Quickly: Southern Utah plays its third Great West Conference game of 2011 - and third straight against a team playing its GWC opener - this week when the Thunderbirds travel to San Luis Obispo, Calif., for a match-up with Cal Poly.

Southern Utah (3-3/0-2 Great West) has lost two in a row, both conference games, after winning three straight to earn a No. 17 ranking following a 41-16 win at UNLV on Sept. 24. Last week the Thunderbirds dropped a 24-19 decision at No. 14/15 South Dakota and the previous week they fell victim to #18/23 North Dakota at home.

Cal Poly (3-2, 0-0 Great West) is playing its GWC opener and its second straight at home after opening the season with three of the first four games on the road. Last week the Mustangs handled Division II Central Oklahoma, 44-25, to get back on track after a 47-30 loss at Northern Illinois.

The Game: Southern Utah (3-2/0-1 GWC) at Cal Poly (2-3/0-0 GWC), 6:05 p.m. (Pacific) at Spanos Stadium (11,075/Grass).

The Series: Saturday's game will be the 25th meeting between the two schools. Cal Poly holds a 17-7 edge in the series, but SUU broke a nine-game losing streak against the Mustangs with a 20-7 Homecoming win last year in Cedar City. The last time the teams met in San Luis Obispo the Mustangs eked out a 24-23 win during the 2009 season. SUU has won just once at Cal Poly, and that victory came back in the first-ever meeting between the two teams, a 44-33 triumph back in 1986, giving SUU a 1-12 mark in San Luis Obispo. The two programs have faced off every year but one since 1986, but with the schools' move to the 13-team Big Sky next year they aren't scheduled to meet again until 2014, in San Luis Obispo.

Thunderbird Practice Schedule: The players are off on Mondays. Daily practices Tuesday through Thursday are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. and end at 6:15 p.m.

Media Availability: Players and coaches are available for interviews on Tuesdays following practice, at approximately 6:15 p.m. To contact a player or coach on another day or time contact Neil Gardner at gardner@suu.edu or 435-586-7753.

Television: SUU's home games are televised live on My Utah TV (KMYU), with Mychal Clanton calling the play-by-play and Jordan Buscarini providing analysis. My Utah TV is available over the air and via cable and satellite throughout Utah. In southern Utah it is available over the air on Digital channel 2.2 and 12.1 and in Utah it is available on the following cable outlets: Comcast (channel 22), Baja (20) and Bresnan (18). It is also available in Utah on Dish Network, channel 12.

Radio: All of Southern Utah's 2011 football games are available over the Thunderbird Sports Network. SUU flagship station Power 91 (KSUU, 91.1 FM) carries every game live as well as on the worldwide web at www.suu.edu/ksuu. Art Challis is in his 35th season as the Thunderbirds' football voice. Dave McMullin, a former all-conference defensive lineman for the Thunderbirds, provides color commentary.

Video Highlights: Video highlights of the Thunderbirds' road games will be available to accredited media outlets via SUU's FTP site. For information on obtaining those highlights contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner.

GWC Teleconference: The Great West Conference holds a weekly teleconference, beginning at 12:45 p.m. (Mountain). 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 Commissioner Ed Grom

            12:47 p.m. - Cal Poly coach Tim Walsh

            12:55 p.m. - South Dakota coach Ed Meierkort

            1:03 p.m. - North Dakota coach Chris Mussman

            1:11 p.m. - Southern Utah 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 in the Tradition Room in the home of President Michael Benson. 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.

Sonny Boy's Coaches Show: Coach Ed Lamb is Eric Ripley's guest on a weekly radio coaches show each Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on Power 91. The coaches show is broadcast live from Sonny Boy's Barbecue, 126 No. Main in Cedar City. Fans in attendance will be eligible for gift certificates and prizes throughout the show.

Next Up/Remaining Schedule:

The T-Birds close out a three-game road stretch when they travel up I-15 to meet future Big Sky foe Weber State on Oct. 22.

