CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird football team (1-6, 0-3 Big Sky) will be back on their home field at Eccles Coliseum this weekend as they'll face off against the No. 22/23 ranked Aggies of UC Davis for Cedar City Night.
Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. MT.
Last Time Out
When the T-Birds were last on the field they fell to their in-state rival, as the No. 4/5 Wildcats of Weber State emerged victorious 29-14.
The opening half was relatively low scoring on both sides, as the first 30 minutes turned into a defensive struggle.
Neither team scored in the opening quarter, but the Wildcats struck first with just six second played in the second to take a 7-0 lead. Their score came from Rashid Shaheed on a nine-yard run.
The T-Birds got on the board with just over five minutes to play in the opening half as Chris Helbig found freshman Dallin Brown from 23 yards away through the air. That was Brown's first career touchdown.
Unfortunately for SUU, the Wildcats turned it on after the break.
WSU went on a 19-0 scoring run to start the second half. The T-Birds were able to stop the bleeding with 7:34 when Landen Measom caught a 30 yard pass from Helbig to cut the WSU lead to 26-14. This contest was Measom's first of the year for SUU.
The Wildcats would only add one more field goal before the completion of the contest, but the T-Birds were unable to get on the board again and ultimately fell 29-14.
Offensive Leaders
With seven contests under his belt Lance Lawson continues to lead the Big Sky Conference in total catches with 57. The next closest player is Jeff Cotton from Idaho with 49. Lawson has 524 yards and three touchdowns.
Helbig now has 164 completions for 1,703 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He also has five touchdowns on the ground for the Thunderbirds.
Felila leads SUU's running backs with 74 carries for 248 yards and two touchdowns.
Top Defenders
Alex Sims leads the Thunderbird defense in total tackles this season with 49 total and four tackles for loss. He's also been credited with two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Nela Otukolo sits second on the team with 44 total tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack.
AJ Stanley has 41 tackles for the Thunderbirds to sit in third.
The T-Bird defense has 10 sacks and 37 tackles for loss this season.
Opponent Preview: No. 22/23 UC Davis Aggies
The No. 22/23 ranked Aggies of UC Davis (3-4, 1-2 Big Sky) will head to Cedar City looking for their fourth victory of the season, after picking up victories over San Diego, Lehigh and Cal Poly so far this season.
Three of UCD's four losses came at the hands of ranked opponents of FBS foes, as they've fallen to Cal, No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 17/18 Montana.
Big Sky Preseason Offensive MVP Jake Maier leads the Aggie offense at the quarterback spot, completing 199 passes this season for 2,243 yards and 18 touchdowns. He's second in the league in terms of total yards per game with 320.4 behind only NAU's Case Cookus.
Leading the Aggie rushing attack is Ulonzo Gilliam Jr., who has six touchdowns this season on the ground to go along with 607 yards.
Carson Crawford and Khris Vaughn have been Maier's top targets through the air this season. Crawford has 33 catches for 428 yards and three touchdowns, while Vaughn has 33 catches for 397 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensive back Devon King is having a huge season for the Aggies on that side of the ball, sitting with 46 tackles and two interceptions so far this season. The Aggie defense has six interceptions and 15 sacks as a group to go along with 45 tackles for loss.
Last Time vs UC Davis
When the Thunderbirds and Aggies were last on the field together, the game was played in Davis, California, where the No. 19 T-Birds claimed a 47-27 victory en route to their 2017 Big Sky Championship.
Former T-Bird quarterback Patrick Tyler had a big contest for SUU, completing 26 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns.
Jay Green Jr. led SUU in rushing with 18 carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Ty Rutledge was the team's leading receiver with three catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tyler Collet let the team in tackles with 10. Jarmaine Doubs Jr. had a pick-six for the Thunderbirds in the contest as well.
Maier threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns in that contest.
Recent Series History
Since joining the Big Sky Conference the Thunderbirds have a 3-1 record over the Aggies.
The T-Birds are also currently riding a three-game winning streak over their California foe, winning in 2017, 2016 and 2015.
Their lone loss since joining the league came at home in 2013. Despite that loss the T-Birds still made their first ever FCS Playoff appearance following that season.
Alma Mater
Thunderbird head coach Demario Warren has multiple ties to UC Davis, stemming from playing running back for the Aggies from 2004-07.
He was a three-year letterman at running back before injuries cut short his career during his senior season. Coach Warren earned a starting spot with the Aggies in 2005 as a redshirt freshman when he finished second on the team in rushing.
Big Sky At A Glance
Sacramento State is the latest Big Sky Conference team to crack the Top 25 polls. The Big Sky has two teams in the top 10 of the STATS FCS and AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 polls and five selections overall. The conference has three additional teams receiving votes between the two polls.
