Thunderbirds become relevant in Big Sky title chase

If you were waiting for a darkhorse to emerge in the Big Sky Conference football race, it just happened.

Southern Utah – picked to finish seventh by the league’s coaches and media – is squarely in the hunt after a stunning 32-16 win Saturday night at No.16 Weber State.

On the road against the most consistent team in the conference, the Thunderbirds utterly dominated their in-state rivals, rolling up almost 500 yards of offense against the top-ranked defense in the conference while not conceding a touchdown.

“It’s a great win,” second-year coach Demario Warren said. “We’re right back in the hunt for a Big Sky championship and we knew that’s what we had to do, we had to go beat a ranked team on the road and we were able to do that.”

The Thunderbirds (4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky) have a chance to do it again on Saturday, this time at home against No. 8 Eastern Washington.

If this was a trap game for the Eagles, the dangers are now apparent after the Thunderbirds’ big win in Ogden.

Now Southern Utah has everyone’s attention – especially the Eagles.

“They don’t beat themselves – they don’t turn the ball over and on defense they cause turnovers,” said Eastern head coach Aaron Best, whose club is 4-0 in the Big Sky after a 31-19 home win Saturday over Montana State.

“They make you try to beat them, because they are not going to put themselves out of position. They are very sound defensively and very balanced offensively. It’s going to be a tough test,” Best said.

Southern Utah has been a tough out for past Eagles teams. Five years ago, Eastern went to Cedar City as the top-ranked team in FCS but lost 30-27.

In 2014, Eastern managed a 42-30 win thanks to a big game on the ground and from quarterback Jordan West in his first game in relief of injured Vernon Adams Jr.

This year’s Southern Utah team has been erratic, winning at Stephen F. Austin (51-14) and at home against Northern Iowa (24-21) before getting blown out 54-27 at Sacramento State.

Two weeks ago the Thunderbirds squeaked past winless Cal Poly 20-14.

Southern Utah is doing a solid job of mixing the pass and run. Quarterback Patrick Tyler is 105-for-168 passing, for 1,320 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven picks.

Tyler made a living last week by finding his tight ends, including six catches for 118 yards and two scores by Logan Parker.

Suddenly the sky is the limit for the Thunderbirds, who control their destiny in the conference race.

“We weren’t just worried about Weber State,” Warren said. “We are worried about winning the Big Sky and making the playoffs, that’s what the whole mantra is all about.”