Individuals: SUU has six players ranked among the FCS top-50 in 10 major statistical categories this week.
Defense: DE Tyler Osborne has the highest individual ranking, at sixth in tackles for loss with 2.17 per game, while Akeem Anifowoshe is 27th with 1.42 per game. Osborne is also 28th in sacks per game with 0.75 per contest while LB Blake Fenn is 49th in tackles per game with 8.83.
Offense: On the offensive side of the ball, Fesi Sitake is sixth in receptions per game at 7.83, while Tysson Poots is 10th at 7.33. That duo is also ranked in receiving yards per game, with Poots sixth at 105.67 and Sitake 29th at 75.83. Sitake, who is also SUU's return specialist, ranks 19th in all-purpose yards as well, with 143.83 per game. QB Brad Sorensen is 10th in passing yards per game with 267.33, 15th in total offense, at 272.83 yards per game, and 35th in passing efficiency, at 130.86.
Special Teams: SUU has just one player ranked in special teams categories this week, Sitake, who is 42nd in punt return average (7.58 ypr).
Team: The Thunderbirds rank among the nation's top-50 in 10 statistical categories this week, led by the defense, which ranks 10th overall in total defense, giving up just 286 yards per game. The passing offense checks in at No. 13 with 272.83 yards per game. The Thunderbirds are also 14th in tackles-for-loss this week, with 7.5 per game, 19th in total offense (410.5 ypg), 29th in turnover margin (plus-0.67), 37th in sacks (2.17 sgp), 39th in scoring defense (22.67 ppg), 45th in pass defense (185.17 ypg) and 48th in passing efficiency (125.83).

Tysson Poots has been named this week's Great West Conference offensive player of the week, following his performance at North Dakota. Poots caught 13 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown in the game. Ten of his receptions resulted in first downs for the Thunderbirds, including his first five catches of the game. Poots, who already holds the top two marks at SUU for receptions in a game, with 15 and 14, equaled the third-best mark in school history with his 13, while the 210 receiving yards is the fifth-highest total at SUU. He averaged 16.2 yards per catch Saturday, with a season-long reception of 51 yards as well as a 32-yarder.

Poots has earned honorable mention as receiver of the week on the national level from College Football Performance Awards three times, including this week. In the Thunderbirds' win over San Diego he caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while at San Jose State he had 10 receptions for 147 yards.

QB Brad Sorensen and DE Tyler Osborne also received CFPA honorable mention honors this week after Sorensen completed 35-of-46 passes for 413 yards and two TDs and Osborne had two solo sacks among his four solo tackles.

Austin Minefee earned honorable mention as running back of the week and Osborne earned his second honorable mention defensive line award from CFPA after the NAU game. Minefee carried 19 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns while Osborne had nine tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack in the game.

Akeem Anifowoshe and Osborne both received honors following their performances in the Thunderbirds' 28-20 loss at Wyoming on Sept. 4. Anifowoshe was named the Great West Conference's defensive player of the week, while both players earned honorable mention honors from CFPA. Anifowoshe tallied 10 tackles, including five solo stops, 3.5 tackles for losses and a sack in the Wyoming game. Osborne also had 3.5 tackles for losses and a sack in the game, with all but one of his five total tackles coming in the Cowboy backfield.

The Great West Conference awards are determined by the conference office. The CFPA bases its awards on a statistical formula which determines “the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams,” according to a CFPA press release.

• SUU's 413 passing yards at North Dakota are the third-most in a game in SUU history, which more than offsets the fact North Dakota held the Thunderbirds to 96 rushing yards, their second-fewest on the ground this season (behind the 79 at San Jose State). UND's 173 total yards were the second-fewest allowed by SUU this season; the Thunderbirds gave up just 153 to San Diego.

• SUU punted just twice at North Dakota. Ryan McNamara, who took over for Trent Barney in the second half against Northern Arizona, averaged just 38 yards per kick vs. UND, but he pinned the Sioux inside the 20 yard line with both kicks. McNamara has averaged 43 yards per punt this season.

• Dion Turner got his first interception of the season at North Dakota when he stepped in front of a Jake Landry toss in the fourth quarter to end the Fighting Sioux's final drive and seal the Thunderbird win. It was the second pick of his SUU career.