Weber State (4-2) defeated in-state foe Southern Utah, 29-14. The win is the third straight for the Wildcats. Weber State's ranking stayed the same this week, as it was voted No. 4 in the STATS FCS Poll and No. 5 in the AFCA FCS Coaches' Poll for the third straight week. Weber State welcomes Northern Arizona (3-3) to Ogden on Saturday.
Montana (5-1) is coming off a bye week and remains in the top 10 after three straight wins. The Griz jumped up to No. 5 in the STATS FCS Poll and No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. Montana will take on a 4-2 Sacramento State (4-2) squad who's only losses this season are to FBS foes.
Montana State (5-2) fell to Sacramento State last week at home. It was the first FCS loss of the season for Montana State. The Bobcats enter this week ranked No. 12 in both the AFCA FCS Coaches' Poll and the STATS FCS Poll. Montana State has a bye this week and will return to action at North Dakota on Oct. 26.
After defeating two Top 25 teams in as many weeks, Sacramento State (4-2) was voted No. 15 in the STATS FCS Poll and No. 17 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. The Hornets had been receiving votes the majority of the season, and after defeating then-No. 6 Montana State on the road, they were awarded with a national ranking. The Hornets will play Top 25 Montana (5-1) on Saturday at home. It's third Top 25 opponent in three weeks.
UC Davis (3-4) rebounded this past weekend with a 48-24 victory over Cal Poly at home. The win has the Aggies slotted at No. 22 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and No. 23 in the STATS FCS Poll. UC Davis plays at Southern Utah (1-6) this weekend.
Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Portland State are all receiving votes.
Words From Coach Warren
On his biggest takeaways from Weber State...
"There were a couple momentum plays in the third quarter that they took advantage of and we didn't," SUU head coach Demario Warren said. "It really cost us to get behind, and when you get behind those defensive linemen get to tee off and that's not what you want. I think they were more comfortable in that type of a game, a tight game, we haven't been in that a lot. So now we've got to figure out how to get locked in and execute during a close game in the third and fourth quarter."
On playing against so many ranked opponents…
"We need experience in close games, and we got that last week," he said. "That's the second one in three weeks where we've been down to the wire and came out on the short end, so I'm hoping that pays off the rest of the season. Every week the Big Sky's going to be good. It doesn't get any easier down the stretch, so I'm hoping we just get more comfortable in those tight games because we've got to be able to execute to be able to win a football game."
On Jake Maier…
"He throws it around the park," he said. "Plow is a great coordinator and he gets him in great positions. We're just excited for another challenge. We haven't had a lot of passing yards on us for the last couple weeks because they've been running the football, so it'll be a change for the defense to see how they respond to that."
On the Aggies as a whole…
"We can't let them get loose in the run," he said. "They don't run it a ton, but we haven't been great at stopping the run so we've got to make sure we're doing a good job at that. Their defense flies around and tries to create havoc, they have a lot of different looks, a lot of different coverages and they do a good job disguising it so we've got to smart and execute on offense, especially when we get past the 50."
On playing against his alma mater...
"I love that place," he said. "It was a great part of my life for four years, and now I've been here for 12 years and it'd be even stranger to coach against these guys. I loved my time there and it will be exciting to go against the Aggies."
On Cedar City Night and the community as a whole…
"It's a big part of my family," he said. "I was raised by a single mother, didn't have any brothers and sisters in the house, and for me to come out here with my wife and our son at the time, have three more kids and be completely embraced by the community has been special. This is home to us. It's a blessing to be here. And for our program, we had a tough season last year and we're having another tough one, but people just continue to come out and support us. We truly appreciate the fans, and we've got a young team that's improving. We're getting closer and closer each week and we're hoping to break through on Saturday."
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Saturday's contest will be livestreamed on the PlutoTV App and www.WatchBigSky.com.
The contest can be heard on the local airwaves, both on KSUB 590 AM in Cedar City and ESPN 97.7 FM in St. George. On the call will be legendary Thunderbird broadcaster Art Challis, and ESPN 97.7's Devin Dixon, host of the Devin Dixon Show.
Live stats will be available on www.suutbirds.com prior to kickoff.
Promotions
Saturday's tailgate will begin at 3 p.m. MT with the Thunderwalk tentatively scheduled for 3:15-3:30 p.m. MT.
To celebrate Cedar City night, you can purchase five tickets to the game, five hotdogs and five drinks for only $55.
Thunderkids and Junior Thunderbirds will receive free admission if they have their membership card or are wearing their Junior Thunderbird jersey.
Follow Us
Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds throughout the entire Big Sky Kickoff by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook.
Tickets
Single game tickets and season tickets are available for the remainder of the 2019 campaign at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
