Eastern Washington faces another hot Big Sky Conference team in Southern Utah
CEDAR CITY, Utah – As the Big Sky Conference football race heads into the final month, it’s best to ditch the rear-view mirror.
That’s especially true for Southern Utah, which is coming off the biggest win in Demario Warren’s short tenure as head coach.
Last weekend’s 32-16 win at No. 16 Weber State was as good as it gets: a complete-game rout of an in-state rival, payback for a meltdown loss the year before, and a big boost in stature for the program.
“It’s a big win … but the Big Sky doesn’t really let up,” Warren said on Wednesday. “But we had a good practice yesterday – the players are focused.”
Good thing, because the Thunderbirds (4-2 overall, 2-1 Big Sky Conference) face another ranked team when No. 8 Eastern Washington visits Eccles Coliseum on Saturday night.
“I know they will have our attention,” said the 32-year-old Warren, a former defensive coordinator who took over after helping former head coach Ed Lamb win the Big Sky title in 2015.
Eastern (5-2, 4-0) always seems to get everyone’s best game. That’s the byproduct of winning 39 of your last 44 conference games and having the best offense in the league.
The trick for Eastern is to stay focused on the immediate goal: Beat the Thunderbirds and enjoy a guilt-free bye week.
The Eagles’ defense is coming off its best conference game of the year, holding Montana State to 353 yards in a 31-19 win in Cheney.
“We just have to continue to improve and build on that,” safety Tysen Prunty said.
Statistically, Southern Utah’s offense doesn’t do anything especially well. The T-Birds are 11th out of 13 Big Sky teams in scoring (26.3) and total offense (396 yards), but they’ve done a good job mixing the run and pass.
Senior quarterback Patrick Tyler isn’t among the league’s top 10 passers, but he’s coming off a huge day at Weber State (20 for 30 for 281 yards and three touchdowns).
Two of the TDs went to tight end Logan Parker, who finished with six catches for 118 yards. That gives Prunty and the rest of the EWU defense another potential headache.
James Felila is Southern Utah’s top back with 404 yards, but he’s averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. Jay Green has 251 yards on 5.3 yards per carry.
The Thunderbirds take care of the ball, turning it over just five times in three conference games.
“They make you try to beat them, because they are not going to themselves out of position,” Eastern coach Aaron Best said. “They are very sound defensively and very balanced offensively. It’s going to be a tough test.”
Southern Utah fields one of the top defenses in the league, ranking second overall and tops in pass defense. Opposing Big Sky quarterbacks are just 40 for 79 with 7 yards per attempt.
Junior linebacker Chined Ahanonu is the leading tackler in the conference with 12.3 per game.