• SUU had the ball for 39:02 to 19:58 for UND. It was the T-Birds' largest time of possession margin of the season.

• North Dakota drove into SUU territory just three times and past the SUU 46 yard line just twice. The Thunderbirds had just one drive that didn't get into UND territory.
• The Thunderbird run defense has been stingy this year. Just two of the Thunderbirds six opponents have broken the 100-yard mark as a team, San Diego with 119 and Texas State with 224. After allowing Wyoming just 36 rushing yards the Thunderbirds held San Jose State to just 57 yards on the ground. SUU then limited to 96 yards on the ground. Even though NAU's Zach Bauman was the first individual 100-yard gainer against the T-Birds this season the team had enough yards in sacks to take the total below 100. The defense was stingy once again against North Dakota, as the Fighting Sioux wound up with just 73 yards on the ground.

• Austin Minefee ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns vs. Northern Arizona. The yards were the most on the ground by an SUU back since Minefee ran for 147 in the 2009 opener against Dixie State. It was his second straight 100-yard game, following his 102-yard performance at Texas State on Sept. 25. The last time SUU had a player rush for 100-yards in back-to-back games was also last year, when Minefee ran for 111 yards at San Diego State following his 147 yard performance vs. DSC. It was also the fist time since Major Gray ran for four TDs last season against UC Davis that the Thunderbirds had a player  rush for multiple scores in a game.

• Minefee also had a career-long 50-yard touchdown run vs. the Lumberjacks.

• Colin Pretlow returned an interception 44 yards for a score vs. NAU. It was SUU's first interception return for a TD since he returned one 46 yards against UC Davis last season.

• SUU's 164 rushing yards were the most given up by NAU this season. The Lumberjacks came into the game with the second-best run defense in the FCS, allowing just 54 yards per game. Minefee was also the first back to break the 100-yard mark this season against the 'Jacks.

• Northern Arizona's Matt Estrada had a 66-yard punt return for a score against the T-Birds. It was the first time the Thunderbirds had given up a punt return for a score since 1997, when Idaho State's Trevor Bell returned one 53 yards for a score.

• NAU had 340 total yards to SUU's 318, marking the first time this season an opponent has out-gained the Thunderbirds. The Lumberjacks' Zach Bauman also became the first back to pass the 100-yard mark against the T-Birds this season. Bauman finished with 109 yards on the ground.

• The Lumberjacks also held SUU to a season-low 154 passing yards. The Thunderbirds had more rushing than passing yards (164/154) since the season-opener last year vs. Dixie State.

• Poots got back into the scoring column again at UND after going without a touchdown catch in two of the previous three games He had a streak of 16 games with a scoring grab until being shutout at San Jose State. Although he caught 10 passes for 147 yards at SJSU he didn't catch one for a score. He did get into the end zone at Texas State but not against Northern Arizona.

• Brad Sorensen's 70-yard touchdown pass to Jared Ursua at Texas State was the team's longest play this season, as well as each player's career-long play.

• Sorensen threw for a career-best 352 yards at Texas State. His attempts (49) and completions (29) were also career-bests while he tied his personal high for TD passes with three.

• SUU rolled up a then-season-high 507 yards of offense at Texas State, but also gave up a season-high, as the Bobcats finished with 445 yards. The previous high for SUU was 411 yards vs. San Diego, while Wyoming's 355 yards was the previous high-water mark for an opponent. The total yards were the team's most since putting up 540 last season at Northern Arizona. The 507 yards were 10 more than Texas State gave up in a 68-28 season-opening loss at Houston, and SUU's 352 passing yards were six more than Houston finished with.

• Linebackers Akeem Anifowoshe, Blake Fenn and Troy Bunting are 1-2-3 on the SUU tackles list. Bunting had a team-high 11 at Texas State and led the way again last week with 10.

• Redshirt freshman J.J. Mayer got his first game-action at San Jose State when he was inserted into the game late in the fourth quarter in an effort to rally the team from its 16-11 deficit. Mayer completed two of his first four passes for 25 yards but threw an interception on a tipped pass on his final attempt.