The 'Birds wrap up their GWC and home slates the following weekend when they host UC Davis on Oct. 29, before a bye week, Nov 5. The final two regular-season games have the Thunderbirds at Northern Iowa (Nov. 12) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 19).

The Coaches:

A 2010 Eddie Robinson Award nominee, SUU's Ed Lamb (BYU, 1996) has a record of 18-21 in his fourth season as the Thunderbird head coach and his fourth season as a head coach overall. Last year Lamb guided the Thunderbirds to their first-ever Great West Conference championship and their most successful season since 2004 when the Thunderbirds went undefeated in GWC play and finished the season with a 6-5 overall mark. Prior to taking over at SUU, Lamb spent 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 the University of Redlands, three as defensive coordinator and one as defensive line coach. Coach Lamb is 1-2 vs. Cal Poly.

Cal Poly's Tim Walsh (UC Riverside, 1977) is 13-14 in his third season at Cal Poly and 130-96 overall in his 22nd season as a head coach. Coach Walsh is 3-1 vs. the Thunderbirds, including two wins while he was head coach at Portland State (in 1993 and 1994).

Affiliations: Southern Utah is in its eighth and final season in the Great West Conference (NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision). The Thunderbirds will join the Big Sky Conference next season. SUU is affiliated with The Summit League in all its other sports except women's gymnastics, which competes in the Western Athletic Conference. Cal Poly is also in its final season in the Great West, as it will also be moving to the Big Sky for football next year. The majority of Cal Poly's sports are affiliated with the Big West Conference.

Captains: This year's captains are senior defensive end Tyler Osborne, senior safety Erron Vonner and senior running back Daryl Brown.

GWC Players of the Week:

Austin Minefee was named the Great West Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in the Thunderbirds' 24-19 loss at South Dakota on Saturday. Minefee returned four kickoffs a total of 132 yards on Saturday, including a 34-yard return that led to an SUU touchdown and a 63-yarder to set up a field goal. His returns were so effective that South Dakota began pooch-kicking their kickoffs to avoid him touching the ball, but even that didn't work, as on his final return he picked the ball up after a teammate had failed to catch it and returned the ball 12 yards to the SUU 34 yard line. With Saturday's effort Minefee moved from 11th to fourth in the nation in kickoff return average, with an average of 31.27 yards per return.

Southern Utah earned two of the week's three Great West Conference Player of the Week awards following the Thunderbirds' 41-16 upset at UNLV. Linebacker Blake Fenn earned the defensive award, while kicker Colton Cook was named special teams player of the week by the Great West Conference office. Fenn was also named overall GWC player of the week by College Sports Madness.

Fenn had perhaps the biggest play of the game as he intercepted a pass on the first play from scrimmage in the second half and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown. The score broke a 10-10 tie and took away any momentum UNLV may have had after a late first-half field goal. Fenn's return was one of three for touchdowns on the evening for the Thunderbirds, just one shy of the NCAA Division I record of four pick-sixes in a game. Fenn also had nine tackles, including a team-best six solo stops in the game.

Cook was 2-for-2 on field goals against the Rebels, getting the Thunderbirds on the board in the first quarter with a 35-yarder, then booting a career-long 40-yarder in the fourth quarter to stake the team to a 27-10 advantage. He also kicked off eight times for 481 yards, with two going for touchbacks.

Southern Utah WR/return specialist Brady Measom was the Great West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week following the UTSA game. Measom returned three punts for a total of 103 yards in the Thunderbirds' 45-22 win over UT-San Antonio. He set SUU up for its go-ahead score with his first return, a 62-yard effort return midway through the first quarter, helping set the tone for the game. After catching the kick on the SUU 20-yard line he returned it to the UTSA 18. Later in the game he had a 40-yard return, from the SUU 37 to the UTSA 23, which led to a field goal. The 103 punt return yards in a game are the eighth-most in SUU history.

