Quickly: Southern Utah opens the Great West Conference portion of its schedule Saturday when the No. 17/19 Thunderbirds host No. NR/24 North Dakota in the Old Sorrel Bowl.

The game will be the first-ever between two ranked teams in Eccles Coliseum.

Southern Utah (3-1/0-0 Great West) is coming off a 41-16 win at UNLV. The victory was Southern Utah's first against a Mountain West institution and its first against an FBS-level school since the Thunderbirds won at Arkansas State back in 1997 (SUU did defeat UT-San Antonio last week but the Roadrunners are still in their transitional period). The win gives SUU three in a row for the best start since the 2006 season.

North Dakota (2-2) is coming off a 53-19 win over Division II Black Hills State. The win evened the Fighting Sioux record at 2-2 and stopped a two-game losing streak. UND opened with a 16-0 win over Drake, then went on the road to FBS rivals Idaho and Fresno State, where they lost 44-14 and 27-22, respectively.

The Game: North Dakota (2-2) at Southern Utah (3-1), Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (Mountain), Eccles Coliseum (8,500/Grass).

The Series: Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting between SUU and UND. The Thunderbirds hold a 3-1 edge in the series between the two future-Big Sky rivals, including three wins in a row. SUU opened its GWC schedule with a 31-21 come-from-behind win at UND last season, and has also claimed a 35-10 Homecoming win in Cedar City in 2009 and a 15-14 victory in Grand Forks, N.D., during the 2008 season. UND came out on top of the first meeting between the two schools, a 37-10 win in Eccles Coliseum in 2007.

Thunderbirds Move Into Top-20: Southern Utah has moved up into the top-20 in both the Sports Network and the FCS Coaches Polls this week. The Thunderbirds are No. 17 in the TSN poll and No. 19 in the coaches poll. SUU was No. 23 in the TSN poll but unranked by the coaches last week. This is the first time SUU has been ranked in both polls. North Dakota is No. 24 in the coaches poll but unranked by TSN's voters.

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: Saturday's game will be televised live on My Utah TV (KMYU), with Mychal Clanton calling the play-by-play and Jordan Buscarini providing analysis. All of Southern Utah's 2011 home games are televised by My Utah TV, which 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.

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.

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