CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird football team (1-4, 0-1 Big Sky) will be back on the road this weekend to face off against the Portland State Vikings in their second Big Sky Conference contest of the season.
Kickoff at Hillsboro Stadium is set for 3 p.m. MT and 2 p.m. PT.
Last Time Out
Southern Utah fell to Cal Poly last Saturday in their annual Homecoming Game 24-21 despite some impressive performances on both sides of the ball.
Chris Helbig finished the game with 19 completions for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Both of his touchdown throws were to freshmen, as John Mitchell and Zach Nelson both grabbed one for the Thunderbirds.
On the ground the Thunderbirds had one score, as Jay Green Jr. carried one in from 20 yards away in his first game of the season for SUU.
Defensively, Nela Otukolo had a huge day with 17 total tackles for the Thunderbirds. AJ Stanley finished the contest with 14, and Alex Sims had 12 on the day.
As a unit the T-Birds had three tackles for loss, two sacks and three fumble recoveries in the contest.
Offensive Leaders
Through five starts Thunderbird quarterback Chris Helbig has completed 110 passes for 1,096 yards and four touchdowns. He also has four touchdowns on the ground to go along with 86 total rushing yards.
Sophomore Lance Lawson has the most catches on the team by a wide margin, snagging 44 passes for 382 yards and two touchdowns. Nelson has 12 catches for the T-Birds
James Felila has 184 yards on the ground, accompanied by two touchdowns.
Top Defenders
Otukolo is having a big game for the Thunderbirds on the defensive side of the ball, with 44 total tackles this season. He also has three tackles for loss.
Alex Sims is second on the team in tackles with 33 total, to go along with two tackles for loss.
AJ Stanley is third on the team with 27 total tackles, while Nathaniel Vaughn has 19 at this point of the season.
Opponent Preview: Portland State Vikings (2-3, 0-1 Big Sky)
The Vikings of Portland State will enter Saturday's contest also seeking their first Big Sky Conference victory of the season.
In their non-conference slate they knocked off both Simon Fraser and Eastern Oregon, while falling to FBS foes Arkansas and Boise State. They played the Razorbacks very close in Fayetteville, as the contest finished 20-13 in favor of their SEC foe.
They fell 51-24 to the Idaho State Bengals in their first Big Sky contest of the season in Pocatello.
Quarterback Davis Alexander has completed 84 passes for 1,168 yards and 10 touchdowns. Alexander has spread the wealth around to his receivers, with Davis Koetter leading the way in terms of touchdown receptions with three.
On the ground Sirgeo Hoffman has carried the ball 35 times for 205 yards and three touchdowns.
On the defensive side, Romeo Gunt leads the team in total tackles with 30. Anthony Adams has nine pass breakups this season for the Vikings. As a unit, PSU has 13 sacks and three interceptions.
Last Time vs PSU
When the Thunderbirds and Vikings last squared off the contest was played in Cedar City, and is known as the "Whoville Game" which led to a friendly rivalry between SUU head coach Demario Warren and PSU head coach Bruce Barnum.
The Thunderbirds secured a 45-31 victory behind big contests from a number of players.
Former T-Bird quarterback Patrick Tyler finished the game with 16 completions for 251 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, both Malik Brown and Raysean Pringle had huge days with 173 and 118 yards respectively. Pringle had two touchdowns while Brown had one.
Mike Sharp led the team in receiving with five catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Mike Needham had 15 tackles for the Thunderbirds and a sack.
The game was sealed by a pick-six from Jarmaine Doubs Jr. on Portland State's final offensive drive.
Recent Series History
Since joining the Big Sky Conference the Thunderbirds hold a 3-1 series lead over the Vikings with two wins coming in Cedar City and another in Portland.
Overall, the Vikings hold a 9-4 advantage over the Thunderbirds and are 6-1 against SUU in Portland.
Big Sky At A Glance
There continues to be a bit of a shakeup for the Big Sky in the STATS FCS and AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 as the top 10 looks different this week for the league. The conference has three additional teams receiving votes between the two polls.
