SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds dropped their season-opener at the University of Utah 24-0.

Rice-Eccles Stadium sold out for the #SUUvsUTAH matchup with a total of 45,945 people.

The Thunderbirds were led by the defensive duo of Mike Needham and Taylor Nelson. Needham racked up 11 tackles, including 1.5 TFL as Nelson added 10 tackles, including 2.5 TFL.

“Our defense is one of the biggest strengths on our team. We stayed fresh and we did a great job,” SUU head coach Demario Warren said.

The Utes put up a field goal in the first quarter followed by two touchdowns in the second to snag a comfortable 17-0 lead at halftime before adding a third touchdown in the final quarter to round out the scoring for the night and secure the 24-0 win.

Due to an early injury to McCoy Hill, Hill and Tannon Pedersen spent the game back-and-forth at quarterback. Hill rounded out the game 6-12-0 as Pedersen went 0-6-1.

The Utes totaled 19 first downs to Southern Utah's seven. The Thunderbirds struggled with their passing game, throwing for just 42 yards to Utah's 298.

“I'm not pleased. I can do a lot better, and our team can do a lot better. They shouldn't have scored 24 points on us,” Needham said.

Utah's Andy Phillips knocked in a field goal to open the game and give the Utes an early 3-0 lead over the Thunderbirds.

Southern Utah's Ty Rutledge then rushed for 23 yards before the Utes forced a fumble, which was recovered at their 33. Utah took an eight minute drive before Phillips knocked a field goal attempt wide left to keep the score 3-0.

Hill suffered a shoulder sprain late in the first quarter before Pedersen stepped in at the QB spot.

The opening 10 minutes of the second quarter were scoreless before Utah put up the first touchdown of the night as Troy McCormick rushed for four years before Utah kicked in the extra point for a 10-0 lead.

Raysean Pringle returned Utah's kickoff 20 yards before the Thunderbirds went three and out. Utah's Boobie Hobbs returned SUU's punt 35 yards and Utah took over at the SUU 37.

Ute Troy Williams connected with Tim Patrick for a second touchdown before knocking in the kick attempt to round out the first half with a 17-0 Utah lead.

Nelson and Needham led the Thunderbirds on the defensive side of the ball in the opening half. Nelson led with five tackles, including two tackles for loss. Needham added four tackles.

Offensively, Rutledge rushed for 33 yards as Pringle added 16. With split QBs in the first half, Hill threw 4-6-0 as Pedersen threw 0-3-1.

The third quarter was defensively dominant from both teams as the quarter rounded out scoreless.

In the final quarter, Utah's Williams completed a pass to Patrick for a 57-yard touchdown with 9:27 to go in the game before a an extra point from Phillips concluded the scoring for the night and etched the score at 24-0.

“This (game) definitely gives us some things to learn from and get a lot better from. We're really excited to get out there and play some Big Sky teams,” Nelson said. “But there are a lot of good FCS teams that we have to beat if we want to reach our goals.”

Southern Utah is back in action as it opens its home season in Eccles Coliseum next Saturday by hosting Southeast Louisiana. The Thunderbirds will kick off at 6:00 p.m. for their Military Appreciation Game.

For more Thunderbird news, follow @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram, along with SUU Football on Facebook.