Fresh off a last-minute heart break to McMurry University, the UTSA Roadrunners face a huge challenge in their first away game in school history. Not only is Southern Utah the first road trip UTSA must take, it also represents the Roadrunners' first game against Division I talent. Southern Utah is returning 16 starters, nine of which earned First Team All-GWC honors last year during the team's march to the Great West Conference championship. Southern Utah University (formerly known as Southern Utah State College, and College of Southern Utah before that) has an enrollment of around 7,000 undergraduates, and is located in picturesque Cedar City, Utah. While Southern Utah is currently a member of the Great West Conference (Cal Poly, UC Davis, South Dakota, North Dakota), they will begin play in the Big Sky Conference in 2012 (Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, Sacramento St., Montana, Montana St., etc.). Southern Utah is also an affiliate of the WAC, as SUU competes in WAC gymnastics.
Southern Utah's football program is led by head coach Ed Lamb who is in his fourth year at SUU. While Southern Utah is Lamb's first head coaching gig, he's been around the game for a while, playing at BYU for four years before graduating and beginning his coaching career. Lamb coached BYU's linebackers in 2001 before moving on to Idaho where he would be defensive coordinator from 2002 to 2003, allowing opponents to score 31 points per game on average. SUU offensive coordinator Steve Clark has overseen three different SUU offenses, all of which have broken school records. Defensive coordinator Justin Ena floated around the NFL for a few years before joining the staff at Southern Utah. Interestingly enough, all three coaches either played or coached at Brigham Young at some point in their lives. With many mormon players on their team, you may as well deem Southern Utah BYU-lite, with players leaving the team for missionary trips and all. Yes, I'm dead serious about this. This SUU team is old. While their athletics site does not list ages or birth dates, judging by the three year missionary trips many of their players have gone on, some of SUU's seniors must be approximately 26-27 years old. Contrast with that with the 19 and 20 year olds on UTSA's squad for a charming sense of dismay. Southern Utah has 21 seniors on their roster, five of which boast three lettering seasons. The school also employs many interesting recruiting techniques. SUU's roster is comprised of student athletes from all over the nation, from Hawaii and American Samoa to Georgia. Southern Utah defensive lineman Kouri Jones will be seeing some familiar faces across the sideline-- Jones played at Converse Judson with Cory Williams and Erik Brown, who will make his debut as a Roadrunner this weekend.
 |
| Southern Utah QB Brad Sorensen |
Look for Southern Utah to come out in a 4-3 set on defense. Similar to their offense, SUU boasts a grizzly, season line on the defensive side of the ball. Senior defensive end Tyler Osborne (6'4, 225 lbs.) was a consensus first team all-conference player and was appointed as a preseason all American defensive end this year. Osborne plays with fury, racking up sacks and tackles for loss with ease. Need proof? Osborne totaled 5 tackles (3 for a loss), 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, and recovered a fumble against Sacramento State last week. The rest of the defense is a bit of gray area for the Thunderbirds, with holes at linebacker, free safety, and cornerback coming into the 2011 season. Outside linebacker Blake Fenn looks to lead the Thunderbirds in tackles for the second consecutive year, boosted by eight solo tackles last week. One thing to watch in the game will be how SUU's 4-3 defense fairs against UTSA's spread and five receiver sets. I wouldn't mind seeing 10 quick dumps off to Armstrong in the slot.
While the challenge for UTSA this week may look daunting, there are some positives out there. First off, evidently this has been a great week of practice for the Roadrunners, with Coach Neathery going so far as to label the practice effort as "outstanding". SUU's coach has said that Bush's offense is one of the most creative play books he's come across. SUU only has two games to work off of, and you know Bush has a lot more up his sleeve. There's always the hope (and I'm going to optimistically buy into this notion) that UTSA's athletes will play up to the level of competition. If UTSA comes out with energy and executes their game plan with precision they will have a shot. SUU is well coached and very disciplined but seem to lack speed, something that this UTSA squad is basking in.
It looks like goutsa.com's Rowdy Zone will be broadcasting the game online. We'll be watching. Be sure to let us know if any of you guys have a great idea for a watching party, we'd love to catch the game with a fun crowd. Also be sure to check out our podcast for more analysis/predictions of the game on Saturday
Scouting information on Southern Utah
Southern Utah stats report
Discuss the game with UTSA fans
