TEMPE, Ariz. – The Southern Utah University football team played its second game against an FBS opponent in five days when it took on No. 25 Arizona State Thursday night, but ultimately fell by a score of 41-14 under the lights of Sun Devil Stadium.

The loss dropped SUU to 0-2 on the year while ASU improved to 1-0.

"I'm proud of the way our team played," said SUU head coach Demario Warren. "They played hard. Playing two FBS opponents in five days is a tough feat and the guys just worked. They went all the way down to the wire and got a huge third-down stop down there at the goal line at the end of the game. I think our guys know they can play with anybody after tonight. The goal was to improve from week one and they played a ton better."

After the Sun Devils jumped out to an early 13-0 lead, SUU made it a one-score game when Judd Cockett took a handoff from quarterback Justin Miller and punched it in for six. The Thunderbirds then pulled off a surprise onside kick to regain possession of the ball and go for the lead, but the ASU defense came away with an interception to deny SUU that opportunity.

The Thunderbirds were plagued by turnovers in the first half as Arizona State picked off three passes and recovered a fumble. SUU's defense responded throughout the game, though, and came up with two turnovers of its own on the onside kick and a fumble recovery later in the second half.

After Jake Narayan forced a fumble in the middle of the field and Justin Brown recovered and tacked on a big return, the Southern Utah offense was able to capitalize with a score. Miller handed off to running back David Moore III from 21 yards out and the freshman ball carrier took it all the way for the T-Birds' second touchdown of the day.

Moore III finished the night with 26 yards and a touchdown while Dayne Christiansen led the Thunderbirds in rushing with 38 yards on 10 carries. Miller finished the night with 146 passing yards while completing 19 of 30 attempts. He completed passes to 11 different receivers with Lance Lawson leading the way on 28 yards.

Reigning All-American La'akea Kaho'ohanohano-Davis led the defense with a career-high 15 tackles. The Hawaii native also tacked on one sack. Francis Bemiy added a sack and two tackles for loss while linebacker Desean Boyd also chipped in two TFL's.

Southern Utah now enters a bye week before traveling to take on Tarleton State on Saturday, September 18. Kickoff against the Texans will take place at 5:00 p.m. MT. The game is slated to be played at Globe Life Park, the old home of the Texas Rangers.

POSTGAME NOTES

-Judd Cockett now owns a passing and rushing touchdown this season. The senior wide receiver passed for a score on a trick play in the season opener before rushing for a TD against Arizona State.

-Jake Gerardi, the reigning Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, helped the T-Birds recover an onside kick and pinned ASU inside their own 10-yard line on another punt.

-The T-Birds defense managed only two tackles for loss in the season opener at San Jose State, but came away with six against the Sun Devils. SUU also came away with two sacks versus ASU as opposed to zero at SJSU.

-Justin Miller's 146 passing yards were a season high. The redshirt sophomore passed for 117 yards against San Jose State.

-After forcing only two turnovers during the spring 2021 season, SUU's defense has forced two turnovers in each of its games so far this year to double last season's total.

-Kaho'ohanohano-Davis' 15 tackles were not only a career high but helped him become the first T-Bird to have double-digit tackles this season.

POSTGAME QUOTES

"It's frustrating, especially because we turned the ball over two times in plus territory. It's frustrating, but Justin is a phenomenal quarterback and we wouldn't want anyone else back there. I think he's going to bounce back and be ready to go. That defensive line and those linebackers are ridiculous, and our O-Line really stepped up."

-Warren on the team's turnover woes

"We ran the ball pretty well the first two weeks versus some really good defenses. That was something we needed to get better at from the spring. If we can get better at running the ball, we're going to have a real good shot. We have some really good receivers and a good quarterback, and we can control the clock. We've led in time of possession these first two games which is really hard to do against an FBS opponent. We're really excited about that."

-Warren on the team's rushing efforts

"This gave us confidence we can play with people. Our team has climbed out of a deep hole we dug for ourselves the last couple years. We've got a huge road game in two weeks and I think the confidence to play on the road is going to be huge going into another hostile environment."

-Warren on gaining confidence from being able to move the ball

"I'm just so proud of these guys. With only five days, they didn't complain. They went to work on Monday and had a tough practice. We tried to get them healthy for this game and they just came out and fought."

-Warren on his team playing two FBS games in five days

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