Running back Deckar Alexander earned a pair of player of the week awards for his performance against Sacramento State. He earned the offensive player of the week honor from the conference office and the overall GWC player of the week award from College Sports Madness. Alexander carried 18 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught five passes for 23 more yards in the win. His first TD was a 12-yard run that gave the Thunderbirds their first lead of the game, 10-7, while his second score iced the game with 1:40 to play, a 3-yard run that gave the 'Birds the 35-14 advantage.

College Performance Awards: 

Junior quarterback Brad Sorensen earned College Football Performance Awards honor roll mention for his efforts the past two weeks, against South Dakota and North Dakota.

In the South Dakota game Sorensen completed 32-of-44 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns. The 32 completions are the sixth-most in a game in SUU history and the third-best effort by Sorensen. His 145.57 quarterback efficiency rating was his second-best of the season, behind the 192.89 he tallied against UTSA.

Against UND Sorensen completed 38-of-54 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns. The 38 completions are a school-record, while the 54 attempts tie his personal-high and are the second-most  in school history. The 353 yards are the seventh-most by an SUU quarterback and Sorensen's third-highest total in a single game.

Senior defensive end Tyler Osborne and junior defensive tackle Cody Larsen were both named to the CFPA honor roll for their play at UNLV. Both players had two sacks in the game, both forced a fumble, and both recovered the fumble he forced. Larsen finished with six tackles, while Osborne had five, and both had five solo stops. Larsen forced and recovered a fumble in the first quarter that thwarted a UNLV drive that got to the one-yard line before a penalty and the sack killed the scoring threat. Osborne's forced fumble and recovery came on the UNLV 31-yard line in the fourth quarter and led to an SUU touchdown.

Sorensen was also named to the CFPA honor roll for his play against UTSA. He completed 20-of-28 passes for 284 yards and three TDs in the SUU win.

Senior Austin Minefee was named National Kickoff Returner of the Week by College Football Performance Awards for his play in the Thunderbirds' 35-14 win over No. 12 Sacramento State. Minefee helped spark the Thunderbirds to the win with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the second quarter. Minefee returned three kickoffs in the game, for a total of 121 yards and finished with 195 all-purpose yards, including 47 rushing and 27 receiving.

Senior wide receiver Jared Ursua was named to the CFPA honor roll for his play at South Dakota State. Ursua caught a career-high nine passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

SUU In The FCS National Ranks: 

SUU has nine players ranked among the FCS top-50 in 13 statistical categories following last week's games, while the team figures among the top-50 programs in 12 major categories and among the top-30 in nine.

Defense: DT Tyler Osborne ranks 34th in sacks with an average of 0.75 per game while Cody Larsen is 47th with 0.67. LB Chad Hansen ranks 34th in tackles with an average of 9.83 per game.

Offense: On the offensive side of the ball, QB Brad Sorensen ranks seventh in completions per game with 27.8 and 11th total passing yards with 1,732,. He is 11th in passing yards per game with an average of 288.7, 11th in total offense with 282.8 yards per game, 28th in points responsible for with 13.0 ppg and 35th in passing efficiency with a 138.60 rating. WR Jared Ursua ranks in three categories: 27th in receptions per game (5.67), 32nd in total receiving yards (434) and 43rd in receiving yards per game (72.33), while Brady Measom is 34th in receptions per game with 5.50.

Special Teams: Austin Minefee is fourth in kickoff returns, with an average of 31.27 ypr while Measom ranks seventh in punt returns, with an average of 16.11 yards per return. Kicker Colton Cook is tied for 34th in field goals per game at 1.17 and while punter Tate Lewis is one shy of the minimum to qualify for the rankings, his 41.6 ypp average would rank 26th in yards per punt.

