The 5-5 Thunderbirds will be looking to clinch their second straight winning season, while the 4-6 Lumberjacks will be looking to end the season on a winning note.

Southern Utah (5-5/1-3 Great West) is coming off a 34-21 road loss at NO. ? Northern Iowa. SUU headed into that game on a two-game winning streak, and led 21-7 in the second quarter, but the Panthers showed why they have the third-ranked scoring defense in the country in the second half, when they shut the Thunderbirds out to tally the come-from-behind win.

Northern Arizona (4-6, 3-5 Big Sky) is coming off a 34-31 home setback to Weber State. That loss also snapped a two-game winning streak, as the Lumberjacks went into the game coming off a 27-26 win at Sacramento State and a 34-14 home triumph against Weber State.

The Thunderbirds and Lumberjacks have two common opponents this season, Sacramento State and Weber State. SUU defeated Sac State, 35-14, at home on Sept. 10, and came from behind to beat WSU, 35-38, on Oct. 28.

SUU will join NAU in the Big Sky Conference next year.

The Game: Southern Utah (5-5/1-3 GWC) at Northern Arizona (4-6, 3-5), 3:05 p.m. (Mountain) in the Walkup Skydome (1,000/Field Turf).

The Series: NAU holds an 11-4 edge in the series, including a 7-4 record against the Thunderbirds in Flagstaff. NAU has also won the last five games between the two. The two programs have squared off each of the past three seasons, and each game has come down to the wire. NAU took a 26-23 win in Cedar City last season, a 42-39 win in Flagstaff in 2009 and a 19-14 win in Eccles Coliseum in 2008. The last SUU win came in the season finale of the 2000 season, when SUU triumphed, 27-23, to cap a 7-4 campaign.

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.

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.

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.

The Coaches:

A 2010 Eddie Robinson Award nominee, SUU's Ed Lamb (BYU, 1996) has a record of 20-23 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 0-1 vs. UNI.

NAU's Jerome Souers (Oregon, 1983) is 76-81 in his 14th season at the helm of the Lumberjack program and his 14th season as a head coach overall. Coach Souers is 4-1 vs. the Thunderbirds.

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. NAU is a member of the Big Sky.

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

Measom On Rice Award Watch List: SUU receiver Brady Measom has been named to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List. The award, which is given out by The Sports Network and sponsored by Fathead.com, will go to the nation's outstanding freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision. Measom has caught a team-high 45 passes for 505 yards and two touchdowns this season. He is also the team's punt return specialist, with 13 returns for 143 yards. He is among the nation's leaders in punt returns and receptions, ranking 14th in the FCS in punt returns with an 11.0 ypr average and 45th in receptions per game at 4.89; he is also 93rd in receiving yards per game with 54.22. Among freshmen he is the second-ranked punt returner in the nation at this point of the season, is second in receptions per game and is sixth in receiving yards per game.

Minefee Named National Kickoff Returner of the Week: Austin Minefee has been named the Great West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week as well as College Football Performance Awards' national kickoff returner of the week for his play Saturday at Northern Iowa. Minefee returned six kickoffs for 203 yards, including a 99-yard return for a touchdown, against the fifth-ranked Panthers. He also led the Thunderbirds in rushing, with 67 yards on 15 carries, and caught six passes for another 60 yards. He finished the game with 330 all-purpose yards, the third-highest total in SUU history, behind Zed Robinson's 377 in 1991 and Nick Miller's 335 against South Dakota in 2008. This is Minefee's  second national kickoff returner of the week award in 2011. He was also named following the Sacramento State game when he had a 92-yard return for a score.

SUU In The FCS National Ranks: 

SUU has six 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 13 categories and among the top-30 in eight.

Defense: DT Tyler Osborne ranks 16th in sacks with an average of 0.95 per game while LB Chad Hansen ranks 27th in tackles with an average of 10.1 per game.

