CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Southern Utah University football team is coming home this weekend to play in a Halloween matchup against No. 7 Northern Arizona University in the Battle for the Grand Canyon. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Thunderbirds are currently 3-5 for the season and 2-3 in Big Sky Conference play. They’re coming off a nail-biting near-comeback last week that came down to a last-minute field goal by the University of Idaho.
SUU has had three fourth-quarter comebacks so far this season, and will be looking to turn those late-game performances into a win against one of the Big Sky’s top teams this season.
Arizona is 6-2 overall and 2-3 in Big Sky play going into this matchup.
Southern Utah
Southern Utah’s run game has been a huge strength for the offense. Quarterback Will Burns and running back Floyd Chalk have been a great duo this season, with Chalk rushing for 1,093 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Burns has been an integral part of the Thunderbird offense this season, completing 1504 passing yards so far this season for 11 touchdowns. Burns has added 843 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns as well.
Ahead of the game, Northern Arizona’s head coach Brian Wright identified Chalk as a dangerous runner that the Lumberjack defense will need to watch out for.
Safety Parker Vance is also a player to watch out for. Vance leads Southern Utah with 62 tackles and five interceptions. His ability to create turnovers will be a key element SUU is looking for to produce a win.
Northern Arizona
Arizona has some momentum going into this game. Before their bye week, NAU was on a three-game win streak. They produced a 49-44 win over Montana and a 38-25 win over Portland State, meaning the T-Birds will need to be consistent in order to stay head-to-head with the Lumberjacks.
Quarterback Ty Pennington has thrown for 1,898 yards with 12 touchdowns this season, while also adding 294 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Pennington can be a hard player to defend, so SUU will need to watch him closely in order to limit his yardage.
The rivalry between these two teams comes from the Battle for the Grand Canyon. In the team’s last meeting, SUU fell to Arizona 52-49 in Cedar City. The Thunderbirds will be looking for redemption in this rivalry, as well as another home win.
Previous football article ——– Next football article
Author: Lexie Nelson
Photo by SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
sports@suunews.net
