GAME #2

Southern Utah at No. 25 Arizona State

Date: Thursday, Sept. 2

Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. MT

Television: PAC-12 Network

Radio: KSUB 590 AM

Live Stats: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=asu 

Game Notes: Southern Utah (PDF) | Arizona State (PDF)

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Simply looking at the box score does not always tell the full story of a football game.

Looking at the final stats from Southern Utah's season-opening defeat at San Jose State might not be too encouraging for anyone else, but head coach Demario Warren believes there were enough bright spots to build on moving into a week one contest at nationally ranked Arizona State.

"I thought we settled in in the second half after we finally got a stop, so there were some positives. We've got some really young players who got the ball turned over on defense and special teams, which is something we weren't able to do during the spring season. We protected the ball on offense and got the run game going, which isn't easy to do against San Jose State."

One of those positives was the SUU running back position. Five different running backs carried the ball for the T-Birds against SJSU for a total of 111 yards. Karris Davis led the way in total rushing yards with 40 on five carries while David Moore III had a team-high 10 rushes for a total of 33 yards. The Thunderbirds also got a lift from their ball carriers in the passing game as Isaiah Williams finished the night with the second-most receiving yards for SUU with 27 in addition to his 20 yards rushing.

When asked about the team's rushing efforts after the game, Warren expressed that liked what he saw from his backs in the opener.

"Running back is one of our deepest positions, and they go down throughout the season. We want to keep guys fresh and healthy as much as we can. We got over 100 yards on San Jose State's defense, and it wasn't just some late yardage. We did a good job of making plays and the O-line did a good job of grinding it out."

Another thing that got the T-Birds excited was their ability to create turnovers. Southern Utah's defense struggled to generate turnovers in the spring season as they could only manage two throughout the entire schedule. The defense matched that total in just the first half of Saturday night's game at San Jose State. Linebacker Trent Whalen recovered a fumbled punt that led to SUU's lone offensive touchdown of the night before cornerback Kobe Singleton picked off SJSU quarterback Nick Starkel and returned it for an 18-yard touchdown. Conversely, the Thunderbird offense played its first turnover-free game against an FBS opponent since doing battle at Oregon State during the 2018 season.

While coach Warren was encouraged by his team's play at times, he was also the first one to admit that there is a lot of need for improvement before the Thunderbirds travel to Arizona.

"We have to be more efficient in the pass game and stop giving up explosive plays on defense. We also have to tackle a lot better. There's a lot of work to do, but there are some positives to take out of the game."

Southern Utah will only have a few short days to make corrections and implement changes as the showdown with the Sun Devils is a Thursday night contest. After playing late Saturday night, that only gives the T-Birds three days of practice before making the seven-hour bus ride to Tempe. While some may feel for SUU in this situation, Warren knows Arizona State does not.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves. Arizona State doesn't care what we just went through. They're going to be a top-25 team, so we'll see what happens. We've got to get right back to work tomorrow and get a game plan in and try to get ready for another game on Thursday."

To see the Thunderbirds build on their positives from Saturday night and take their next steps, tune into the PAC-12 Network Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. MT.

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