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2023 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2023 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football
ConferenceUnited Athletic Conference
Record6–5 (4–2 UAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTye Hiatt (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJohn Kelling (2nd season)
Home stadiumEccles Coliseum
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 United Athletic Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 18 Austin Peay $^   6 0     9 3  
Central Arkansas   4 2     7 4  
Southern Utah   4 2     6 5  
Eastern Kentucky   4 2     5 6  
Tarleton State*   4 2     8 3  
Abilene Christian   3 3     5 6  
North Alabama   1 5     3 8  
Utah Tech*   1 5     2 9  
Stephen F. Austin   0 6     3 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Note: Tarleton State and Utah Tech are ineligible for the UAC title and FCS postseason play due to transitions from NCAA Division II.
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the United Athletic Conference (UAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach DeLane Fitzgerald, the Thunderbirds played their games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.

After the 2022 season, the WAC and the ASUN Conference, which had partnered in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, fully merged their football leagues, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference.[1]

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 318:00 p.m.at Arizona State*P12NL 21–2447,773
September 91:00 p.m.at BYU*ESPN+L 16–4160,834
September 168:00 p.m.at No. 16 UC Davis*ESPN+L 21–237,942
September 236:00 p.m.Western Illinois*ESPN+W 37–176,504
September 306:00 p.m. No. 25 Central Arkansas
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
ESPN+L 27–294,013
October 75:00 p.m.Tarleton StateESPN+W 27–2610,835
October 216:00 p.m.No. 24 Austin Peay
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
ESPN+L 45–48 2OT3,547
October 281:00 p.m.Abilene Christian
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
ESPN+W 52–142,969
November 41:00 p.m.Lincoln (CA)*
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
ESPN+W 35–63,023
November 113:00 p.m.at Stephen F. AustinESPN+W 45–176,835
November 187:00 p.m.at Utah TechESPN+W 24–166,077

[2][3]

Game summaries

[edit]

at Arizona State

[edit]
Southern Utah Thunderbirds (0–0) vs Arizona State Sun Devils (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Thunderbirds 0 7 7721
Sun Devils 7 14 0324

at Mountain America StadiumTempe, AZ

  • Date: August 31, 2023
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 102 °F (39 °C)
  • Game attendance: 47,773
  • Referee: Cravonne Barrett
  • TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)
Game information
First quarter
  • (9:00) ASU – Cameron Skattebo 6-yard run, Dario Longhetto kick (Drive: 5 plays, 68 yards, 1:59; Arizona State 7–0)
Second quarter
  • (11:05) SUU – Targhee Lambson 1-yard run, Tyler Graham kick (Drive: 11 plays, 62 yards, 6:43; Tied 7–7)
  • (5:32) ASU – Xavier Guillory 47-yard pass from Jaden Rashada, Dario Longhetto kick (Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 2:37; Arizona State 14–7)
  • (0:02) ASU – Troy Omeire 3-yard pass from Jaden Rashada, Dario Longhetto kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:54; Arizona State 21–7)
Third quarter
  • (0:49) SUU – Zack Mitchell 17-yard pass from Justin Miller, Tyler Graham kick (Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 3:39; Arizona State 21–14)
Fourth quarter
  • (13:41) ASU – Dario Longhetto 38-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, -14 yards, 1:49; Arizona State 24–14)
  • (7:50) SUU – George Ramirez 47-yard blocked punt return, Tyler Graham kick (Drive: 9 plays, 27 yards, 4:40; Arizona State 24–21)
Statistics SUU ASU
First downs 11 19
Total yards 226 371
Rushes/yards 87 135
Passing yards 139 236
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 9–18–0 18–31–0
Time of possession 30:48 29:12
Team Category Player Statistics
Southern Utah Passing Justin Miller 8/17, 123 yards, TD
Rushing Braedon Wissler 15 carries, 45 yards
Receiving Zach Mitchell 4 receptions, 52 yards, TD
Arizona State Passing Jaden Rashada 18/31, 236 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Cameron Skattebo 17 carries, 75 yards, TD
Receiving Xavier Guillory 5 receptions, 73 yards, TD

at BYU

[edit]
Southern Utah at BYU
1 234Total
Thunderbirds 3 076 16
Cougars 6 2177 41
Sources:
Statistics SUU BYU
First downs 16 18
Plays–yards 60–346 55–394
Rushes–yards 27–84, 1 TD 23–46, 2 TD's
Passing yards 262 348
Passing: compattint 17–33–1, 1 TD 22–32–1, 4 TD's
Time of possession 31:19 28:41
Team Category Player Statistics
SUU Passing Justin Miller 16–30–1, 235 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Targhee Lambson 7 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Zach Mitchell 7 receptions, 135 yards
BYU Passing Kedon Slovis 22–32–1, 348 yards, 4 TD's
Rushing LJ Martin 6 carries, 27 yards
Receiving Isaac Rex 4 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands as the United Athletic Conference" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "2023 Southern Utah Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023 Football Schedule". Southern Utah University Athletics. Retrieved April 19, 2023.