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CEDAR CITY, Utah – Oct. 6 – Southern Utah University football will look to bounce back as they face the Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday in Eccles Coliseum. The Thunderbirds are 1-5 on the year after giving up a 42-39 defeat to Cal Poly last Saturday.
The Thunderbirds and Eagles have played each other two times in the last two years with both teams earning a home victory. The then no. one ranked Eagles came to Cedar City in 2012 and lost 30-27 on a last second field goal by kicker Colton Cook. The Eagles returned the favor in 2013, beating the Thunderbirds 34-10 in Cheney, Wash.
Eastern Washington will enter the game on Saturday ranked second in the FCS with a record of 5-1. Their only loss coming at the hands of the University of Washington in a shootout, 59-52. The Eagles narrowly escaped the Idaho State Bengals last week, winning 56-53 at home.
SUU will look to continue to improve on offense where they scored a season best 39 points in the loss to Cal Poly. Junior Quarterback Ammon Olsen had a breakout performance going 29-43 and amassing 402 yards in the air. Olsen also led the ground attack with 14 attempts for 61 yards. He threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for two more to cap off the performance.
Junior Justin Brown led all receivers with eight catches for 159 yards and one TD. SUU had 10 different receivers catch a pass in the game with eight of those receivers catching multiple passes. Brown currently leads the team in yards with 401 and a 20-yard average per catch. Chris Robinson is still the high man on the season with 25 catches and three touchdowns.
On the ground this year, Malik Brown leads the team with 268 yards on 66 carries. He is averaging 4.0 yards per carry but has yet to find the end zone. Reysean Pringle has 198 yards for the Thunderbirds on the ground with an average of 6.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, Chinedu Ahanonu and Miles Killebrew continue to spell trouble for opposing offensive coordinators. Ahanonu has 79 total tackles, three tackles for loss and one interception. Killebrew and Josh Kariya each have 61 total tackles with Killebrew recording two interceptions and one touchdown. On the defensive line, James Cowser has 51 total tackles and leads the team with six sacks.
Scouting Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington will play without star quarterback Vernon Adams after he suffered a broken right foot in the game against Idaho State. Adams is a Walter Payton Award candidate and an integral part of the Eagles offense. He has completed 67.5 percent of his passes and totaled 24 touchdowns so far this season. He has also ran for 302 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Jordan West will look to take the reigns from Adams this Saturday having only attempted 11 passes this season but completing seven of them for 62 yards and a touchdown.
The ground attack for the Eagles is led by Quincy Forte who has 418 yards on just 55 attempts. Just behind him, Mario Brown has totaled 339 yards on 55 attempts.
Through the air for the Eagles Cooper Kupp is king. Kupp has 39 catches on the year for 585 yards and 10 touchdowns. Not far behind him is Kendrick Bourne who has catches for 462 yards and six touchdowns.
The defense for the Eagles is led by Cody McCarthy. McCarthy has totaled 48 tackles on the year and two tackles for loss. The Eagles have three other players with 40 or more tackles in Ronnie Hamlin, Miquiyah Zamora and Tevin McDonald. Samson Ebukam leads the Eagles pass rush with four sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.
The Series
Eastern Washington holds a 5-2 lead in the series including last year's 34-10 victory in Cheney, Wash. SUU picked up wins against the Eagles in the series opener in 1998 and against the top-ranked Eagles in 2012.
Last Week
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., Oct. 4 – Southern Utah quarterback Ammon Olsen turned in the second-highest offensive total in school history after passing for 402 yards and rushing for 47 more to total 449 in the Thunderbirds 42-39 loss at Cal Poly on Saturday. SUU (1-5, 1-1 Big Sky) fell to the Mustangs (2-3, 1-1 Big Sky) for a 14th consecutive time in California by a final score of 42-39.
Looking Ahead
Southern Utah will face Big Sky Conference opponent Idaho State next weekend in Idaho.