Team: In the team categories SUU ranks fifth in kickoff return average (26.20 ypr), 10th in passing offense (291.67 ypg), 14th in turnovers gained (14, including seven fumble recoveries, which is 14th and seven interceptions, which is 23rd) and 17th in both net punting (38.08 ypp) and turnover margin (plus-0.83). The Thunderbirds are 25th in pass efficiency defense (112.53 rating), 26th in punt returns (13.09 ypr), 27th in scoring offense (31.33 ppg) and 30th in scoring defense (21.83 ppg). SUU also ranks 31st in pass defense (180.33 ypg), 35th in sacks (2.33 pg) and 44th in passing efficiency (135.31).

Thunderbirds Fall From Polls: Southern Utah dropped out of the FCS top-25 in both polls this week. The Thunderbirds are still receiving votes, coming at 30th in the Sports Network's poll of media and sports information directors, and 32nd in the coaches poll.

Brad Sorensen and the Air Attack: 

Just six games into the season junior quarterback Brad Sorensen has broken into the school's top-10 in two single-season statistical categories and is closing on on two more. He has completed 167 passes, the sixth-most in a season at SUU, with 243 attempts, which is tied for 10th. He has also thrown 11 TD passes, needing two to break into the top-10, and his 1,732 yards are just 123 shy of 10th place on the SUU single-season list. Career-wise, Sorensen is now second on the SUU lists in three categories and third in another. He is second in touchdown passes list with 33, needing nine to pass Rick Robins for first, in passing yards with 4,895, 2,546 behind Robins, and in completions with 428, 90 behind Robins. His 633 pass attempts ranks third, 91 behind Wes Marshall and 390 behind Robins. He has also broken a single-game record and put several numbers into the single-game top-10, with those efforts detailed below.

He completed 32-of-44 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns at South Dakota, marking his third 300-yard game this season, ironically all in losses. His 32 completions are the sixth-most in a game in SUU history and his third-best personal effort. His 145.57 quarterback efficiency rating was his second-best of the season, behind the 192.89 he tallied against UTSA. One of his TD passes went to freshman Brady Measom, for Measom's first collegiate touchdown, while the other went to Abbel Aiono, his second this season and the fifth of his career.

Sorensen would undoubtedly rather have had a win than a school record against North Dakota, but he will have to settle for the record. He completed a school-record 38 passes against the Fighting Sioux, while his 54 attempts in the game tie his personal-high and are the second-most  in school history. He also threw for 353 yards, the seventh-most in a game by an SUU quarterback and Sorensen's third-highest total.

Sorensen struggled in the first half at UNLV, when he completed just 7-of-21 passes for 39 yards and threw two interceptions, but he bounced back nicely in the second half, when he was 9-of-13 for 139 yards without an interception. With the team protecting a lead and going to the running game, he was particularly effective on third down in the second half, when he completed 4-of-6 pass attempts, including 3-of-3 in the first SUU drive of the half. 

He had an outstanding game against UTSA, completing 20-of-28 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception. His scoring tosses were of 26, three and 24 yards, all three came on third down, two of them on third-and-long, including third-and-goal from the 26 yard line and third-and-18 from the 24. He took just one sack and scrambled out of trouble for two yards on his other run. His passer efficiency rating for the game was 192.89, his highest of the year.

Although Sorensen didn't throw a TD pass against Sacramento State he was nearly perfect otherwise, completing 30-of-37 passes for 271 yards without an interception. Two of the incompletions were throw-aways.

He completed 31-of-46 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns at South Dakota State, overcoming four sacks and three interceptions earlier in the game to rally team from 29-7 fourth-quarter deficit by completing 13-of-21 attempts and throwing  two TD passes, including what could have been the game-winner with 2 seconds remaining. On the final drive he completed seven straight passes, including the TD toss. The 340 yards are Sorensen's fifth-best single-game total and are ninth-best in school history, while the 31 completions represent his fourth-highest total and the seventh-most in school history.

