Quickly: Southern Utah University travels to Berkeley, Calif., for a first-time meeting with California this Saturday. It is the Thunderbirds' first meeting with a Pac-12 school on the football field.

Southern Utah (0-1/0-0 Big Sky) is coming off a 34-3 loss at Utah State on Thursday, Aug. 30. The Thunderbirds dug themselves a 21-0 hole in the first quarter, and although they played better on both sides of the ball the rest of the way they couldn't overcome the Aggies.

California (0-0/0-0 Pac-12) fell at home to Nevada in its home opener last week, 31-24. Like the Thunderbirds, the Bears got behind early, giving up a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, and although they eventually tied the game at 24-24 midway though the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack scored with 36 seconds to play to claim the win.

The Game: Southern Utah (0-1) at California (0-1), Saturday at noon (PDT), Memorial Stadium (63,000, Artificial), Berkeley, Calif.

The Series: Saturday's game will be the first meeting between the two schools in football.

TV: Saturday's game will be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks.

SUU's TV Games in 2012: SUU is scheduled to play on live television three more times this season, including two of the next three contests. The Big Sky opener at Portland State (Sept. 22), the Big Sky home-opener vs. Montana State (Sept. 29) and the regular-season finale at Northern Arizona (Nov. 10) will all be televised. The Cal game will be on the Pac-12 Networks, the PSU game will be on FOX Northwest, and the Montana State game will be televised in high definition on ROOT Sports. The Northern Arizona game will be televised live on FOX Sports Arizona Plus.

Video Highlights: Video highlights of the Thunderbirds' home and 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.

Radio: All of Southern Utah's 2012 football games will be available over the Thunderbird Sports Network. SUU flagship station KSUU (91.1 FM) will carry every game live as well as on the worldwide web at www.suu.edu/ksuu. Art Challis is entering his 38th season as the Thunderbirds' football voice. Matt Roan, a former all-conference center for the Thunderbirds, will provide color commentary.

Thunderbird Practice Schedule: The players are usually off on Mondays, but with the Labor Day holiday weekend the team will hold a full practice this Monday. Daily practices Tuesday through Thursday are scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. and between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m.

Media Availability: Players and coaches are available for interviews on Tuesdays following practice, at approximately 6:30 p.m. SUU Head Coach Ed Lamb participates in the Big Sky teleconference each Wednesday and media representatives are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. His regularly scheduled time is 10:16 a.m. (Mountain). To contact a player or coach on another day or time, or to arrange telephone interviews, contact Neil Gardner at gardner@suu.edu or 435-586-7753.

Big Sky Teleconference: The Big Sky Conference holds a weekly coaches teleconference, beginning at 10:00 a.m. (Mountain). For information on accessing the teleconferences, contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner. The complete schedule follows:

            10:00 a.m. - Rob Ash, Montana State

            10:08 a.m. - Chris Mussman, North Dakota

            10:16 a.m. - Ed Lamb, Southern Utah

            10:24 a.m. - Jody Sears, Weber State

            10:32 a.m. - Mike Kramer, Idaho State

            10:40 a.m. - Mick Delaney, Montana

            10:48 a.m. - Earnest Collins, Jr., Northern Colorado

            10:56 a.m. - Jerome Souers, Northern Arizona

            11:04 a.m. - Nigel Burton, Portland State

            11:12 a.m. - Marshall Sperbeck, Sacramento State

            11:20 a.m. - Beau Baldwin, Eastern Washington

            11:28 a.m. - Tim Walsh, Cal Poly

            11:36 a.m. - Bob Biggs, UC Davis

Thunderbird Club Luncheons: The Thunderbird Club's weekly no-host luncheon is held Mondays at noon at the Cedar City Crystal Inn. 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.

Next Up/Remaining Schedule:

The Thunderbirds open their home schedule on next week with a 6:00 p.m. game against Division II New Mexico Highlands in Eccles Coliseum. SUU and NMHU were both members of the then-NAIA Rocky Mountain Conference before SUU moved to NCAA competition in 1986.

Southern Utah hits the road for its first Big Sky contest on Sept. 22 when the Thunderbirds meet Portland State. The team then returns home for a pair of BSC contests, against Montana State on Sept. 29 in the annual Homecoming game, and against Sacramento State on Oct. 6.

Following a road trip to Montana on Oct. 13 the 'Birds return home for their final two home games of the season. SUU hosts Weber State on Oct. 20, then Eastern Washington visits Cedar City on Oct. 27.

The regular season wraps up with road games at North Dakota (Nov. 3) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 10). Should SUU qualify for the FCS playoffs, the Thunderbirds would have a bye week between the NAU game and the FCS first round.

The Coaches

A 2010 Eddie Robinson Award nominee, SUU's Ed Lamb (BYU, 1996) has a record of 21-24 one game into his fifth season as the Thunderbird head coach and his fifth season as a head coach overall. Last year Lamb guided the Thunderbirds to their second straight winning season and their first win over an FBS-level opponent (UNLV) since 1997.  He led the team to a Great West Conference championship in 2010 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. Lamb is 0-1 against the Aggies as he was the Thunderbird coach the last time the teams met, in 2009.

