This Saturday the Thunderbird football team will make the trip to Salt Lake City to take on the University of Utah for the first time since 2016 and only the second ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. The last time the Thunderbirds played the Utes it ended in a 24-0 win for the University of Utah.
Game Information
Southern Utah at University of Utah
Date: September 10th, 2022
Kickoff Time: 11:30 AM MT
Venue: Rice-Eccles Stadium
Stream: PAC 12 Networks
The Thunderbirds are coming off a huge 44-13 victory over the University of St. Thomas in week 1. The Utes on the other hand come into the game after a disappointing 26-29 road loss to Florida. The Utes started the season ranked as the #7 team in FBS but are projected to drop a few spots in the rankings following the loss to the unranked Gators.
The T-Birds garnered a pair of WAC Player of the Week honors as quarterback Justin Miller's Stand out performance was recognized by the Conference. Fellow T-Bird Jake Gerardi was also named the Special Teams player of the Week.
Miller threw for 364 yards and 3 touchdowns while completing just over 65% of his passes in the week one win over the Tommies. Gerardi, who handles the kickoff and punting duties for Southern Utah had five touchbacks in his nine kickoff attempts, also adding four towering punts two of which pinned the team from Minnesota inside their own twenty yard line.
While these two were recognized by the conference for their performances, there were many T-Birds who aided in the winning effort for the team.
Despite a quick start for St. Thomas, the Thunderbird defense held the Purple to just 13 points. With what seemed to be a "bend don't break" mentality the T-Birds forced four turnovers and held the Tommies to just three conversions out of seven fourth down attempts.
Isaiah Wooden, who came to Cedar City via the transfer portal this spring, had an outstanding performance as well. Wooden caught 5 passes for a total of 142 yards and two scores in the contest. Wooden also returned one kick for 24 yards and took the ball on a jet sweep that netted the T-Birds 15 yards on the ground. The win over St. Thomas was a great overall team effort for the Thunderbirds.
Coming into the season as the AP #7 team in the country, the Utes had high expectations when they traveled to the Swamp last weekend. The Gators coming off a tough 2021 campaign were looking to bounce back with a new coach and many new players. Utah scored first but Florida seemed to have an answer each time the Utes put points on the board. When it came down to the last minute drive the Florida defense was able to stop the Utes to prevail 29-26.
Utes quarterback Cam Rising finished the game with 23 of 32 passes hitting their target for a total of 216 yards. Rising had both one touchdown and one interception on the day. A dual threat quarterback, Rising, also gets the job done with his feet. He had 7 carries for 91 yards in Saturday's game.
Anchoring the rushing attack for the Utes was #9 Tavion Thomas. Thomas rushed for 117 yards on 23 attempts and had 1 touchdown. Thomas is the weapon of choice on the ground garnering nearly 60% of the carries for the Utes. The air attack was spread between several receivers but the two with the most targets were Brant Kuithie and Micah Bernard. Bernard ended the contest with 5 catches for 31 yards. The majority of his action was done at or very near the line of scrimmage. Kuithe however was the downfield threat for the Utes having 9 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown.
The Thunderbirds matchup this Saturday will happen in front of a packed house at Rice-Eccles Stadium which seats over 51,000. It will be the Home Opener for the Utes and gives T-Bird fans a chance to see what this year's team can do against one of the best teams in the country.
Follow us
For all the latest on Southern Utah football, follow @SUUFB_ on Twitter, @SUUFB on Instagram, and like the Southern Utah Football Facebook page.
And Don't forget to listen to the Thunderbird Coaches Show on your favorite Podcast platform! New Episodes drop Every Monday at 6 PM!
