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CEDAR CITY — In only its second year in the Big Sky Conference, Southern Utah has a chance to really make its mark in the league.
With a record that includes a win over FBS team South Alabama and a 4-2 conference mark, the Thunderbirds have a lot at stake in Bozeman, Mont., this Saturday in their game against the Montana State Bobcats — a team with a 5-1 conference mark.
Southern Utah coach Ed Lamb said last week’s win at Weber State was a good in-state victory for the team, a year after the Wildcats upset the Thunderbirds in Cedar City.
“I give a ton of credit to Weber State and their program,” Lamb said. “They fought all game long, until the end. We were fortunate to get out of there with a victory.”
Southern Utah only had 259 yard of offense, and Lamb credited that below-average output to the Wildcats’ game plan.
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“They had a great plan, defensively, and we were not able to run the ball,” he said. “They understood some of the challenges we’ve had with some injuries and stuff on our offense, and they came in with some adjustments they made that caught us off-guard.”
Now, the Thunderbirds’ focus turns to the Bobcats. Montana State, which lost 54-29 to Eastern Washington last weekend, is 7-3 overall and almost pulled off an upset over SMU earlier this year, falling 31-30 in Dallas.
During the weekly Big Sky Conference coaches’ call, Lamb said his team would be prepared for the opportunity.
“Playing at their place is something our guys are excited about the atmosphere,” he said. “They are very physical on offense; their quarterback is always a threat to keep the ball in their running game; the receivers block really well. (Defensively) to drive the length of the field on Montana State is going to be really difficult."
Lamb has turned the Southern Utah program around over the course of his tenure in Cedar City and has used a physical defense to build a culture in the team.
He said the defense’s ability this year has been critical to the success of the 2013 team.
“They (the defense) made a real commitment in the offseason,” Lamb said. “They were really young last year — we had eight freshman starters on defense a year ago — but really a vast majority of our guys have been returning starters. They just made a real commitment to each other that they’re playing well. They play physically; they play aggressively; they play courageously, and they take care of their assignment.”
Lamb also addressed how the team has adjusted to having two quarterbacks get significant playing time.
“This team has been really close, and they’ve had enough success, and each quarterback has had enough success that I think they’re rallying around whatever player is in there,” he said. “The other thing that has struck me is that guys that are fighting for positions elsewhere … it resonates to them that one or both of the quarterbacks need to play well to keep their job.”
