 143 yards last season at South Dakota State (Nov. 10).
? When CB Tico Pringle (Rochester, N.Y.; Brigham Young) intercepted a Brandon Summers pass on Saturday vs. YSU it gave SUU seven interceptions on the season, one more than the team had all of last year. The pick was Pringle's first as a Thunderbird and it gave SUU stops in the Penguin red zone in back-to-back possessions. The Penguins didn't get back into the red zone until their final drive of the game.
? The Thunderbirds have forced three turnovers in three straight games. As a result, the team's turnover ratio has gone from a minus-0.3 per game, heading into the Northern Arizona game, to plus-0.17 per game.
Aggie Attack: Like SUU, UC Davis was the beneficiary of some last-minute heroics in its win last week. Unlike SUU, whose heroics came on the defensive end, the Aggies came from the offense as Bakari Grant caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Greg Denham as time expired to lift UCD to a 34-30 win over Northern Colorado.
Denham (6-2, 200, So) has completed 142-of-210 passes for 1,485 yards and nine touchdowns this season but he has also thrown nine interceptions. His favorite targets have been WRs Chris Carter (6-0, 195, Jr) and Bakari Grant (6-4, 195, Jr), who each have 37 receptions. Carter's have gone for 441 yards and three scores, while Grant has 433 yards and three more TDs. In four games Joe Trombetta (6-0, 220 So) has picked up 342 yards and three TDs on 83 carries while Brandon Tucker (5-8, 178, So) has carried 68 times for 317 yards and four scores after appearing in all six games.
Defensively the Aggies have been led by middle linebacker Mike Morales, with 37 tackles, including a team-leading six tackles for loss; he has also intercepted a pass and broken up another. DE Steven Wulff (6-2, 240 Jr) has a team-high 3.5 sacks while DT John Faletoese (6-3, 292, Sr) has 3.0. LB Mike Healey (6-1, 230, Jr), who is third on the team with 24 tackles, has a team-high two interceptions.
