CEDAR CITY, Utah - Sept. 13 - Southern Utah University football struggled to find its offensive groove on Saturday and ultimately fell to South Dakota State, 26-6, on Homecoming at Eccles Coliseum. The loss keeps SUU winless on the year at 0-3, while South Dakota State moved to 2-1 with the win.
The Jackrabbits put together a 13-play, 75-yard drive on their opening series to take a 7-0 lead and then held the Thunderbirds to just 60 yards in the first half while tacking on two more touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead into halftime.
Southern Utah's defense derailed a pair of South Dakota State drives in the first half by way of interceptions pulled in by Michael Byrd and Josh Smith. However an answering interception inside the Thunderbirds' 5-yard line early in the second quarter by South Dakota State's Shayne Gottlob led to the Jackrabbits second touchdown of the half after the sophomore ran the ball back four yards for the score.
The two teams played a tighter second half with Southern Utah collecting 203 yards to South Dakota State's 142. However a pair of Thunderbirds turnovers, both interceptions thrown by Ammon Olsen, kept the team out of a rhythm and prevented a prolonged comeback.
The Jackrabbits recorded a 21-yard field goal after the first pick, putting together a six-play, 25-yard drive to extend the lead to 24-0.
Southern Utah put its points on the board midway through the fourth quarter on a seven-play, 80-yard drive that included a pair of pass from Olsen totaling 22 yards and a 35-yard run by the quarterback. The drive was capped by a Toa Afatasi touchdown, the first rushing touchdown of his career, as the sophomore powered the ball in from the 1-yard line.
The Thunderbirds PAT was moved back to the 17-yard line, following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, with the team electing to go for the two-point conversion. The try was intercepted by the Jackrabbits' Trey Carr and returned for a two-point try for the defense, leading to the final score of 26-6.
Olsen finished the night with 94 yards passing and a total of 62 yards on the ground. Raysean Pringle led the Thunderbirds with 65 yards rushing as Chris Robinson paced the receivers with 75 yards on five catches.
James Cowser and Chinedu Ahanonu led the defense with 12 tackles apiece with Cowser recording almost half in the backfield with 5.5 TFLs for 11 yards and one sack for seven.
Southern Utah will be back in action next week when the Thunderbirds face their second FBS opponent in Fresno State. The game in Fresno is set for 7:00 p.m. (PT).
