CEDAR CITY, Utah -- After falling in their first contest of the year to the UNLV Rebels, the Thunderbird football team will be back on the field this weekend to take on the No. 11/12 Northern Iowa Panthers in Cedar Falls.
Last Time Out
Despite a very close opening quarter and a half, the Thunderbirds fell to the UNLV Rebels in their season opener at Sam Boyd Stadium 56-23.
UNLV was the only team to score in the first quarter, and did so with under five minutes on the clock, to take a 7-0 lead into the second. After another Rebel touchdown, the Thunderbirds got on the board for the first time to cut the lead to 14-7.
After that point, UNLV scored six unanswered touchdowns to take a 56-7 lead over the Thunderbirds heading into the fourth quarter.
The T-Birds were able to add two touchdowns and a safety before the final horn sounded on the contest, as the home team from Las Vegas moved the Thunderbirds to 0-1.
Offensive Threats
In his first contest since an injury in week four last season, Chris Helbig completed 14 passes for 138 yards against the Rebels. He was also able to break into the endzone on the ground.
Carlos Baker finished the opening contest with two catches for 79 yards, including the longest play of the day for SUU at 48 yards from Helbig. Lance Lawson caught eight passes for 63 yards as well.
In relief for Helbig in the fourth quarter, Tyler Skidmore completed 11 passes for 157 and threw two touchdowns. Both of his touchdown throws went to freshman Zach Nelson, who was competing in his first game for the Thunderbirds.
Defensive Stoppers
On the defensive side of the ball, Alan Holsten and Nela Otukolo shared the team lead for tackles in the contest, both finishing the contest with seven. Otukolo added a pass breakup to his stat line, while Holsten was able to get his hand on a punt attempt.
Quaid Murray finished the contest with six tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
In the backfield, Carlton Johnson had two pass breakups.
Opponent Preview: No. 11/12 Northern Iowa
When Northern Iowa was on the field last weekend, they were competing in one of the most discussed games of the college football weekend as they took FBS No. 21 Iowa State to triple overtime, narrowly falling 29-26 to their Big XII foe.
In the third overtime period the Panthers were able to connect on a field goal, but were unable to keep the Cyclones out of the endzone.
In the most recent FCS Polls, UNI was tabbed No. 11 by STATS FCS and No. 12 in the Coaches' Poll.
UNI quarterback Will McElvain threw for 228 yards and one touchdown on 25 completions against Iowa State. Deion McShane caught seven of those passes, while Trevor Allen had the lone touchdown grab.
They also accounted for a defensive touchdown on a 53-yard fumble recovery for a score.
Panther kicker Matthew Cook was perfect on the day, finishing 4/4. He had a long of 50 yards, while also having a 49 yarder in the first overtime period.
Panther head coach Mark Farley is in his 19th season with the program, and has 149 victories to date at Northern Iowa. He is also the all-time coaching wins leader in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 93 league victories.
Last Time vs UNI
The Thunderbirds matched up with the Panthers in 2017, which was a contest the eventual Big Sky Conference Champions claimed 24-21.
Former T-Bird quarterback Patrick Tyler threw for 200 yards on 16 completions with a touchdown in the contest.
Current Thunderbird running back James Felila had a big game on the ground for SUU, rushing for 92 yards and two touchdowns against the Panthers. Along with Felila, Landen Measom was the team's top target at receiver with six catches for 105 yards.
On the defensive side, former Thunderbird Chinedu Ahanonu led the charge with 12 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble to go along with it. The T-Birds also picked off the UNI quarterback twice during the contest.
Prior to the 2017 contest, the last time these two teams faced off was in 2008 when the Panthers secured a 34-24 victory.
Big Sky v Missouri Valley Conference
This contest will be part of the 2019 Challenge Series between the Big Sky Conference and the Missouri Valley Conference.
For the third year in a row the two leagues will be battling it out for conference bragging rights. The Big Sky currently is 2-0 against the MVFC this season.
Big Sky At A Glance
Four Big Sky Conference teams emerged with a victory this weekend as the college football season officially got underway.
Cal Poly (52-34 over San Diego), Montana (31-14 over South Dakota), Northern Arizona (37-23 over Missouri State) and Sacramento State (77-19 over Southern Oregon) all secured victories to move to the top of the conference standings after week one.
Along with the Thunderbirds, seven other teams in the league played an opponent from the FBS and were unable to come away with an upset.
Words From Coach Warren
On what he saw on film following week one…
"It was disappointing," SUU head coach Demario Warren said. "Our players and coaches worked too hard to come out and have a performance like that. And that's on me to make sure they're focusing on the right things during the game. The effort was there, the want was there, I thought we did a great job on special teams and that's a great sign of guys wanting to be there and compete. It's just actually doing what you're supposed to do, and if we can do that we're going to play well."
On Chris Helbig's outing…
"Not what we wanted, and not what he expected," he said. "He got hit on the first play, and when that happens it's easy to get out of your rhythm, especially when you haven't played for a year. So that's something we need to correct, but he's tough. He stood in there and threw it, and he knows he's got a lot of work to do. I'm excited to see him bounce back."
On last weekend's defensive leaders…
"We've got a lot of new faces from last year, and I think we can be really good on defense," he said. "There's some issues that we had on Saturday that we weren't able to correct in game, but those first couple drives were fun to watch. We've got a lot of team speed, we're much more physical up front and we're learning. Everyone's learning. Fish (Brandon Fisher) is doing a great job, it was game one for him too. He came to me the next day with a bunch of notes with things he couldn't wait to get better at. It was his first time calling a college football game, and he'll get better with the work ethic he's got."
Early thoughts on Northern Iowa…
"We've got our work cut out for us this week," he said. "We've got No. 11 on the road, they don't lose often, and they're in one of the best conferences in the country. We need to do our part in this conference showdown and help our league. It's a lot more than just us and them this week, and it will have a lot of playoff implications down the road for not only us, but for the entire Big Sky. It's a big challenge for us."
What he's seen out of them on film…
"They're not going to beat themselves," he said. "That's something we've been preaching, and they do a great job at it. You have to go take a win, they're not going to give it to you. They're going to be tough, physical and nasty. They've got a lot of grit, they don't fold under pressure, if something goes wrong they're not going to blink. It's what we want to be as a team."
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Saturday's broadcast will be streamed online on ESPN3.
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 both www.unipanthers.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.
