Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 2012, Southern Utah has had arguable more success than any of the league’s other three “newest” teams. The Thunderbirds made the FCS playoffs in 2014 before earning the Big Sky’s auto-bid to the FCS playoffs in 2015 and 2017. In the years that did not end in a postseason berth, SUU had just one losing season: in 2012, a campaign that included wins at Montana, over No. 1 Eastern Washington and over No. 11 Eastern Washington.
Southern Utah is entering unchartered waters this season as the calendar turns to November. The Thunderbirds started the season 0-5 in part because of an upset 34-30 home loss to North Alabama followed by a four-game losing streak that included a pair of FBS defeats plus loss at Northern Arizona and No. 5 Eastern Washington. SUU broke through with its first win, a 48-27 victory over Sacramento State in its first home game in a month.
Since then, the losing has continued. SUU fell behind 31-0 in a 31-12 loss at Idaho. Southern Utah fell behind 42-18 to Northern Colorado before a furious rally that fell just short in a 42-39 loss to the Bears.
On Saturday, SUU welcomes a Montana team in the midst of its first three-game losing streak since 1992. The Griz turned the ball over four times in each of the last three weeks, losing to Portland State at home for the first time since 1987, getting blown out 41-14 at North Dakota and giving up 46 unanswered points in a 49-21 loss to No. 6 UC Davis for the worst loss in Washington-Grizzly Stadium history.
Location: Cedar City, Utah
Nickname: Thunderbirds
Enrollment: 10,245
Founded: 1897
Stadium:Eccles Coliseum, which seats 8,500. It was opened in 1967. SUU has averaged 8,814 fans in three home games in 2018.
Alumni: Al Yankovic, parody musician; Ozzie Smith, shortstop; Chuck Liddell, UFC fighter; John Madden, retired football coach and broadcaster.
The Coach
Demario Warren (3rd year, 16-15 overall, 13-8 in Big Sky play)
Warren, who’s spent his entire 10-year coaching career at Southern Utah, was one of the hottest young coaching names in the country last offseason after leading the Thunderbirds to two winning seasons in two tries. That included a 9-3 campaign in 2017 that saw SUU make it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history. The Thunderbirds shared the Big Sky title with Weber State, earning the league’s auto bid into the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. A 1-7 start to 2018 will have dimmed that luster a little bit, but Warren remains one of the most respected coaches in the Big Sky.
Warren played running back at UC Davis for three years before taking the running backs coach position in Cedar City. He switched to defense as the secondary coach in 2008, and became the defensive coordinator in 2014 before being promoted to head coach before the 2016 season. In part because of his defensive background, the Thunderbirds had one of the best defenses in the Big Sky each of the last two seasons, although they’ve taken a step back this year with a young team.
Offense-Players to Watch
Tyler Skidmore, QB (Fr., 6-2, 210) – Skidmore is the fourth quarterback to see time for the Thunderbirds this year, which might help explain their 1-7 record. Nominal starter Chris Helbig suffered an injury and backup Aaron Zwahlen was ineffective, leading Warren to turn to true freshman Austin Ewing last week against Northern Colorado.
When Ewing also went down with an injury, he had no choice but to bring in Skidmore, another true freshman. But the quarterback from Roy, Utah, was effective in his cameo, nearly leading the Thunderbirds to a second-half comeback by completing 27-of-43 passes for 330 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Bobby Hauck has complained all year about playing experienced senior quarterbacks. If Skidmore does indeed get the nod this week against the Griz, he’ll get his wish, but that brings with it different problems. Montana’s defense will have almost no tape and a very rudimentary scouting report on the freshman.
Jay Green, RB (Jr., 5-10, 193) – As they’ve cycled through quarterbacks, Green has been the one constant for SUU’s offense this year. The junior from Modesto, California, has run for 698 yards and five touchdowns so far in 2018, picking up the slack for James Felila, who has missed half the season. Green, who transferred in from Modesto Junior College, ran for 655 yards and had 14 total touchdowns last year for the T-Birds, one of the top marks in the conference. An all-around running back, he’ll have to have a big game for SUU, regardless of who the quarterback is.
He also runs behind an offensive line anchored by junior All-American center Zach Larsen that has gained the reputation as one of the Big Sky’s most sold units. Larsen, offensive guard P.J. Nu’usa and offensive tackle Marquez Tucker were all preseason All-Big Sky selections.
Defense-Players to Watch
Chinedu Ahanonu, LB (Sr., 5-11, 250) – In a world in which Dante Olson didn’t exist, Ahanonu would be getting some buzz as the best sideline-to-sideline linebacker in the Big Sky Conference. He’s tied for sixth in the conference with 8.1 tackles per game, and tied for seventh with 8.5 total tackles for loss, right up there with Olson and all the best defensive linemen in the conference. Ahanonu was a star as a sophomore in 2014, recording 152 total tackles, before leaving on a two-year LDS mission. He came back in 2017 and picked up 70 more tackles in just seven games, thanks to an injury. Even with everything that’s happened in his career, Ahanonu is still a ferocious tackling machine who can cause problems for any offense.
Taylor Nelson, LB (Sr., 6-3, 235) – Right behind Ahanonu is Nelson, who has 48 tackles and seven tackles for loss this year. The senior from Vancouver has also shown a knack for showing up in the right place, recovering four of the seven fumbles the Thunderbirds have forced this year. This year will be Nelson’s second in a row finishing second on Southern Utah in total tackles, after his 83 last campaign was behind just Mike Needham’s 100. He also recovered four fumbles last year, showing that his nose for the ball this year isn’t a fluke. The T-Birds have one of the worst defenses in the country, giving up nearly 550 yards a game, meaning they’ll need Nelson to come up with a few plays against Montana Saturday.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or SUU Athletics. All Rights Reserved.