Offense: On the offensive side of the ball, QB Brad Sorensen ranks eighth in completions per game with 25.9, 11th in passing yards per game with 275.4, 12th in total passing yards with 2,754, 15th in total offense with 271.5 ypg, 31st in points responsible for with 12.0 ppg and 41st in passing efficiency with a rating of 135.37. Austin Minefee is seventh in all-purpose yards with an average of 163.2 per game and 31st in scoring at 7.8 ppg.

Special Teams:  Minefee is also sixth in kickoff return yards with an average of 29.75 yards per return, while Brady Measom is 13th in punt returns with an average of 11.0 yards per return. Kicker Colton Cook is 26th in field goal kicking with an average of 1.2 per game.

Team: In the team categories SUU is third in kickoff returns at 26.48 ypr and third in net punting at 38.24 ypp, 15th in passing offense (277.2 ypg), and 18th in pass defense (174.3 ypg). SUU is 26th in both sacks per game (2.50) and turnover margin (plus 0.7), 29th in pass defense (174.3 ypg), and 30th in punt returns (10.88 ypr). The Thunderbirds also rank 31st in scoring offense (30.5 ppg), 37th in scoring defense (22.7 ppg), 43rd in passing efficiency (133.39 rating) and 50th in total offense (371.6 ypg).

Brad Sorensen and the Air Attack: 

Junior quarterback Brad Sorensen, who is on this year's Walter Payton Award Watch List, has broken into the school's top-10 in six single-season statistical categories. He has completed 259 passes, the third-most in a season at SUU, with 384 attempts, the fifth-highest total. He has also thrown 15 TD passes, which is ninth, and his 2,754 passing yards in 2011 rank fourth on the SUU single-season list. His 2011 season also ranks fourth in total plays (447) and third in total yards (2,715).

Career-wise, Sorensen moved into first place on the career completions list at UNI, where he 25 hook-ups gave him 520 for his career, two more than Rick Robins had from 1992-95. Sorensen is also second on the SUU lists in three more career categories. He is second in touchdown passes with 37, four shy of Robins' SUU record 41; second in passing yards with 5,917, 1,524 behind Robins' 7,441 and second in pass attempts with 774, 249 behind Robins' 1,023. He has also broken a single-game record and put several numbers into the single-game top-10; those efforts are detailed below.

Sorensen didn't throw a touchdown pass at Northern Iowa, it was just the third time this season he had done so. He did run one yard for a score, however. Sorensen completed 25-of-35 passes for 287 yards vs. the Panthers, but he was intercepted twice. He threw six passes each to Daryl Brown (77 yards) and Austin Minefee (60 yards) and five to Abbel Aiono (65 yards).

Defensive Stoppers:

• Senior tackle Nick Witzmann was productive at Northern Iowa. Although he was credited with just two tackles, both were solo stops and one was a sack for eight yards and he also intercepted a pass, on a ball tipped by DE Tyler Osborne, at the UNI four yard line. The sack was his first of the season.
• Senior tackle Cody Heinreich also had a sack among his two tackles at UNI. It was also Heinreich's first sack of the season.
• SUU had five tackles-for-loss at Northern Iowa, all by different players. In addition to Witzmann and Heinreich's sacks, Erron Vonner, Jeff Tukuafu and Blake Fenn all had a TFL.
• Sophomore linebacker Chad Hansen has been in double-figures in tackles in seven of the 10 games and has led or co-led the team in tackles eight times. He had 10 stops at Northern Iowa to co-lead the team, along with Dion Turner. He led the team with eight tackles vs. UC Davis, including a team-high five solo stops, with a sack and two tackles for loss; he also forced and recovered a fumble against the Aggies. At Weber State he tallied a career-high and team-leading 14 tackles (five solo), with a TFL and an interception. The Cal Poly game was Hansen's first when he didn't either lead the team or break into double figures in tackles, as he finished with nine stops against the Mustangs. Prior to the Cal Poly game Hansen 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 led 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.
• Dion Turner finished with a season-high 10 tackles, including a team-best six solo stops, at UNI. His previous high was nine tackles, at Weber State.
•  Tyler Osborne leads the Thunderbirds in sacks and tackles for loss. He has 12 TFLs for a total of 78 yards and 9.5 sacks, for 73 of those yards. Osborne had an outstanding effort at Weber State, tallying seven solo tackles, including two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a fumble return that he took the WSU four yard line, setting up an SUU touchdown. Both his sacks, the fumble, and another of his tackles came in the fourth quarter. Osborne - who forced a fumble, broke up a pass and had a quarterback hurry with five tackles against UC Davis.
• Hansen is second on the team with seven TFLs, while Cody Larsen and Herman Sword are third with six. Larsen is second in sacks with 4.5, with Hansen third with 3.0.