Defensive Stoppers:

• Sophomore linebacker Chad Hansen has been in double-figures in tackles in five of the first six games and has led or co-led the team in tackles in five of six as well. He has had a team-high 10 tackles in three straight games, at South Dakota (where he shared the team lead with Brennan Fjord), vs. North Dakota and at UNLV. He also had a sack at South Dakota. Although he didn't hit double-figures against UTSA, he did lead the team with seven stops. In his first start, at South Dakota State, he led the Thunderbirds with 12 tackles, seven solo, and broke up a pass but his biggest play came with under three minutes to go and the Jackrabbits running out the clock when he hit SDSU running back Tyrel Kool in the backfield, forcing a fumble that Blake Fenn recovered, leading to SUU's final score of the game. He tallied 10 tackles (including a TFL), with six solo stops and a quarterback hurry against Sacramento State.
• FS Brennan Fjord had a career-high 10 tackles at South Dakota, including a career-high five solo stops. LB Herman Sword also had a career-best in the USD game, with eight tackles, including a pair of tackles-for-loss.
• CB Marlon Hogains picked off his first career interception at South Dakota. He also had a pass break-up against the Coyotes, his second of the season.
• Southern Utah came close to tying an NCAA record for interceptions returned for touchdowns at UNLV. Nick Witzmann, Blake Fenn and Erron Vonner each had a pick-six in the game for a school-record three. The NCAA Division I record is four.
• With the three picks at UNLV, SUU has returned five interceptions for TDs this season, another school record. Two of them have been by Vonner, who also had one in the opener at South Dakota State. Dion Turner notched a pick-six vs. Texas-San Antonio. SUU had never returned more than three interceptions for touchdowns in a season before the UNLV game. The NCAA Division I record for interceptions returned for a touchdown in a season is seven.
• Vonner has three interceptions in his SUU career and he has returned all three for touchdowns! His first was in 2009 at home against North Dakota. His 74-yard effort at UNLV is the sixth-longest interception return in the history of the program.
• Fenn's 22-yard interception return at UNLV was the second pick-six of his career. He also had a 73-yarder last year at UC Davis.
•  The only other time SUU had multiple interception returns for touchdowns in a game was back in 1991, when Clint Christiansen and Darren DeGracie each had a pick-six at Cal State Northridge.
• Tyler Osborne and Cody Larsen lead the Thunderbirds in TFLs, with 6.0 and 4.0, respectively. Osborne also has a team-high 4.5 sacks while Larsen is second with 3.0. Osborne had the team's only sack against North Dakota. Both of them had two sacks at UNLV, where each forced and recovered a fumble as well. Larsen's thwarted a Rebel drive which had reached the one-yard line in the first quarter, while Osborne's led to a touchdown in the fourth period. Osborne also had a big hand in the defensive effort against Sac State, with five tackles, two solo, a solo sack, a half-sack and another tackle-for loss. He also recovered a fumble that led to a score and had two quarterback hurries.
• SUU had a season-high eight tackles-for-loss at UNLV, with a season-best five sacks as well.
•  Fenn led SUU with 12 tackles vs. Sacramento State. He also had a quarterback hurry, as the Thunderbirds harassed Jeff Fleming all afternoon, sacking him twice, tackling him in the backfield on a bootleg once, tallying seven hurries and forcing him to scramble in passing situations a handful of times.

Thunderbird Quick Hits:

