CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Following a week off the Thunderbird football team will be back on the field this Saturday in Cheney, Washington to face off against the No. 4/5 Eagles of Eastern Washington to close out their four-game road swing.
The Thunderbirds hit the road seeking their first win of the season while the Eagles are looking to improve upon their 4-1 record and 2-0 Big Sky mark.
Last Time Out
In their last matchup the Thunderbirds played a close contest with the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona, but came up just short falling to their Grand Canyon rival 31-23.
The Lumberjacks were the only team to strike in the opening quarter in Flagstaff, as they took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
The T-Birds struck first when Chris Helbig broke in on a quarterback rush to tie up the contest. After a NAU touchdown that gave them the lead at the halftime break, the T-Birds responded with a score of their own to start the third quarter when Jay Green Jr. broke into the endzone to tie the contest at 14-14.
SUU took their first lead of the contest on their next drive as Manny Berz knocked home a 31-yard field goal to push the T-Birds up 17-14. After NAU hit a field goal, the T-Birds responded with a Nick Colson touchdown to stay ahead 23-17. Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, that'd be the last time they'd score.
NAU scored a touchdown from 68 yards away to put the final stamp on the third quarter, and were the only team to strike in the fourth to snag a 31-23 victory over SUU.
Offensive Leaders
Southern Utah's dual-headed rushing attack heading into this weekend has the same amount of rushing yards, as Green Jr. and James Felila both sit with 260 yards on the ground this season. Green Jr. has two touchdowns for the Thunderbirds while Felila has broken into the endzone just once for SUU.
In total, 17 different Thunderbirds have caught a pass this season. Landen Measom has the most catches amongst the offense, pulling in 19 balls for 213 yards. Measom has yet to score a touchdown for the T-Birds this season. Ty Rutledge has the most receiving yards for SUU, catching 15 passes for 223 yards. Alex Croyle has matched Ruledge's number, with 143 in the yards category. Frank Harris III is the only Thunderbird with multiple receiving touchdowns with two this season.
Defensive Leaders
In his senior year Thunderbird Chinedu Ahanonu leads the team in total tackles by a large margin with 35. The next closest player has 19. Ahanonu also has 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Taelin Webb is tied for the FCS lead in pass breakups with eight so far this season. Webb, who also holds two tackles for loss, is second on the team in total tackles.
Redshirt freshman AJ Stanley leads the team with two forced fumbles to go along with 18 tackles.
Road Trippin'
After opening the season up at home on September 1, the Thunderbirds have been on the road since and won't return to Eccles Coliseum until October 13.
After opening up their season at home for the first time since 2009, the Thunderbirds made three straight trips to Corvallis, Tucson and Flagstaff and will end their month-long road trip on Saturday in Cheney.
Opponent Preview: EWU Eagles (4-1, 2-0 Big Sky)
One of the top teams in the Big Sky Conference and the FCS as a whole, the Eagles of Eastern Washington enter Saturday's contest with a 4-1 overall record with their only loss of the year coming to Washington State out of the Pac-12 Conference.
In their two Big Sky contests, EWU has knocked off Cal Poly 70-17 and Montana State 34-17.
The Eagles are led offensively by Gage Gubrud, who has completed 99 passes this season for 1,416 yards and 13 touchdowns. Gubrud's top target this season has been Nsimba Webster, who has caught 25 passes for 505 yards and four touchdowns. On the ground Sam McPherson has carried the ball 70 times for 581 yards and five touchdowns. The Eagles has scored 14 touchdowns through the air and 13 more on the ground. EWU leads the Big Sky in both scoring offense and total offense categories.
The Eagles have three players on the defensive side of the ball with 30+ tackles. Ketner Kupp has 35 tackles for EWU, 21 of which are solo. Kurt Calhoun has complied 34 tackles while Mitch Fetting has 31 through the course of the year. Mitchell Johnson leads the team in the tackles for loss category with seven.
Last Time vs. EWU
In 2017 the Thunderbirds squared off against the No. 8 Eagles at home in Eccles Coliseum, and knocked off the then-ranked top-10 team 46-28.
With Patrick Tyler at the helm, the Thunderbird offense had a day against EWU. Tyler threw for 182 yards on 22 completions and had three touchdowns. Tyler found Measom eight times for 57 yards and two touchdowns, and found Logan Parker for another strike. Felila had 143 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, while Green Jr. added another TD along with 50 yards.
Mike Needham was the defensive leader for the T-Birds with 10 tackles. The Thunderbirds also had three interceptions as Jarmaine Doubs Jr, Jalen Russell and Tyler Collet all picked off Gubrud.
Recent Series History
Since joining the Big Sky Conference the Thunderbirds and Eagles have squared off four times, and the series is split 2-2 as members of the same league.
Aside from 2017, SUU's other win against EWU came in 2012 when they had just entered the league. The Thunderbirds knocked off then-ranked No. 1 Eastern Washington in Cedar City to secure themselves as big time players in the Big Sky Conference.
The Eagles secured a victory against SUU in both 2013 and 2014.
Big Sky At A Glance
Two weeks into Big Sky Conference play three teams sit 2-0 in the league while five in total remain without a loss.
Eastern Washington, Montana and Idaho State all have a 2-0 Big Sky record. Both EWU and Montana are 4-1 on the year while ISU is 3-1.
Both UC Davis and Weber State are 1-0 in Big Sky play, and both had a BYE last weekend.
This past weekend Cal Poly, Portland State and Northern Colorado all moved to 0-2 on the year. Northern Colorado and Southern Utah are both seeking their first victories of the season.
Words From Coach Warren
On the BYE week…
"We got better at some things," SUU head coach Demario Warren said. "We really needed to focus on the things that we do and get better. We worked hard, and it's tough when you're 0-4 to stay motivated and keep the guys going but they've done a good job. Everyone isn't happy with the results, but at the end of the day you can't control those things now. We're in week five, we're playing a top team in the country and you've got to focus on things you can control. Those first four games you don't get to control anymore."
On the Eagles…
"They're good, they're really good," he said. "Their quarterback is an all-american, they've got playmakers all over the field, their slot receiver is having a huge season, their running back is in the top ten in rushing, so they're doing a great job on the offensive side. Defensively, their leading the league in scoring defense. They're one of the best teams in the country. It's going to be a tough game and we understand that, but we've got the same team we started with and felt good about four weeks ago and even though we lost a couple close games it shouldn't change our mentality about going out there and competing about anybody each and every week."
On drawing from last year's contest…
"It's a little different up on that red turf, I don't think they lose very often up there," he said. "It's going to be a completely different game. It's a different team, a different year, but we're going to go and compete."
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Saturday's game will be broadcast nationally on ROOT Sports, the Dish Studio Channel and the DirecTV Audience Network.
The game can also be heard on KSUB 590 AM.
Links to live stats will be made available before the contest on www.suutbirds.com and www.goeags.com.
Follow Us
Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook.
Tickets
Single game tickets for the 2018 season can be purchased online at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
