Riding a three-game win streak, the Southern Utah University football team will go on the road to take on Eastern Kentucky University on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at the Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Kentucky.
This game will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
This will mark the third time these two teams have met, with home teams winning both games.
Southern Utah
After starting the season 1-5, Southern Utah is on a three-game win streak. The T-Birds are 4-5 on the year and 3-2 in the United Athletic Conference. The defense has played much better during their win streak, giving up only 16 points a game and forcing seven turnovers.
On the defensive line, Lando Brown has been what opposing coaches call a “game wrecker.” Brown, a senior from Gardena, California, is first in the nation with 1.44 sacks a game and No. 2 with 11.5 total sacks.
Even though the defense has been up and down, SUU has one of the top running backs in college football. Sophomore Joshua Dye is second in the nation with 1322 rushing yards and is the Division One leader in rushing touchdowns with 19.
In the passing game, Bronson Barron has been inconsistent since returning from injury four weeks ago. Barron has failed to reach 200 yards since Sept. 27 and hasn’t completed more than 15 passes in that span.
Eastern Kentucky
Coach Walt Wells is in his sixth year with Eastern Kentucky and has his squad 4-5 on the season and 2-3 in the UAC. Despite the losing record, the Colonels are coming off one of their best wins of the season against the University of Central Arkansas.
Eastern Kentucky is averaging 28.75 points per game in wins but only 11.4 points per game in losses. This will be a promising matchup against a Southern Utah defense that is finding their groove.
Despite the strong offense performances in their wins, Eastern Kentucky is tied for last in the conference in total offense. The Colonels also rank last in the conference in rushing offense and passing offense.
Junior quarterback Myles Burkett has struggled on the year. Burkett is completing 55% of his passes and has thrown for five touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Defensively, Eastern Kentucky is led by Brad Gurley Jr. and Vito Tisdale Jr. Gurley Jr., a junior defensive end from Bowling Green, Kentucky leads the team with five sacks and is tied for seventh on the team with 34 total tackles.
Tisdale Jr. has been great for EKU in the secondary. He leads the team with four interceptions and seven pass break ups. Eastern Kentucky will need both of their best defenders to be on the top of their game to pull off the win against SUU.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
