Ogden, Utah - Friday night's rivalry showdown between the Thunderbirds and Wildcats was a one-sided affair, as SUU (3–2, 2–0 Big Sky) shutout Weber State 44–0 at Stewart Stadium.

The Thunderbird defense forced the Wildcats into six turnovers, five of which were interceptions by five different players.

“I think the turnovers really led to the shutout,” SUU head coach Ed Lamb said following the victory. “Weber certainly had capabilities, but they stalled a lot of their drives that they had going with the turnovers. The offense calls them turnovers, the defense calls them takeaways, definitely credit the defense but I think like all games, if we play that game again it's not like we could shut them out for infinity. It was a great 60 minutes of football by the defense, very opportunistic getting the turnovers and pressuring the passer.”

The Thunderbirds struck first late in the first quarter, when SUU wide receiver Naia Ursua returned a punt 68 yards to the endzone to put SUU up 7–0. The return was the result of a fake where the return team makes it seem like one player is set to return the kick, but someone on the opposite side of the field actually ends up with the ball. This type of play has been popping up the last few weeks in the NCAA and NFL, but Lamb said it was something they've done for a long time and they were able to execute it tonight.

SUU's defense scored the team's next touchdown, as cornerback LeShaun Sims picked off a pass and returned it 26 yards to the house for a touchdown.

Before the first half ended the Thunderbirds would put three more points on the board, as  Keita Calhoun field goal from 33 yards away put the team up 17–0 going into the break.

SUU's first touchdown of the second half came off a wildcat play, as wide receiver Mike Sharp slid into the quarterback slot and ran the ball in from three yards out to extend the lead. The SUU offense continued its dominance a few drives later, as Jarom Healey ran the ball in from six yards out to put the team up 31–0.

The second defensive touchdown of the game came just minutes into the fourth quarter, when Taylor Nelson returned an interception from 19 yards away to put SUU up 38–0.

Calhoun and Trevor McGirr both put up a field goal before the contest was over, as the Thunderbirds ran away with the game 44–0.

SUU linebacker Matt Holley said holding the Wildcats scoreless was big for the defense.

“A shutout is huge,” he said. “Very rare to come by, especially playing against Weber in a rivalry game, you never see it.”

Ursua gave a lot of credit to the coaching staff when asked how the offense performed so well on Friday night.

“The coaches are always preaching to us to be ready and I feel like from the beginning of this week the preparation that went into this game we executed in practice extremely well, and I feel like that carried over into the game,” he said.

SUU QB Ammon Olsen threw for 242 yards in the contest, completing 24-of-40 passes. Levi Te'o was the team's leading rusher, carrying the ball for 54 yards. Wide receiver Justin Brown caught five passes for 53 yards in the game.

Miles Killebrew led the Thunderbirds in tackles with 13 and Mike Needham picked off his third pass of the season, as one of the five for SUU.

WSU quarterback Jadrian Clark threw for 134 yards and Eric Wilkes picked up 47 yards on the ground for the Wildcats.