CEDAR CITY, Utah, March 13
- Southern Utah's first football schedule upon entering the Big Sky
Conference includes a handful of highlights. The 2012 SUU slate features five
home games, including four Big Sky contests, as well as road games at a pair of
NCAA FBS-level opponents: Utah State and Cal.
The Thunderbirds open the
season with a pair of road games: at Utah State on Thursday, August 30, then
travel to Berkeley, Calif., for a meeting with Cal the following weekend (Sept.
8).
SUU opens its home schedule
against an old rival, New Mexico Highlands, Sept. 15. The Thunderbirds and
Cowboys met 15 times in the past when both schools were members of the Rocky
Mountain Athletic Conference but have not faced each other since the 1985
season.
On Sept. 22 the
Thunderbirds will play their first official Big Sky football game when they
play at Portland State. PSU and SUU are also old rivals who squared off nine
times when both teams were members of the Western Football Conference.
SUU's first home Big Sky
game comes the following week when the Thunderbirds host defending conference co-champion
Montana State on Sept. 29 in the school's annual Homecoming Game. SUU remains
at home the following week for another BSC matchup, an Oct. 6 date with
Sacramento State.
The Thunderbirds travel to
FCS semi-finalist and 2011 BSC co-champ Montana on Oct. 13, then host the first
of back-to-back conference opponents on Oct. 20 when Weber State visits Eccles
Coliseum. SUU wraps up the 2012 home schedule on Oct. 27 when it hosts Eastern
Washington, the 2010 FCS champion.
Road games at North Dakota
(Nov. 3) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 10) wrap up the conference and
regular-season schedules for the Thunderbirds.
"Our players have been looking forward to the 2012 season of
Big Sky competition ever since the announcement was made that SUU would join
the conference," SUU Coach Ed Lamb said. "This team has worked incredibly hard
in hopes of representing our fine university."
2012 SUU Schedule
8-30 -- At
Utah State
9-8 -- At
California
9-15 -- New
Mexico Highlands
9-22 -- At
Portland State*
9-29 -- Montana
State* (HC)
10-6 -- Sacramento
State*
10-13 -- At
Montana*
10-20 -- Weber
State*
10-27 -- Eastern
Washington*
11-3 -- At
North Dakota*
11-10 -- At
Northern Arizona*
* Big Sky Conference Game
