SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRD FOOTBALL GAME 9 vs. Montana TV | ROOT Sports & Audience Network Radio | KSUB 590 AM GENERAL INFORMATION 2018 SCHEDULE Name: Southern Utah University (1-7, 1-4 BIG SKY) Location: Cedar City, Utah Founded: 1897 Date Opponent Time (MT)/Result Enrollment: 11,060 Nickname: Thunderbirds or T-Birds 9/1 North Alabama 30-34 (L) School Colors: Red, White and Black 9/8 @ Oregon State 25-48 (L) Affiliation: NCAA Division I (FCS) 9/15 @ Arizona 31-62 (L) Conference: Big Sky Conference Stadium: Eccles Coliseum 9/22 @ Northern Arizona* 23-31 (L) Playing Surface: Field Turf 10/6 @ No. 4/5 Eastern Washington* 17-55 (L) Presidnet: Scott L Wyatt 10/13 Sacramento State* 48-27 (W) Athletic Direcctor: Debbie Corum 10/20 @ Idaho* 12-31 (L) 10/27 Northern Colorado* 39-42 (L) TEAM INFORMATION 2017 Record: 9-3 11/3 Montana* 1:00 PM 2017 Big Sky Record: 7-1 11/10 Weber State* 5:00 PM Offensive Starters Returning: 9/11 11/17 @ Cal Poly* 5:05 PM Defensive Starters Returning: 5/11 2017 All-Conference Performers: 22 *Big Sky Conference Game Returning All-Conference Performers: 11 ATHLETIC COMMUNICATION TEAM HISTORY Director: Bryson Lester First Year: 1922 Phone: 801-860-8653 All-Time Record (1922): 370-416-19 Email: [email protected] Four-Year Record (1963): 263-293-2 Assistant Director: Kyle Birnbrauer All-Time Big Sky Record: 32-21 Website: SUUTBirds.com Big Sky Championships: 2015 & 2017 Facebook: Facebook.com/Southern-Utah-Football FCS Playoff Appearances: ‘13, ‘15 & ‘17 Twitter: @SUUFB Instagram: @SUUFB COACH Streaming: PlutoTV & WatchBigSky Head Coach: Demario Warren Production Manager: Lee Byers Alma Mater: UC Davis ‘08 Radio: KSUB 590 AM & ESPN 97.7 FM Overall Record: 16-15 Play-By-Play: Dr. Art Challis Big Sky Record: 13-8 Color Commentary: Devin Dixon #TBirdNation | #AnotherLevel GAME PREVIEW GAME PREVIEW GAME 9 LAST TIME OUT In their last outing against the Northern Colorado Bears, the Thunderbirds had a late surge, but ultimately came up short to move to 1-7 on the year. The Bears jumped out to an early 14-0 lead over the T-Birds, but the Thunderbirds struck before the end of the first quarter to trail 14-8 after 15 minutes of play. In the second quarter the two teams both knocked in a field goal, but the Bears scored a last-second touchdown from 35 yards away to take a 24-11 lead into the break. The Bears added 10 quick points to start the second half before the T-Birds were able to get on the board with a 74-yard bomb from Tyler Skidmore to Landen Measom to pull SUU back within 35-18. After the Bears scored one last touchdown the Thunderbirds scored 21-unanswered points, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as they fell to the Bears 42-39. STRONG DEBUT After Austin Ewing got the start in Saturday’s game and went out with an apparent injury, true freshman Tyler Skidmore was pushed into action and appeared in his first collegiate football game. Skidmore threw for 330 yards in his debut, including a 74-yard touchdown to Measom. He finished the day 27-of-43 from the air. The freshman out of Roy, Utah joined the Thunderbirds following a two-year church mission. OFFENSIVE LEADERS After another big day on the ground Jay Green Jr. now has 698 yards rushing on the season, and has broken into the endzone five times for the Thunderbirds. Freshman running back Karris Davis has matched Green Jr.’s touchdown number, as he’s also racked up five touchdowns this season. Half of SUU’s rushing touchdowns this season belong to either Green Jr. or Davis. Landen Measom leads the receiver group in both number of catches and yards with 39 and 525 re- spectively, for an average of 65.6 per game. He also has accounted for one touchdown this season. Ty Rutledge has caught 33 passes for 394 yards and two touchdowns for the season. #TBirdNation | #AnotherLevel GAME PREVIEW GAME 9 DEFENSIVE LEADERS Chinedu Ahanonu continues to lead the team in total tackles with 65, and tackles for loss with 8.5 so far this season. He’s also compiled two sacks. Fellow senior linebacker Taylor Nelson is second on the team in both categories, with 48 tackles and seven tackles for loss. Nelson also leads the nation in fumble recoveries with four. AJ Stanley is third on the team with 46 tackles, to go along with three tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. He’s also forced two fumbles for the T-Birds. SALUTE TO SERVICE Saturday will be Southern Utah’s ‘Salute to Service’ game. For the