CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah football team heads to Huntsville, Texas to take on Sam Houston State on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 12:00 p.m. CT.
The matchup with the Bearkats is the final football game of the season for the Thunderbirds. It will also be the fourth time this season that the T-Birds have played in a Homecoming game.
GAME INFORMATION
Southern Utah vs. Sam Houston
Date: Saturday, November 19, 2023
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. CT
Broadcast: ESPN+
Coach DeLane Fitzgerald Says…
"They are a good football program like they always are. They were the 2020 FCS National Champions and we are playing them in their last FCS game… They have played well on special teams and defense for most of the season. They have not been good on offense yet and we don't want them to wake up on Saturday…They have talented players in all aspects of the game."
The Thunderbird Coaches Show
PREVIEW
SOUTHERN UTAH (4-6, 1-3 WAC)
Junior quarterback Justin Miller leads the Thunderbird offense with 2,667 passing yards this season. With four touchdowns last week, Miller set a new career high for touchdowns in a single season with 19 and counting. Freshman running back Braedon Wissler leads the T-Bird rushing attack this season with 450 yards on the ground including a rushing touchdown. Junior wide receiver Isaiah Wooden has garnered 799 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns, averaging just more than 20 yards per reception.
The defensive unit for the Thunderbirds has collected 12 interceptions and a handful of fumbles this season. Freshman linebacker Kohner Cullimore leads all tacklers with 76 total tackles. Sophomore Payton Payne and redshirt junior Julian Sanderlin lead the team in sacks from the defensive line. A pair of T-Bird defensive backs, Rodrick Ward and Davin Wilson lead the team in interceptions with three each.
LAST TIME OUT
The Southern Utah football team closed out its home season at Eccles Coliseum with a dominant 55-0 drubbing of Lincoln University on Saturday, Nov. 12. With the win, SUU moves to 4-6 on the season and finished with a winning home record of 3-2.
Sizzling Shutouts
The shutout against Lincoln is the first for SUU since back-to-back 44-0 shellackings delivered to then-Big Sky opponents Weber State (Oct. 2) and Sacramento State (Oct. 17) in 2017. Additionally, that's the largest margin of victory in a shutout by the T-Birds since a 56-0 conquest of Occidental College on Sept. 1, 1979. The 1979 game stands as the school record for most points in a shutout.
Dominant Defense
Southern Utah's defense controlled the entire game, holding the Oaklanders to just 74 yards from 61 plays. That's a paltry 1.21 yards per play for the visitors. Lincoln also only managed four first downs, while also coughing up the ball three times with one interception and two lost fumbles.
Defensively, junior Aubrey Nellems led the way with 10 tackles including one for loss. Senior defensive lineman Francis Bemiy lived in the backfield with a trio of tackles for loss. In fact, SUU recorded a crushing 14 tackles for loss during the contest. Sophomore Davin Wilson and freshman Brendan Hale each corralled an interception during the game as well with Wilson turning his into a house call.
Overpowering Offense
The T-Birds offense took care of its side of the equation, amassing 450 yards of offense from a balanced attack with 229 rushing yards and 221 passing yards. SUU collected 23 first downs and nearly made it through the entire contest with a punt before senior punter Jake Gerardi rocketed a 58-yarder with 14:07 left in the fourth quarter.
Junior quarterback Justin Miller helmed SUU's offensive attack with a stellar 202.7 quarterback rating. He went 22-for-25 for 208 yards and four touchdowns against one errant pass that led to an interception.
Junior wide receiver Ethan Bolingbroke paced eight pass catchers with 52 yards from five receptions. Sophomore wide receiver Brennon Hutchings led all scorers with a pair of touchdown receptions.
With the game well in hand at the half with SUU up 34-0, plenty of T-Birds had the chance to pound the rock with freshman running back Braedon Wissler leading nine ball carriers with 88 yards off 10 attempts. Freshman running back Jayden Perkins also rushed 10 times for 64 yards.
SAM HOUSTON STATE BEARKATS (5-3)
The Bearkats are in transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision and will be joining Conference USA next season. Sam Houston saved the best for last as this week's game with Southern Utah will be its last contest at the FCS level. Its record for its final season in the WAC and as an FCS school is 5-3.
The Bearkat defense has led the team throughout the season allowing just 21 points per game. Sophomore linebacker Kavian Gathier sits atop the tackle chart with 69 including 11.5 tackles for a loss. Graduate Senior Toby Ndukwe has been the anchor for the defensive line with 30 tackles.
Keegan Shoemaker has been the signal caller for the Bearkats in 6 of their games leading the team with 1122 yards passing and 6 touchdowns. Zach Hrbacek leads the Sam Houston ground game with the most yards (485) and touchdowns (6). Cody Chrest leads the Bearkat receivers with 523 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
HISTORY
This Saturday marks the third matchup between the two schools and may be the last with Sam Houston moving to the FBS. The Thunderbirds are 0-2 all-time against Sam Houston with the Bearkats coming out on top of the last matchup 42-39 in 2015.
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