Weber State (2-2) leads the way this week for the Big Sky with its highest ranking this season. The Wildcats were slotted No. 4 in the STATS FCS poll and No. 5 in the AFCA FCS Coaches' poll. Weber State dominated No. 9 Northern Iowa to come away with the 29-17 victory. Weber State will play at Idaho (2-3) on Saturday.
Montana State (4-1) cracked the top 10 in the AFCA FCS Coaches' poll coming in at No. 7 after a come from behind 49-31 win against Northern Arizona. The victory bumped the Bobcats up one spot to No. 6 in the STATS FCS poll. The Bobcats will play at Cal Poly (2-2) next. The Mustangs received a vote in the STATS FCS poll this week.
Montana (4-1) picked up a major win over UC Davis that propelled the Griz into the top 10 for the first time this season. The Griz are ranked No. 8 in the STATS FCS poll and No. 9 in the AFCA Coaches' poll. Montana is set to take on Idaho State (2-2) at home this week. The Bengals have been receiving votes all season long.
UC Davis (2-3) fell to Montana at home last week. The loss dropped the Aggies down to No. 12 in both polls – it's the first time UCD has been ranked outside of the top 10 this season. UC Davis plays at North Dakota (2-2) this week in Grand Forks – another team receiving votes.
Eastern Washington (2-3) is ranked No. 21 in the AFCA Coaches' poll and No. 22 in the STATS FCS poll after a 35-20 win against North Dakota. The Eagles have been ranked all season long and will face a Sacramento State (2-2) squad that has been receiving votes.
Other Big Sky teams receiving votes were Sacramento State, Idaho State and Cal Poly.
Words From Coach Warren
On what he saw from the Cal Poly film…
"They took advantage of the elements," Warren said. "There were a lot of things where if one thing goes our way the outcome changes. We've just got to focus on doing the right thing on every single play. I've got a ton of confidence in this team, I think we play hard, I think we play physical, I think we don't give up, but I think we have to learn how to play better in key situations and that's what we have to keep preaching. I love this team, we've got a lot of guys coming back so we're playing for not only this season, but the future, and guys have got to realize that. I think if they could get the taste of playing good football they'd get addicted to it, and they'll get into that mindset."
On the areas the team can improve...
"All these guys are new, and they don't know what it takes to win," he said. "You can't just focus on winning, you've got to execute every play. You have to be smart after the whistle, those are the things that win games. We've had some big goals, but we've talked more about goals than we have habits and we've got to do a better job with the habits."
On the performance from his young wide receiver group…
"It's ridiculous," he said. "We've got Zach and John, along with Lance Lawson who is a sophomore. Diego-Williams will be back, Frank Harris III isn't even playing right now and he's a sophomore and Helbig is a sophomore. It's scary how good this group could be, and that's the point I've been trying to make. We have to focus on just being good football players because we have a lot of them, and if we can execute and play well this can be something that could be really special here right now and for a long time to come."
On Portland State…
"They're a little up and down, kind of like we are," he said. "They've had a few blowout losses and had a tough one against Idaho State. They had a few big plays called back that could have made it a much closer game. But, it's Barney so you know he's going to have a fun style of football. They're going to fly around and try to make plays, but this week is really about us. Can we score the ball, can we do the things we need to do to be successful, and if we can do that enough times I think the results will take care of themselves."
On his relationship with Coach Barnum…
"It's fun, you don't ever want to lose to that guy because you know you'll see him all the time," he said. "But he's fun to be around, and to be honest he's the guy I call when things are hard. If there's any coach in the Big Sky that I get advice from, it's coach Barnum. He's been on winning teams, he's been on losing teams, he's been national Coach of the Year, he's just a tremendous coach that has a huge heart and really cares about his kids. He's always been there for me when I've struggled in coaching, and especially when I have questions about the Big Sky. It's an honor to coach against him. I'm young, I know I've been doing this for a while, but I'm young so to be able to coach against coach Walsh, Barney and Hawkins is an honor. It's an honor to be on the field with those guys and competing. It's been a blessing."
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. Due to potential programming changes, the contest could also be found on Big Kickin' Country (94.9 AM and 107.3 FM). 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.goviks.com and www.suutbirds.com prior to kickoff.
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.
