The Thunderbirds had less than 24 hours to celebrate their first-ever Big Sky Conference title before learning their playoff fate.
Despite racing to a 7-1 record in Big Sky play and defeating rival Northern Arizona 49-41 in its season-finale, Southern Utah will open up the FCS playoffs in the first round on the road. The Thunderbirds play in Huntsville, Texas perennial FCS power Sam Houston State on Saturday.
SUU quarterback Ammon Olsen runs play action with running back Levi Te’o/by Brooks Nuanez
“We haven’t thought about that at all,” SUU eighth-year head coach Ed Lamb said. “We knew that our game at Portland State was the opportunity we had to get a home seed and that we would have to take that seed from Portland State. There’s two games that I think we are not hosting in the first round: our humiliating loss at South Dakota State and our one-point loss at Portland State.”
SUU opened its season with a heartbreaking 12-9 loss at in-state FBS rival Utah State. The Aggies returned a punt for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to avoid the upset. The following week, South Dakota State put the boots to Southern Utah, ripping the T-Birds 55-10 in Brookings, South Dakota.
Southern Utah responded with seven straight wins entering the second–to-last week in November. A missed two-point conversion with 1:18 to play cost SUU in a 24-23 loss at Portland State. The win helped the Vikings earn the No. 6 seed in the playoff field and a first-round bye. It also ensured that Southern Utah, a tiny school of less than 9,000 students in remote Cedar City that averaged 5,500 fans per game, would play on the road in the first round of the postseason.
“Our players understand the financial realities around here and that’s one of the things that is a motivating factor for us,” said Lamb, who led Southern Utah to its first-ever playoff appearance in 2013. “It’s a special place to win at Southern Utah. To not have the biggest stadium or the seating capacity, we cannot outbid other schools with winning traditions. That’s something our players understand very clearly and we are not disappointed at all.”
SUU safety Mile Killebrew makes a tackles against MSU/by Brooks Nuanez
Southern Utah’s first-ever playoff game came in Huntsville as well. SUU punched a ticket to the playoffs with a 22-14 win over No. 8 Montana State in Bozeman in its second-to-last game but stubbed its toe in a 20-10 loss to Northern Arizona the following week.
The draw was a trip to play SHSU, the FCS runners up in 2011 and 2012. Southern Utah jumped out to a 10-0 lead and trailed 30-20 entering the fourth quarter after a Rob Torgerson fumble recovery return for a touchdown. But All-America Tim Flanders scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and SHSU piled up 21 unanswered points in a 51-20 runaway. The Bearkats lost 30-29 to Southeast Louisiana the following week.
“We have a lot of players that were on that previous team when we went down to Sam Houston so we were excited when we saw we were playing them again,” said SUU junior wide receiver Mike Sharp, a third-team All-Big Sky selection after catching 10 touchdowns in the regular season. “It will be sweet to have a Round 2 and have another shot at them. I think this year, we have a better team. We are excited to go back and get another chance.”
Southern Utah earned its first league title largely because of a stout defense led by Big Sky Defensive MVP James Cowser. The Thundbirds scored six defensive touchdowns and led the country with a +21 turnover margin thanks to an FCS-best 21 interceptions. Cowser, who piled up 11 sacks and 17 tackles for loss, along with senior safety Miles Killebrew and sophomore linebacker Mike Needham each earned first-team All-Big Sky honors.
That unit will be tested by a Sam Houston State offense that averaged 544.5 yards per game, the top mark in the Southland Conference and the second-best average nationally. SHSU’s 43.8 points per game would have led the offensively prolific Big Sky and ranks fourth nationally. The Bearkats do it with balance, rushing for 264 yards per game and throwing for 280 yards per game, each the top mark in the Southland.
SUU defensive end James Cowser gets the edge against MSU/by Brooks Nuanez
Cory Avery rushed for nearly 1,000 yards on just 120 carries, scoring 11 touchdowns and averaging 8.2 yards per carry in the process. Jalen Overstreet added 715 yards and seven touchdowns. Quarterback Jared Johnson threw for 2,176 yards and 18 touchdowns compared to just one interception in the regular season.
“It makes the defense be very honest with what they do,” Lamb said. “We’ve played in a league where teams did not bring that sort of balance and we haven’t had as much success again teams that do bring that sort of balance. It will be difficult for us defensively to come up with the right kind of game plan an the right in-game calls to stop both the run and the pass.”
Defensively, Sam Houston still employs an aggressive scheme predicated on press coverage on the outside. Senior cornerback Mikell Everette (three interceptions) leads a unit that has 14 interceptions and gives up 200 passing yards per game. Sophomore P.J. Hall has seven sacks to lead a pass rush with 20 quarterback takedowns.
Last week against NAU, Southern Utah faced press coverage prevalently. Senior quarterback completed 33-of-59 passes 430 yards and five touchdowns. Sharp caught eight passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’ve faced that the last few games who play press coverage,” Sharp said. “Portland was that way, NAU was that way. Those two previous games have prepared us for this. I think these guys are very athletic. They are a great team, always in the playoffs, making deep runs in the playoffs. It was good to have these last two games against the opponents we’ve had.”
SUU defensive end James Cowser/by Brooks Nuanez
Southern Utah’s collective mentality has been diverse this season. The T-Birds followed their first-ever playoff appearance with a 3-9 campaign. Several key players, mainly Needham and middle linebacker Matt Holley, returned from time away from the program. Still, the 0-2 start flashed what the struggles of 2014 were like and put the Thunderbirds on alert.
SUU was the decided favorites for five straight weeks before hosting a struggling Cal Poly. The 54-37 win put SUU atop the Big Sky standings all alone and meant the team was favored playing at preseason Big Sky favorite Montana State. The following week in Portland, SUU was a decided underdog. The dynamic has been shifting all season. Now Lamb hopes his team embraces its underdog role this weekend as it heads to East Texas.
“At different times in the season, it’s been different motivations we’ve needed to embrace,” Lamb said. “Our guys are not dumb and I think it’s commonplace for athletes to look around at comparative scores and common opponents. There have been plenty of times this season where we have not been the underdog and have had to play the role of the favorite. I think I have a smart group of players and what we do every Monday is outline what the challenges are, what the situation is, how the game is supposed to go according to the experts and then leave that behind and get down to the more important things like blocking and tackling.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
