Southern Utah head coach Demario Warren sees a new horizon for the Thunderbird football program.
The Thunderbirds have been arguably the most successful addition to the Big Sky Conference since SUU, Cal Poly, North Dakota and UC Davis joined the league in 2012. Southern Utah qualified for the playoffs in 2013 and claimed the league title in 2015, making SUU the only of the four new teams to qualify for the playoffs twice. Cal Poly won the league crown the first year in the league and went to the playoffs.
The one thing Southern Utah did not accomplished during the 2013 playoff season or last year’s league championship run is defeat the Montana Grizzlies. SUU downed Montana 30-20 in Missoula in 2012 during the first losing season in a generation at UM. During 2014’s 3-9 campaign, Southern Utah lost to No. 17 Montana in Cedar City, Utah 35-17. But the Big Sky’s unbalanced schedule meant SUU did not play the Griz in 2013 or 2015.
SUU screamed to seven straight victories last fall and the Thunderbirds lost just one Big Sky game: a 24-23 loss at No. 15 Portland State in the City of Roses. SUU posted key wins over in-state rival Weber State (44-0), a 34-23 victory over No. 24 Montana State in Bozeman and a 49-41 win over rival Northern Arizona at home to sew up the first conference crown in school history. But many pundits knocked the Thunderbirds’ accomplishments because Southern Utah did not play the perennially powerful Grizzlies or Eastern Washington, the league’s most consistently successful program this decade.
Southern Utah head coach DeMario Warren/by Brooks Nuanez
On Saturday, that will all change. Southern Utah plays at Washington-Grizzly Stadium against the No. 11 Griz on Homecoming for the hosts. The T-Birds bring a two-game winning streak into the game and a chip on their collective shoulders to prove last season’s run was not a fluke. Montana is trying to bounce back from its first loss of the season, a 42-41 heartbreaker to Cal Poly last week in San Luis Obispo.
“This is a huge deal,” said Warren, Southern Utah’s first-year head coach who spent the last eight years on Ed Lamb’s staff at SUU. “I don’t think we’ve ever been in this situation where people actually think we are good and we are going into a place against another great team and an environment that is going to be hostile and try to pull off something that I don’t know that has been done here before in this type of scenario.
“I think this is a game for our program to show that we do belong on the top of the Big Sky every single year and these are the types of games you have to win for people to start realizing that. It’s going to be difficult but this one would be special if we pull this one off.”
While Southern Utah has been a program on the rise for the last few seasons, Montana is the gold standard for Big Sky Conference programs over the last 25 years. The Griz have qualified for the FCS playoffs in all but two seasons since 1993, winning 16 Big Sky titles over that span. The Griz consistently lead the FCS in home attendance, consistently push for a spot in the Top 10 of the FCS polls and consistently bear the target of an elite program on their backs.
“Montana is always good,” Southern Utah senior wide receiver Mike Sharp said on Tuesday. “I remember playing them my sophomore year (in 2014) and they were good defensively, they were good offensively. They were good on special teams. They have a great program up there, one that everyone is trying to replicate.
“I heard they have a good fan base so we have to bring our A game this week. I’m excited to play there.”
Montana has won 22 of its last 23 Homecoming games at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. A sellout crowd of more than 26,000 fans is expected on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
SUU offensive coordinator Justin Walterscheid/by SUU Athletics
“I think our guys will feed off of it,” SUU offensive coordinator Justin Walterscheid said. “I’ve been there twice as a coach and I love it. It’s such an exciting place to play. It’s one of the coolest places I’ve ever been in as a player or a coach. I think our guys getting a taste of that at Utah really is kind of a way to possibly prepare them for a Montana type of crowd. With a packed house at Utah, hopefully that experience makes this something that’s not too new to them.”
Southern Utah lost to Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium 24-0 for its only loss of the 2016 season in front of a crowd of 45,945. SUU has won two straight games since, posting a 28-23 win over Southeastern Louisiana, a playoff qualifier in 2013 and 2014 out of the Southland Conference before taking its bye. Last week, SUU forced five turnovers and scored four touchdowns of more than 71 yards in a 45-31 win over Portland State.
“It feels a lot better when you’ve played somebody the year before and you have some tape on how they played you,” Montana head coach Bob Stitt said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “Defensively, we’ve seen a lot of stuff they do, our defense does a lot of stuff they do, especially in the secondary. We’ve gotten a lot of work on that in the spring and the fall but it is a new team and a new head coach so he’s going to put his stamp on things.”
Despite last season’s Big Sky banner, Southern Utah earned almost no off-season recognition. The Thunderbird defense that swarmed its way to 20 interceptions and scored five defensive touchdowns lost safety Miles Killebrew (Detroit Lions), cornerback LeShaun Sims (Tennessee Titans) and Big Sky Defensive MVP defensive end James Cowser (Oakland Raiders practice squad) to the NFL. Ammon Olsen, a talented former BYU transfer quarterback, had a cup of coffee with the Indianapolis Colts. SUU was voted to finish seventh in the Big Sky by the media and the league’s coaches.
But the rest of the roster returns largely in tact. Mike Needham, a first-team All-Big Sky selection as a sophomore last season, is one of the most versatile outside linebackers in the Big Sky. Taylor Nelson, a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder, is a playmaking outside linebacker opposite Needham who has four tackles for loss this season.
SUU defensive tackle Fesi Va’aivaka (51)/by SUU Media Relations
The junior defensive tackle tandem of Robert Torgerson (6-4, 285) and Fesi Vaa’ivaka (6-3, 360) make up one of the most physically imposing interior fronts in the league. Vaa’ivaka is a particularly unique story, a prep graduate in 2004 who did not attend college until 2014 and is 30 years of age.
Senior cornerback Josh Thornton looks like the next in line of NFL prospects to roam Southern Utah’s secondary and junior safety Tyler Collet is tied for the Big Sky lead with three interceptions after snaring two against Portland State to earn Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“They lost some big-time players, three guys who went to the NFL but they are very, very solid,” Stitt said. “Really, when you watch their defense, you can’t find a weakness. They have a couple of big guys in the middle up front and they will jump into a four-down out of a three-down, they can go to a nickel look, they spin their safeties and do a lot of stuff with them. They can play some man and they have the defensive backs to do it. They make it difficult.”
Since Walterscheid took over calling the plays four games into last season, SUU is averaging 39.7 points per game in 10 games against FCS opponents. Southern Utah brought in McCoy Hill, its third straight BYU transfer quarterback to follow in the steps of Olson and Brad Sorenson but Hill suffered a shoulder injury against Utah, opening the door for junior Patrick Tyler.
Sharp is one of the best big-play receivers in the league and has scored 16 touchdowns in Walterscheid’s run-pass option attack. Malik Brown is one of the fastest running backs in the league and is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and 123 yards per game so far this season. Steven Wroblewski is a returning All-Big Sky performer at tight end and his 6-foot-7, 265-pound frame makes him a real NFL prospect.
Southern Utah’s roster is packed with talent but the Thunderbirds know Saturday will be their greatest measuring stick yet.
“Any time you face a Montana team, they are one of the best there has ever been in the FCS,” Walterscheid said. “They are the standard.”
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