• Freshman WR Brady Measom caught the first TD pass of his career at South Dakota. He finished the game with a 11 receptions for 93 yards, both team-highs.
•  Colton Cook hit both field goal attempts at South Dakota, making him 7-of-8 for the season. He was good on 2-of-3 against Sacramento State, including his first two attempts, which were his first field goal attempts in a college football game. He was true from 27 and 36 yards but pulled a 25-yarder. He added another, on his only attempt of the game, a 36-yarder, vs. UTSA and made two more at UNLV, including a career-long attempt from 40 yards out. He didn't attempt a field goal in the opener at South Dakota State or vs. North Dakota.
• With an official attendance of 10,169, it was a standing-room-only crowd at South Dakota's 10,000-seat DakotaDome on Saturday. Crowd noise had a definite affect on the Thunderbirds, who were penalized eight times for 50 yards in the game, which was Dakota Day, USD's Homecoming. Six of the penalties were for false starts, with three on third down when the crowd noise really cranked up. The other two penalties were for holding.
• The Thunderbirds' three biggest passing games this season have come in their three losses. SUU opened the season throwing for 340 yards at South Dakota State in a one-point loss, threw for 353 in the loss to North Dakota and for 303 yards at South Dakota.Conversely, the team's three lowest rushing totals, 53 yards at SDSU, 23 vs. UND and 11 at USD, came in their three losses.
• The 11 rushing yards SUU had at USD were the T-Birds fewest in a game this year and the lowest total since Nov. 15, 2008, when South Dakota held SUU to minus-4 yards on the ground.
• SUU had its poorest performance of the season in the red zone against UND, scoring just three of the six times the team penetrated the Fighting Sioux' 20 yard line. The Thunderbirds failed to convert on fourth down twice in the red zone and lost the ball another time on a fumble. Coming into the game the team had failed to convert in the red zone just twice all season, and never more than once in a game.
• SUU didn't attempt a kickoff return against UND, marking the first time all season the T-Birds hadn't returned at least two. Four of UND kicker Zeb Miller's kickoffs were with the 15 mph wind and went either deep into or out of the end zone, and the fifth, which was into the wind, sailed out of bounds.
• SUU was the beneficiary of just one turnover against UND. The Thunderbirds had been on the receiving end of at least three TOs in three of the first four games, with the exception the win over Sacramento State, when they also came away with just one.
• The win at UNLV was either SUU's second or its third against an FBS-level opponent, depending upon how one looks at it. SUU's first was back in 1997 when the Thunderbirds won at Arkansas State, 34-24. SUU also had a 45-22 win over UTSA on Sept. 17, and while strictly speaking the Roadrunners are an FBS program, they are also in their first season playing football and thus are a transitional program.
• WR Jared Ursua led the team in receiving yards at UNLV with 78, it was the second time he has led the team in receiving yards this year, along with the opener at South Dakota State. Against both Sacramento State and UTSA he caught six passes for 67 yards. He also caught two TD passes against UTSA and at South Dakota State. He had six catches for 61 yards vs. UND and three catches for 32 yards at USD.
• SUU rolled up a season-high 423 yards of total offense against UTSA, but neither its rushing total (118 yards) nor its passing total (305) was its highest of the season. The Thunderbirds threw for 353 yards vs. North Dakota and 340 at South Dakota State, and ran for 128 vs. Sacramento State.
•  Austin Minefee's kickoff return for a TD vs. Sacramento State was SUU's first kickoff return for a score since Tremaine Cox took one 91 yards at Nevada back in 2003.
• Measom's 103 punt return yards vs. UTSA are the eighth-most in a single game in SUU history. Ironically, he knocked his special teams coach, Justin Walterscheid, out of the SUU top-10 with his performance. Going into the game Walterscheid's 96 yards vs. Western Oregon in 2003 was the 10th-best performance at SUU.
• Even before his breakout game vs. UTSA, Measom, an invited walk-on, had made his mark in the first two games. He won the punt return job in camp and got an opportunity to move into the receivers rotation because of injuries. He made the most of his opportunity, catching seven passes for 48 yards at SDSU, then leading the team with 93 yards on five more catches against Sac State, including a 56-yarder, the team's long this season. Against UTSA he caught two passes for 60 yards, including a 47-yarder, once again the team's longest of the game.
• Freshman punter Tate Lewis had a memorable first game. He punted four times for 164 yards, an average of 41.0 ypp. On his first punt he was up against the back of the end zone and the snap was a little high and wide, he handled it, however, and boomed a 48-yarder. He also scrambled out on a run/punt option, made the correct choice and kicked it rugby style into the wind for his shortest kick of the night, a 38-yarder. None of his punts were returned.
• SUU is in its 49th season as a four-year football-playing institution and its 26th as a member of the NCAA. The 2011 season also marks the Thunderbirds' 19th as a member of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision and is the school's eighth in the Great West Conference.
• The opener at South Dakota State marked the seventh time in the last nine seasons the Thunderbirds have played their first game of the season on the road. Last year SUU opened at Wyoming, in 2008 the team opened at Air Force, in 2007 it was at Montana, in 2005 at Idaho State, in 2004 at Weber State and in 2003 the opener was at Nevada. The two openers at home have been against Dixie State in 2009 and in 2006 when the 'Birds kicked off the season against Montana Tech at Eccles Coliseum.
• The Thunderbirds have six coaches' first-team all-conference players returning, including running back Austin Minefee, offensive lineman Trevor Schauerhamer, defensive end Tyler Osborne, cornerback Dion Turner, safety Erron Vonner and junior quarterback Brad Sorensen. All but Sorensen will be seniors this fall. Osborne, Vonner and Sorensen also received first-team all-conference honors from the media, who also selected offensive linemen Gavin Farr and Zach Brackus and defensive lineman Cody Larsen. Minefee, Schauerhamer and Turner received second-team honors from the media, while Farr and Larsen were second-team selections by the coaches. Returning LB Blake Fenn earned second-team honors on both squads.
• SUU has eight returning academic all-GWC honorees, including Vonner, Fenn, Schauerhamer and Larsen, along with senior OL Brock Christensen, senior DB Zack Olsen, junior OL Russell Petersen and sophomore DL Brad Meyer.
• SUU plays all of its 11 games against NCAA Division I opponents this year, with nine against teams from the championship subdivision and two from the bowl subdivision. UNLV and UT-San Antonio are the two FBS opponents. UTSA is a first-year program which is beginning under the FBS umbrella.

