CEDAR CITY, Utah – Fresh off its first win of the season at Tarleton State, the Southern Utah University football team will celebrate its home opener, Big Sky Conference opener and homecoming game when it welcomes No. 6 Eastern Washington to Eccles Coliseum Saturday night.
Game #4
Southern Utah vs No. 6 Eastern Washington
Date: Sept. 25
Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. ET
Live Stream: ESPN+
Radio: KSUB 590 AM
Live Stats: https://suutbirds.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Tickets: https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/client.asp?ClientID=1289#
Game Notes: Southern Utah (PDF) | Eastern Washington
ABOUT NO. 6 EASTERN WASHINGTON (3-0)
Eastern Washington enters Saturday's game as the No. 6 team in the country off a 3-0 record. The Eagles took down FBS foe UNLV in double overtime to kickoff 2021 before hanging 63 and 62 points on Central Washington and Western Illinois, respectively. Quarterback Eric Barriere leads the way for the Eagles with 1,180 passing yards and 12 touchdowns through three games. Five different EWU receivers have recorded two touchdowns to date and running back Dennis Merritt leads the ground attack with 326 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, Ty Graham leads the team with 30 tackles and an interception.
RECENT SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark SUU's first meeting with Eastern Washington since the Eagles defeated the T-Birds in Washington in 2018. Just one year earlier, Southern Utah took down EWU by a score of 46-28 on its way to winning the Big Sky Championship.
LAST TIME OUT
Southern Utah claimed its first win of the season last week when it defeated future Western Athletic Conference rival Tarleton State by a score of 40-35 at Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers. Justin Miller and Brandon Schenks connected for three touchdown passes on the day, and linebacker La'aka Kaho'ohanohano-Davis sealed the win with a late interception to get the T-Birds in the win column.
NOTES AND QUOTES
-For the second time in his career, wide receiver Brandon Schenks caught three touchdowns in a single game. In SUU's win at Tarleton State, Schenks recorded touchdown grabs of 12, 19 and 32 yards. Last season, Schenks scored three times in Southern Utah's season opener at Northern Arizona. In that contest, the Arizona native's touchdowns consisted of four, eight and 41 yards. The sophomore now has 10 touchdowns for his career.
-Against Tarleton State, Southern Utah's offensive line did not allow quarterback Justin Miller to be sacked. It was the second game this year that the offensive line prevented their starting quarterback from being taken down in the backfield. Miller also avoided a sack in the season opener at San Jose State. The Thunderbird offensive line is anchored by All-American and NFL draft prospect Braxton Jones.
-Southern Utah has lost its last nine contests against ranked teams. The Thunderbirds will look to flip that script Saturday at Eccles Coliseum against No. 6 Eastern Washington. SUU's last win over a ranked opponent occurred in 2017 when the T-Birds took down No. 23 Northern Arizona by a score of 48-20. 2017 was also the last time SUU defeated EWU. Southern Utah claimed a 46-28 victory in Cedar City against the No. 8 Eagles.
"It feels good. We had to get one win out of conference. We didn't play our best football today, but we gutted it out. We needed to get into the fourth quarter of a tight game and see if we could execute. It's not the way I wanted to win, and I thought we could have put them away earlier, but the defense came away with two big stops at the end of the game and I'm excited that the offense could punch it in and take the lead. We have a team that can win a close game."
-Head Coach Demario Warren on SUU's win at Tarleton State
"This was awesome to see. Just the belief and execution late. We made some early mistakes. We gave them a wheel route where we didn't cover the back, we gave up a third down conversion on a busted coverage, and so just being able to hone into your assignment at the end of the game was huge. I'm excited for our defense and for coach Bala. I know he wanted to get that monkey off his back."
-Warren on the team executing late to get a close win
"I'm proud of the way our team played. They played hard. Playing two FBS opponents in five days is a tough feat and the guys just worked. They went all the way down to the wire and got a huge third- down stop down there at the goal line at the end of the game. I think our guys know they can play with anybody after tonight. The goal was to improve from week one and they played a ton better."
-Warren after his team's game at Arizona State
INSIDE THE STATS
-Kaho'ohanohano-Davis enters SUU's fourth game of the season second in the Big Sky Conference in tackles with 32. He has been the Thunderbirds' leading tackler each of the last two games.
-Wide receiver Judd Cockett currently owns a passing and rushing touchdown this season. He will look to complete the trifecta with a receiving touchdown through SUU's eight remaining games.
-Southern Utah has committed only 20 penalties through three contests while its opponents have made 39 infractions
-The Thunderbirds are averaging 4:16 more in time of possession than their opponents through the first three games of 2021.
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Southern Utah University's annual Homecoming Celebration celebrates the past, present and future of the University with a multitude of events and traditions. SUU invites alumni, current students and families, faculty and staff, founders, friends, and community members to join the Thunderbird family for Homecoming Week, September 20-25, 2021.
