After a much needed bye week, the Southern Utah University football team hosts the No. 13 ranked Abilene Christian University on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Eccles Coliseum.
This game can also be streamed live on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
It has been a difficult stretch of games for head coach Delane Fitzgerld and the Thunderbirds. SUU is 1-5 on the year and 0-2 in the United Athletic Conference. SUU is currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak with four of those five teams being ranked in the top 25.
One key to this game for SUU will be who is behind center. Bronson Barron has started in the first five games for the T-Birds. Barron missed their last game against Tarleton State University, giving Will Burns the start. It will be key to see who starts come Saturday.
Offensively, the running game continues to blossom and lead this group. Joshua Dye continues to dominate in the run game, leading SUU with 783 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Although Burns played great in his first start of the season, he hasn’t posed a real threat with the passing game. Burns threw for 121 yards on 17 attempts. If Southern Utah wants to keep up with the Wildcats, they will need a stronger passing game.
Defensively, Southern Utah continues to struggle. The T-Birds rank No. 8 in the UAC in total defense, giving up 39.2 points a game. If Southern Utah wants to snap their five-game losing streak, the defense will need to string together some stops.
Abilene Christian
Despite the 4-3 record, Abilene Christian enters this week 3-0 in conference play and are on a two-game winning streak. The ACU Wildcats are also 3-1 against teams in the top 25 in the Football Championship Subdivision.
With the rushing attack, ACU uses a very balanced attack, featuring two different running backs and their quarterback. Junior Rovaughn Banks Jr. leads all Wildcats with 397 rushing yards.
Quarterback Earle Stone has been lethal in both the run and pass game. Stone had 239 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. In the passing game, Stone has 1652 passing yards with a completion percentage of 67.8%.
Even though the defense had a slow start to the season, ACU is finding its stride as of late. The Wildcats racked up six tackles for loss and an interception in their last game against the University of West Georgia.
Abilene Christian won their last game against Southern Utah 28-25 on Nov. 2, 2024.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Heather Turner