Cal's Jeff Tedford (Fresno State, 1983), has a record of 79-49 one game into the 2012 season. He is in his 11th season at the helm of the Bear program and his 11th season overall as a head coach.

Affiliations: Southern Utah is beginning its first season in the Big Sky Conference following eight years as a member of the Great West Conference. Cal is a member of the Pac-12 Conference.

Captains: This year's captains are seniors Brad Sorensen (QB) and Cody Larsen (DT).

SUU In The FCS National Ranks: 

SUU has nine players ranked among the FCS top-50 in six statistical categories after one week of play, while the team figures among the top-50 programs in five categories and among the top-30 in four.

Defense: Safety Tommy Collet, Jr. is tied for third in the nation with 1.0 interception per game, while LBs Rickey Clark and Namari Flentroy are tied in 16th place in total tackles with 13 while LB Zak Browning is tied for 24th with 12. DE Jeff Tukuafu is 21st with 2.5 tackles for loss, with DT Brad Meyer 34th at 2.0 and DE Austin Anderson is tied for 25th with one sack. .

Offense: No one ranks among the top-50 in an offensive category.

Special Teams: Brock Miller is all alone in sixth place with a punting average of 45.67 yards per punt while Colton Cook is tied for 29th one field goal per game.

Team: In the team categories, SUU is 13th in net punting with an average of 41.22 ypp, 22nd in tackles for loss with 8.0, tied for 22nd in turnover margin at plus 1.0, tied for 28th in sacks with an average of 2.0 and tied for 47th in sacks allowed with 2.0.

2012 Preseason Accolades: SUU had four players receive pre-season honors. Senior quarterback Brad Sorensen, senior offensive guard Zach Brackus and senior defensive tackle Cody Larsen all earned preseason all-Big Sky honors as well as being recognized on a handful of preseason all-America teams. Junior offensive guard Gavin Farr also earned several preseason all-America nods. In addition, Sorensen is on the Payton Award Watch List for the second straight season, is the only FCS-level player on the Unitas Award watch list and was named the pre-season offensive player of the year by the Big Sky Coaches.

Brad Sorensen

            The Sports Network (1st Team All-America)

            College Sports Journal (1st Team All-America)

            Phil Steel's Preview (1st Team All-America)

            Senior Scout Bowl (1st Team All-America)

            College Sports Network (2nd Team All-America)

            Beyond Sports Network (2nd Team All-America)

            All-Big Sky

            Big Sky Preseason Offensive Player of the Year

            Unitas Award Watch List

            Payton Award Watch List

Zach Brackus

            College Sports Network (1st Team All-America)

            Beyond Sports Network (1st Team All-America)

            Sports Network (3rd Team All-America)

            All-Big Sky

Cody Larsen

            Sports Network (2nd Team All-America)

            College Sports Network (2nd Team All-America)

            Phil Steele (3rd Team All-America)

            All-Big Sky

Gavin Farr

            Sports Network (1st Team All-America)

            College Sports Network (2nd Team All-America)

            Phil Steele (3rd Team All-America)

College Football Performance Awards: Southern Utah defensive end Jeff Tukuafu and punter Brock Miller earned recognition as impact players from CFPA following the Utah State game. Tukuafu got in on three tackles for loss, including one sack, and finished the night with seven tackles, including two solos which both went for losses. Miller punted nine times for 411 yards and pinned the Aggies inside the 20 yard line four times, he also had a career-long 72-yard boot.

Off to a good start: First-year players dominated Southern Utah's stat sheet on the defensive side of the ball at Utah State, as six of the top-seven tacklers were either starting or playing in their first games as Thunderbirds. Senior OLB Namari Flentroy (13 tackles, one fumble recovery), senior OLB Rickey Clark (13) and true freshman ILB Zak Browning (12) were 1-2-3 on the tackles list and all were making their first starts as a Thunderbird, with Flentroy and Browning playing their first games for SUU. Junior safety Tommy Collet, Jr., who was a part-time starter last year, was fourth on the list with 10 stops, while redshirt freshmen LeShaun Sims and Miles Killebrew, a corner and strong safety, each had nine tackles in their first starts. Junior cornerback Tyree Mills, who was also starting for the first time, was next on the tackles list with eight, including four solo stops and he had the team's lone pass deflection. DE Austin Anderson, a redshirt sophomore, also had a solo sack and was in on another tackle for loss in his first start. Other first-year players who got into the action on the defensive side of the ball were redshirt freshman end James Cowser, who tallied four tackles, including a TFL that nearly went for a safety, and true freshman LB Mike Needham, who had one stop.

Pick Me: Collet notched the first interception of his SUU career at Utah State when he picked off a Chuckie Keeton offering in the third period.

Turnovers and Penalties: SUU won both the turnover and the penalty battles at Utah State. The Thunderbirds recovered an Aggie fumble and tallied Collet's pick while turning it over just once, an interception in the USU end zone on a tipped ball on the final play of the game. As far as penalties went, Southern Utah was flagged four times for 35 yards while the Aggies drew 10 flags for 108 yards, including four pass interference calls. A fifth pass interference call was declined after the receiver caught the ball.

