SUU to take on No. 2 Eastern Washington


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CEDAR CITY — The Southern Utah University football team will look for its second win of the season as the Eastern Washington University Eagles travel to Cedar City this weekend. EWU is ranked second in the FCS top 25 poll and is 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in Big Sky play. SUU is 1-5 this season and 1-1 in Big Sky play.

The last time EWU lost to a Big Sky opponent was almost two years ago in Cedar City. This year, SUU may have another chance at a win, though, as EWU’s Walter Payton Award candidate quarterback Vernon Adams is out three to six weeks after injuring his foot in last week’s game. However, SUU head coach Ed Lamb still believes EWU has a high-powered offense.

“This is Eastern Washington, and they don’t lose Big Sky games. They always have, as long as I’ve been around FCS football, they always have the best or one of the best quarterbacks in the West, so we anticipate that we will be up against the same high-powered offense with excellent quarterback play.”

EWU will compete with an improving SUU offense led by BYU transfer Ammon Olsen, who totaled 449 yards in a loss at Cal Poly, 42-39.

Lamb said of Olsen, “In this last game, or last two games, I think some of his abilities and talents have been able to break through and he has been able to lead our offense in a way that we will become more productive.”

EWU’s defense could be seen as struggling, allowing 36.8 points per game, but concerning the Eagles' defense, Lamb said, “As I look at Eastern’s defensive personnel and schemes, I see sound schemes, I see a well-coached team, I see guys that are running, hitting and tackling and understanding coverages, and I don’t think that there is anything that I would characterize as a weak defense other than their points per game.”

SUU has similarly been having troubles on defense as it has also allowed 36.8 points per game. Lamb spoke of his defense, saying, “We have got to get more physical, particularly our interior line … we have had quite a few injuries, we are playing with different guys and young players who I think will be really good and we need to speed up the timing of how quickly they become comfortable in a game.”

The Eagles and Thunderbirds will kick off at 1:05 p.m. in Cedar City. Live stats will be available at suutbirds.com.

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