CEDAR CITY, Utah - For the third time in five years the Thunderbird football team is set to kickoff a playoff journey, this time at home in Eccles Coliseum as the No. 8 seeded T-Birds will host in-state rival Weber State for the right to move on deeper into the bracket.

Last Time Out

Southern Utah's last regular season outing was against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona, where they secured a Big Sky Conference Championship with a 48-20 victory.

The Thunderbirds did the majority of their damage on the ground. Jay Green Jr. rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns during the contest, and SUU quarterback Patrick Tyler scored two touchdowns on the ground as well. Tyler also threw for 238 yards during the course of the game.

Landen Measom was the leading receiver for the Thunderbirds in the contest, catching eight passes from Tyler.

Jarmaine Doubs Jr. led the Thunderbirds with seven tackles in the contest.   

All-Conference Honors

The Thunderbirds were well represented when the Big Sky Conference released their All-Conference teams last week, with 22 different T-Birds being recognized by the conference for their play during the season.

SUU had four players make the All-Conference First Team list, with Zach Larsen, Anu Pole'o, Mike Needham and Jarmaine Doubs Jr. all earning the recognition.

Named to the Big Sky All-Conference Second Team was Marquez Tucker, James Felila, Robert Torgerson and Chinedu Ahanonu. Third Team members included PJ Nu'usa, Sefesi Vaa'ivaka, Taylor Pili and Taylor Nelson.

10 more Thunderbirds were named Honorable Mentions to the All-Conference Teams.

Our Coach of the Year

SUU head coach Demario Warren was awarded the title of Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in recognition of what the team was able to accomplish this season. He shared the honor with Jody Sears from Sacramento State.

In just his second year in charge of the Thunderbird program, Warren led his team to a 9-2 overall record and a 7-1 record in Big Sky Conference play. Warren has also been very solid at home, sitting with a 9-1 record over two years at Eccles Coliseum.

Going into the season the Thunderbirds were picked to finish seventh in the league. It's fair to say that they proved plenty of people wrong this season.

Warren led the Thunderbirds to their second Big Sky Conference title in three seasons, when the Thunderbirds knocked off Northern Arizona 48-20 in their final game of the season.

He also led the team back to the FCS Playoffs for the third time in five years.

Southern Utah also won nine Division I games in a single season for the first time in the history of the program.

Overall, Warren now sits with a 15-7 overall record.

Rank 'Em

The Thunderbirds might have earned the No. 8 seed in the FCS Playoffs, but they also reached their highest ranking ever in both the FCS Coaches' Poll and the STATS FCS Poll following their performance against Northern Arizona.

The T-Birds were No. 12 in the final STATS FCS Poll moving up two spots from their previous ranking in that poll. In the FCS Coaches Poll they moved up from No. 18 to No. 13.

Coming into the season the highest ranking the Thunderbirds reached was No. 15 during the 2015 campaign.

Home Field Advantage

Losing at home over the last three seasons has been a rare occurrence for the Thunderbirds.

This season they finished 5-0 at Eccles Coliseum. In 2016 they finished 4-1, with the lone loss coming against Weber State. And in 2015 they were again undefeated, finishing with a perfect 5-0 record at home.

This season the Thunderbirds also broke the attendance record on two separate occasions. Most recently, 10,842 fans packed Eccles Coliseum to watch the Thunderbirds knock off the Lumberjacks.   

Opponent Preview: Weber State Wildcats

After finishing the regular season 9-2 and claiming a share of the Big Sky Conference championship, the Wildcats of Weber State knocked off Western Illinois 21-19 in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs.

The victory was Weber State's third playoff win in the history of the program.

Weber State quarterback Stefan Cantwell threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns during the contest. His top receiver was Andrew Vollert, who caught eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. He also hit Drew Batchelor four times for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Cantwell also led the team in rushing with 43 yards on the ground.

The Wildcats caused a lot of damage in the oppositions pocket, as they finished the day with four sacks. Xequille Harry had an interception for the Wildcats and Jordan Preator led the team with 11 tackles.  

Recent Series History vs. Weber State

In the regular season edition of the Beehive Bowl, the Thunderbirds were able to knock off the Wildcats in Ogden with a 32-16 victory.

Patrick Tyler had a big game through the air against Weber State, throwing for 281 yards and three touchdowns. He found Logan Parker six times for 118 yards and two touchdowns, including a long touchdown on the opening play of the game that went for six.

Chinedu Ahanonu and Mike Needham both had big defensive outings. Ahanonu had 13 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, while Needham finished the game with 11 tackles and two tackles for loss. Both Chance Bearnson and Jalen Russell had an interception in the contest for the T-Bird defense.   

Big Sky At A Glance

Southern Utah and Weber State are the only two teams that remain in the FCS Playoffs from the Big Sky Conference, meaning that only one will remain when the weekend is over.

The Big Sky initially had three teams in the field, but the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona fell to the University of San Diego in the opening round 41-10. NAU ended the season with a 7-5 overall record.

Words From Coach Warren

On what the Big Sky Conference title means to him…..

"It's another step in the right direction," Warren said. "We've been working on a program that could gain both Big Sky respect and National respect, and having two conference championships in the last three years I think we're starting to gain that. Hopefully now were expected to be in the conference title race every single year."

On what differences, if any, he's seen from Weber State since the teams last played…..

"They're moving some guys around a little bit more than they did earlier in the season," Warren said. "Cantwell is obviously playing at a high level right now, and they're mixing their backs up well. Defensively, they're mixing in some zone more often and doing some things with their front that's a little different. But for the most part I think we're the same team and they're the same team, and it's just going to come down to who's able to execute."

On the environment he expects to see on Saturday…..

"It's going to be nuts, I'm expecting to see this whole place filled up to more than full capacity and I'm hoping for 11,000 at least," he said.   

Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

The game will be available on the airwaves locally on KSUB 590 AM with Art Challis and Devin Dixon on the call for the Thunderbirds.

Live stats will be available on ncaa.com.

Follow Us

Keep tabs on the Thunderbirds by following @SUUFB on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Football page on Facebook.

Read all about the Thunderbirds on suutbirds.com.

Tickets

Tickets for the home playoff game can be purchased online at tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.