Mustang Notes: 

Cal Poly has had a reputation for potent running games and this year is no different, as the Mustangs are ranked fifth in the FCS in rushing offense despite playing two FBS-level opponents and just two home games so far. The Mustangs average 258.4 yards per game on the ground while throwing for an average of 131.0 and scoring at a 33.2 points per game clip. Defensively CP has given up an average of 161.8 rushing and 265.8 passing yards per game, and 34.4 points per game.

FB Jake Romanelli (6-3, 240, Sr) leads the rushing attack with 89.8 yards per game and 5.3 per carry, while QB Andre Broadous (6-0, 205, Jr) averages 70.2 ypg and slotback Mark Rogers (5-8, 180, Sr) has carried for 64.0 yards per game. Broadous has nine rushing touchdowns, while Romanelli has four.

When they go to the air, Broadous has completed 43-of-68 passes for 557 yards and three touchdowns, with two of the TDs going to Rogers, who is also the team's leading receiver with 10 receptions for 129 yards. WR Lance Castaneda (6-3, 215, RSFr) is second on the team with eight receptions for 118 yards, while WR Jarred Houston (5-11, 205, Sr) has just three receptions, for 66 yards, but two of those have gone for touchdowns.

Defensively, the Mustangs have been led by OLB Johnny Millard (6-3, 230, Sr), with 48 tackles, including 3.4 for losses and a team-high 25 solo stops. MLB Kennith Jackson (6-0, 230, Jr) is second on the team with 37 tackles, including 3.5 for losses, and has broken up five passes, while  pre-season all-American and Buck Buchanan Award candidate Asa Jackson (CB, 5-11, 190, Sr) has 36 tackles and leads the team with two interceptions and six PBUs. DT Sullivan Grotz (6-4, 265, So) leads the team with 5.5 TFLS and co-leads the team in sacks, along with DE Kyle Murphy (6-4, 260, Sr) with three.