Southern Utah at Utah State--Southern Utah is an FCS program that went
6-5 in 2011 with wins over 2012 FBS programs UNLV and UTSA. The Thunderbirds
outscored their opponents by 7.4 points per game on the season. Utah State is
an FBS program that went 7-6 in 2011 and ended with a 24-23 loss to Ohio in the
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The Aggies outscored their opponents by 5.6 points
per game last fall.
Offense: Southern Utah had a passing based offense that had trouble
running the ball. The Thunderbirds ran the ball 351 times on the season for an
anemic 2.9 yards per carry. The Thunderbirds did score 17 rushing touchdowns to
somewhat offset the low yards per carry. The passing game was much more
efficient with 287 yards passing per game in 2011. The Thunderbirds also added
17 touchdowns through the air with 11 interceptions. SUU scored 30.2 points per
game on the season. Utah State had an offense that scored 33.6 points per game
last fall behind one of the strongest rushing attacks in the FBS. The Aggies
ran for 5.9 yards per carry on the season with 37 rushing touchdowns in 13
games and 282 yards on the ground per game. The Aggies added 174 yards in the
air per game with another 23 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. Utah State
scored 60 touchdowns on offense in 2011, good for 4.6 touchdowns per game.
EDGE: Utah State
Defense: Southern Utah was better on defense than offense and gave up
only 22.8 points per game last fall. The Thunderbirds were better at defending
the pass than the run, giving up only 178 yards in the air per game with 10
touchdowns allowed but 9 interceptions forced. The rush defense was less
successful giving up 173 yards per game with a 4.5 yards per carry average and
22 touchdowns allowed on the ground. Overall, the defense gave up 33 touchdowns
on the year. Utah State struggled on defense in 2011 giving up 27.9 points per
game putting them at 68th overall in the FBS. The Aggies gave up over 30 points
6 times on the season and every opponent scored at least 17 points versus the
Aggies. Utah State was efficient versus the run games only giving up 127 on the
ground with a 3.5 yards average but struggled to keep teams from running into
the end zone with 22 rushing touchdowns allowed. The Aggies gave up 238 yards
passing per game from opponents with 17 touchdowns allowed. The 39 touchdowns
allowed in 2011 were good for 3 touchdowns per game on average. EDGE: Push
Coaching: Ed Lamb is the current coach of the Southern Utah
Thunderbirds and is going into his 5th season as head coach. Lamb started
coaching in 1997 as an assistant for Redlands College. Lamb then coached at
BYU, Idaho and San Diego before accepting his first head coaching job at
Southern Utah in 2008. In his previous 4 years as the Thunderbird head coach,
Lamb has gone 18-20 with winning seasons in the last two years. Gary Anderson
is the head coach of Utah State where he has been for 3 years. Anderson started
coaching in 1988 at Southeastern Louisiana and the Ricks College before moving
to Idaho State, Park City HS, Northern Arizona, Utah, Southern Utah (head
coaching job), and Utah. In 2009, Anderson was hired as the Utah State head
coach. This was his second head coaching job after coaching Southern Utah for
one season to a 4-7 record. In his three years at Utah State, Anderson has gone
15-22 with one winning season coming last year. EDGE: Utah State
Utah State leads the overall series between the two schools 2-0 with a
53-34 win in 2009 and a 30-14 win in 2000.
While Utah State has questions on defense and in the backfield, the
Aggies are an up and coming program that looks to be on the upswing nationally.
The rushing attack is the strength and is not built around one player but
rather a system in which players can be moved around and replaced easier. It
will be hard for the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah to withstand the physicality
and depth of Utah State in what should be a nice dress rehearsal for the
upcoming season. Expect Utah State to win fairly easily but Southern Utah will
score at least 14 points.
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