Left-footed kickers: For the second year in a row, Southern Utah's kickers are both left-footed. Both specialists had relatively good nights at Utah State. Brock Miller punted nine times for 411 yards - including a 72-yarder on his first boot of the game - and pinned the Aggies inside the 20-yard line four times. Just one punt was returned more than 10 yards and just two were returned at all. Colton Cook averaged 65 yards on his two kickoffs and neither was returned past the 25 yard line. Cook also hit his only field goal attempt, a 22-yarder for the team's only points of the evening.

Thunderbird Quick Hits:

• SUU is in its 50th season as a four-year football-playing institution and its 27th as a member of the NCAA. The 2012 season also marks the Thunderbirds' 20th as a member of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision and is the school's first in the Big Sky Conference. SUU competed in the Great West Conference the past eight seasons.
• The opener at Utah State marked the eighth time in the last 10 seasons the Thunderbirds have played their first game of the season on the road, including the last three in a row. Last year SUU opened at South Dakota State, in 2010 it opened at Wyoming. The other openers at the road during the past 10 years came at Air Force (2008), at Montana (2007), at Idaho State (2005), at Weber State (2004) and in 2003 the opener was at Nevada. The two openers at home were in 2009 against Dixie State and in 2006 when the 'Birds kicked off the season against Montana Tech at Eccles Coliseum.
• The Thunderbirds have five players returning who earned first-team all-Great West Conference honors last year, including the four preseason all-Americans and linebacker Chad Hansen.
• SUU has eight returning academic all-GWC honorees, including Larsen, senior offensive linemen Russell Petersen and Dylan Fox, junior defensive lineman Brad Meyer (who had the only 4.0 GPA among football players on the list), junior cornerback Tyree Mills, junior linebacker K.C. Rawlinson, sophomore defensive lineman Kouri Jones and sophomore receiver Easton Pedersen.
• SUU plays 10 of its 11 games against NCAA Division I opponents this year, with eight against teams from the championship subdivision and two from the bowl subdivision. Utah State and California are the two FBS opponents and SUU faces a Division II opponent for the first time in two seasons when it hosts New Mexico Highlands.
• About half of the players on the roster are Utah natives, with 45 hailing from the Beehive State. California is the next-most represented state, with 24, while nine call Nevada home. Four players come from Texas, with two from Florida, Idaho and Washington, and one each from Arizona, Colorado and Tonga.

Cal Notes:

The Bears will be playing their second game in the renovated Memorial Stadium after playing its 2011 season at AT&T Park ... Cal returns five starters on offense and five on defense from last year's 7-6 squad that advanced to the Holiday Bowl.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen (6-3, 210, Jr) is a pre-season all-American and National Player of the Year candidate. He is one of four preseason all-Pac-12 selections on the team, including DL Deandre Coleman (6-5, 309, Jr), OL Matt Summers-Gavin (6-4, 300, Sr) and DL Aaron Tipoti (6-2, 280, Sr). Summers-Gavin and Tipoti are on the Outland Trophy watch list while Coleman is on the Hendricks Award watch list.

Zach Maynard (6-2, 185, Sr) returns to the Bears after starting last season. In 2011 he completed 231-of-405 passes for 2,990 yards and 17 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. Last week he came off the bench to complete 17-of-30 passes for 245 yards and two scores but also lost a fumble deep in Nevada territory in the fourth quarter. Allen pulled in six passes, for 67 yards, while Chris Harper (WR, 6-0, 179, Fr) had five receptions for 57 yards and a score and Bryce Treggs (WR, 5-11, 175, Fr) had three catches for 62 yards and another TD.

Tailback Isi Sofele (5-8, 200, Sr) rushed for 1,322 yards last year to lead the team but he had just five carries for 22 yards against Nevada. C.J. Anderson (5-11, 210, Sr), the team's second-leading rusher last year with 345 yards, carried the rushing load for the Bears last week, with 14 rushes for 66 yards, while Allen had a pair of carries, including a 35-yard TD run.

Defensively, cornerback Steve Williams (5-10, 185, Jr), safety Josh Hill (5-10, 203, Sr), LB Scarlett Brennan (6-4, 255, So) and LB robert Mullins (6-0, 225, Sr) each had 12 tackles against the Wolfpack last week. Coleman had eight tackles, including a half-sack, and Tipoti had four stops.

The Bear defense combined for 11 tackles for loss last week but gave up 450 total yards, including 220 on the ground and 230 through the air. On the offensive side of the ball Cal threw for 251 yards and ran for 113 against Nevada.

Coach Ed Lamb On The Thunderbirds: "It's a matter of getting better, Utah State made us better. That's the reason we schedule these games, I'm very encouraged by the way our guys fought back [at Utah State] and I think we will have a better team going into Berkeley next week and we'll learn some things about ourselves that we'll need to correct then too. The players and coaches need to keep believing in each other and work really hard this week and we'll be fine."