• SUU scored on three field goals and a safety at San Jose State. It was the first time since 2007 that the Thunderbirds had gone without a touchdown (and the first time in the Ed Lamb era). The last time was at Montana State, in a 7-3 loss. It was also the first time SUU had scored on a safety during the Ed Lamb era; the safety for a score was SUU's first since the 2007 season-opener, at Montana.

• The Thunderbirds were penalized a season-high 14 times for 143 yards at SJSU, the most penalties and yards lost to penalties in the Ed Lamb era as well.

• SUU held San Diego to 34 passing yards, the sixth-fewest passing yards by an opponent in SUU's 4-year history (since 1963). SUU gave up just 145 total yards and only 36 in the second half when the Toreros had just two first downs and didn't make it past the SUU 49 yard line.

• Junior quarterback Zack Olsen scored his first collegiate touchdown against San Diego when he scrambled around the left end for 17 yards and the final score of the game.

• The Thunderbird defense allowed just two drives of over six plays and just four over five plays against San Diego. Six players had tackles for losses and seven broke up passes.

•In a span of less than 40 seconds DT Cody Heinreich doubled his career sacks total against San Diego. He had solo sacks on back-to-back plays in the third quarter for a total of 16 yards. Coming into the game Heinreich, a junior, had one career sack. Heinreich had another sack at San Jose State but wasn't initially credited due to a statistician's error. That error has been corrected.

• Between serving an LDS church mission and sitting out last season as a redshirt it had been over three years since Brad Sorensen had thrown a pass in a game when he took the field at Wyoming. His first completion covered 23 yards and went to Poots, his first touchdown also went to Poots, a seven-yarder.

• The Thunderbirds' 191 rushing yards at Wyoming were their most since going for 244 vs. Dixie State in the opener last year and their 193 passing yards were the fewest since the T-Birds threw for just 189 in that Dixie State game.

• SUU held Wyoming to 36 rushing yards, the fewest ever by an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision team against the Thunderbirds. The 36 yards were the fewest by an SUU opponent since the second game of the 2006 season when the Thunderbirds held Division II Western State to six rushing yards. The T-Birds had 10 tackles-for-loss in that game, including five sacks, for a total of minus-74 rushing yards. The SUU record for rushing yards allowed in a game is minus-35 against Asuza Pacific way back in 1971. The fewest rushing yards allowed by SUU against an FCS team was minus-29, vs. St. Mary's in 1998.

Cal Poly heads into this week as the nation's No. ??-ranked team at the FCS level. The Mustangs have a potent rushing offense that doesn't feature any one back, but rather splits the duties between four of them, including quarterback Andre Broadus.

Broadus, who has played in four of the Mustangs' six games, leads the way with 66 carries and a 60.0 yards per game average with three touchdowns. Mark Rodgers has 55 carries and an average of 51.3 yards per game and four TDs, while Jake Romanelli averages 47 ypg on 56 carries with one touchdown. Jordan Yocum has carried 46 times for a 43.8 ypg average and another score.

When Broadus elects to pass he has gone to senior Dominique Johnson, who has 20 receptions for 282 yards and three TDs, while Rogers has eight receptions for 72 yards and another two scores. Rogers is also the team's primary kick return specialist, and as such his ranks 16th in the country with a 29.5 yards per return average, while Asa Jackson averages 10.45 yards per return on punts.

Defensively, the Mustangs have been led by linebacker Marty Mohammed, with team-highs of 50 tackles and three interceptions. Jackson is second on the team in both tackles (38) and interceptions (two), while Kenny Jackson has 30 tackles to go with his team-high five tackles for losses. Kevin Hess leads the way in sacks with 3.0.

As a team the Mustangs average 260.2 rushing yards per game, the seventh-best attack in the nation, while they pass just enough to keep defenses honest, averaging 98.3 ypg, and they average 29.5 points per game. Defensively Cal Poly has given up 26.7 points, 245.5 passing yards and 126.0 rushing yards per game. The Cal Poly return teams rank high as well, at third in kickoff returns with an average of 27.0 ypr, and 41st in punt returns, at 10.45 ypr.