festivities, those with a valid Mili- tary ID can will receive free tickets, and the various branches of the military will be recognized during halftime. In addition, 1,000 U.S. flags will be handed out to the early arriving Thunderbird fans, and those in attendance are encouraged to wear black. OPPONENT PREVIEW: MONTANA (4-4, 2-3 Big Sky) The Montana Grizzlies will head to Cedar City on a three game slide, falling to Portland State, North Dakota and UC Davis in their previous three matchups. In their most recent contest, the league-leading Aggies of UC Davis topped the Griz 49-21. Dalton Sneed threw for 230 yards on 25 completions and two touchdowns, but was also picked off by the Aggies three different times during the contest. Sneed is both Montana’s leading passer and rusher this season. In total, he’s completed 186 passes for 1,826 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air. On the ground, he’s carried the ball 90 times for 473 yards and five touchdowns. Samuel Akem has been Sneed’s top target through the air, catching 42 passes for 513 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, Dante Olson has had a huge season for Montana. He’s racked up 119 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. He’s also had two interceptions this season. #TBirdNation | #AnotherLevel GAME PREVIEW GAME PREVIEW GAME 9 LAST TIME v MONTANA The last time the Thunderbirds and Grizzlies squared off it was a battle of ranked teams, as No. 11 Montana topped No. 24 Southern Utah in Missoula during the 2016 season. Former T-Bird running back Malik Brown had a big day on the ground for the T-Birds, rushing for 114 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Patrick Tyler completed 16 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Mike Sharp was the recipient of all three touchdowns for the Thunder- birds, catching seven passes for 78 yards. RECENT SERIES HISTORY The Thunderbirds and Grizzlies have squared off three times since becoming members of the same conference. The T-Birds won the first matchup as Big Sky foes in 2012, when the beat Montana 30-20. The Griz have claimed the two most recent matchups, both in 2014 and 2016. BIG SKY AT A GLANCE Another week has come and gone in the Big Sky Conference, and the Aggies of UC Davis remain on top of the league with a perfect 5-0 record in BSC play, and a 7-1 overall record. Eastern Washington, Weber State and Idaho State all sit with a 4-1 record. In the STATS FCS Poll the Wildcats came in at No. 4, the Eagles sit at No. 5 and the Aggies will enter this weekend at No. 6. In the FCS Coaches Poll the Eagles are No. 4, followed by the Wildcats at No. 5 and Aggies at No. 9. #TBirdNation | #AnotherLevel GAME PREVIEW GAME 9 WORDS FROM COACH WARREN Demario Warren on the quarterback situation leading into this week… “We’ve got a lot of good players, and we lean on Justin Walterscheid a lot to make sure that our guys are ready to go, and obviously you can see that no matter who goes in they’re well prepared and ready to execute,” he said. Tyler Skidmore on playing his first game in nearly four years… “I think I just needed to trust my role and trust my o-line,” Skidmore said. “I think I got out of the pocket a little too much and forced some throws that weren’t great and did some things that I wasn’t supposed to, but the game didn’t seem too fast.” Chinedu Ahanonu on the team’s mindset moving forward... “We just want to go 3-0 in our last three games,” he said. “Of course we play pretty well at home, and those last two wins would put us above .500 at home. But just going out and fighting for each other. Fighting for the guys around us, the seniors, the younger players. I’ve always had really good seniors around to help me and I want to be that guy for players in the future.” WHERE TO WATCH / LISTEN / FOLLOW ALONG Saturday’s game will be televised on ROOT Sports and DirecTV’s Audience Network. The game can be heard on local airwaves on KSUB 590 AM. A link to live stats will be available on www.suutbirds.com prior to kickoff. Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook. #TBirdNation | #AnotherLevel 2018 THUNDERBIRD COACHES Head Coach Demario Warren Third Season as Head Coach 16-15 Overall, 13-8 Big Sky 10th Season @ Southern Utah In just his second season as head coach of the Thunderbird football team, Demario Warren led the Thunder- birds to their second Big Sky Conference Championship in 2017 and to their third FCS Playoff appearance in school history.