Thunderbird Quick Hits:

• Austin Minefee's 330 all-purpose yards at Northern Iowa were the most by a Thunderbird since Nick MIller amassed 335 against South Dakota in 2008 and the most on the road by an SUU player since Zed Robinson finished with an SUU-record 377 at Saint Mary's in 1991.
•  Minefee's 99-yard kickoff return at UNI was the third-longest in SUU history, behind a pair of 100-yard efforts by Anthony Brown, back in 1994. His effort also tied the SUU record for kickoff returns for a touchdown in a season. The last person to return two for TDs in a season was Brown, in '94.
• Minefee has returned 24 kickoffs 714 yards, a 29.8 yard average, which is second-best in SUU history. The man on top of the list? Austin's dad, Kelvin, who averaged 30.1 yards per return in 1988 when he returned 17 kicks a total of 512 yards. Austin's 714 kickoff return yards rank fifth all time at SUU.
• The 21 points SUU scored in the first half are the most UNI has given up in a half all year.
• SUU was penalized eight times for 82 yards at Northern Iowa. The Panthers drew just two flags all game and the Thunderbirds declined both minor penalties.
• Tate Lewis' 42.9 yards per punt average is the third-best in SUU history. Lewis has punted 27 times for 1,159 yards.

Lumberjack Notes: 

Northern Arizona is 3-2 at home this season, with wins over Fort Lewis (58-13), Idaho State (20-3) and Northern Colorado (34-14). The losses came at the hands of Eastern Washington (36-28) and Montana (28-24).

The Lumberjacks boast an explosive offense that averages 440.1 yards per game, 166.9 on the ground and 273.2 through the air. Defensively they have allowed an average of 143.3 rushing and 237.6 passing yards per game. NAU also has one of the top kickoff return units in the country, as the 'Jacks average 24.46 yards per return but don't have an individual with enough attempts to qualify for the national rankings.

Quarterback Cary Grossart (6-1, 180, Jr) has completed 176-of-266 passes for 2,558 yards and 15 touchdowns with seven interceptions. His passer efficiency rating of 160.29 is third-best in the FCS and he is 20th in total offense with 260.9 yards per game. Grossart's favorite targets have been WRs Khalil Paden (6-1, 180, Sr) and Ify Umodu (6-3, 215, Sr). Paden has 52 receptions for 936 yards and eight touchdowns, while Umodu has 47 catches for 625 yards and three scores.

RB Zach Bauman (5-10, 200, So) is also a threat as a receiver, as he has caught 24 passes for 321 yards and a TD, but he is also one of the top running backs in the nation. His 127.8 rushing yards per game average is the seventh-best in the FCS and he is ninth in all-purpose yardage with a 159.9 ypg average.  

Defensively, the Lumberjacks have 10 different players with 29 or more tackles. MLB Craig Frum (6-3, 225, RSFr) leads the way with 44 tackles, while OLB Scott McKeever (6-1, 230, Sr) has 42. Sacks and TFLs leader Isaac Bond (DE, 6-4, 260, Sr) has eight TFLs and six sacks among his 34 tackles and he has five quarterback hurries. DE Jarrett Bilbrey (6-5, 245 Jr) is second on the team with five sacks (31 total tackles), while DT Blayne Anderson (6-4, 275, Sr) has four sacks and seven TFLs among his 35 tackles. Five different 'Jacks have intercepted one pass.