CEDAR CITY, UT - Week five of the season and the Thunderbirds are sitting at three and one overall and one and zero in the WAC. This week's test will come on the road at Eastern Kentucky University. The Thunderbirds are coming off a homecoming win over conference opponent Utah Tech 31-17.

Game Information

Southern Utah at Eastern Kentucky

Date: October 1st, 2022

Kickoff Time: 4:00 PM MT

Venue: Roy Kidd Stadium

Stream: ESPN +

The Utah Tech game was a good battle but the T-Birds held the advantage most of the game scoring first and scoring last. Southern Utah controlled the game with its defense and with the addition of steady offensive play from Justin Miller and Isaiah Wooden the T-Birds coasted to the big homecoming win. 

Southern Utah Opened the season with St. Thomas University (MN) getting the DeLane Fitzgerald era off to a great start with a 44-13 win at home. The Thunderbirds then had consecutive games on the road. First, at FBS powerhouse Utah (73-7 L) and next at Western Illinois (17-10 W). Through the first four games the Thunderbirds have had a successful run tripling the win total from last season and giving T-Bird fans a lot to look forward to this season. 

The Southern Utah offense has been led by quarterback Justin Miller who has thrown for nearly a thousand yards on the season and has six touchdowns in the air. His most efficient target of the season has been Isaiah Wooden who has fourteen receptions and four touchdowns on the year. Wooden has averaged twenty-eight yards per reception with his longest of the season being a seventy-three yard touchdown reception to seal the victory at Western Illinois. The Thunderbird ground game has been led by Elijah Burns who has three touchdowns and just over a hundred yards on the year. 

The defense for the T-Birds has been outstanding holding FCS opponents to an average of thirteen points per game. Leading the defensive line has been graduate transfer Zach Strand who followed Coach Fitzgerald from Frostburg State and is believed to be the first player to have achieved a sack at all three major divisions of college football. The linebacker duo of Josh Dunn and Kohner Cullimore have been a problem for opposing teams racking up twenty-seven tackles a piece. Cullimore has added four tackles for a loss and one sack while Dunn has contributed a pair of pass break ups and a forced fumble. 

Roderick Ward had an Outstanding game last week against Utah Tech garnering WAC conference Player of the Week honors. Ward had two interceptions, two pass break ups, and six tackles in the game. 

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels went into last week ranked among the top 20 FCS teams nationally. Eastern Kentucky opened their ASUN conference slate with a road game against Austin Peay University in week four of the college football season. The Colonels were able to start the game in dominant fashion with a 20-3 lead at the half. Austin Peay however put up a twenty-seven point second half and held Eastern Kentucky scoreless to finish the game 31-20. With the loss the Colonels moved to 2-2 on the season. 

In their first game of the year, Eastern Kentucky traveled to Eastern Michigan but came away on the wrong end of the scoreboard falling to the Eagles 34-42. Their next game attracted national media attention as the Colonels traveled to Bowling Green University for what would turn into a seven overtime thriller that finished 59-57 in favor of Eastern Kentucky. The third game of the season was the home opener in Richmond as the Colonels took on Charleston Southern and defeated them handily 40-17. 

The defensive efforts for Eastern Kentucky have been guided by Senior linebacker Chase Lasater who has thirty-four tackles on the season. Josh Hayes, a graduate transfer for the Colonels has two interceptions on the year leading the defensive back corps.

The Eastern Kentucky offense has quarterback Parker McKinney at the helm. McKinney has completed more than sixty-six percent of his passes this season for over twelve hundred yards and eleven touchdowns. The rushing attack for the Colonels is led by Braedon Sloan and Kyeandre Magloire who each have two touchdowns. Sloan leads the rushing yards stat category with just over two-hundred. There are five Colonels with double-digit receptions. Jaden Smith, Dakota Allen, and Jayden Higgins all have three touchdowns apiece and Higgins leads the team in receiving yards with three-hundred and ten. 

The Thunderbirds will have their work cut out for them on the road this weekend in Richmond. With a high of sixty-six degrees on Saturday and rain expected the T-Birds will be in for a grind. Catch all the action on KSUB and ESPN+. Kickoff will be at 6:00 PM ET/4:00 PM MT.

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