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CEDAR CITY — After a rough loss last week at Idaho State with a score of 56-28, the Southern Utah University football team is back at home to look for its second conference win against North Dakota. North Dakota is 3-4 on the season and 1-2 in Big Sky play. SUU's only win this season comes from Big Sky rival, Weber State.
Last week the SUU offense totaled 557 yards, 528 of those coming from quarterback Ammon Olsen. Wide receiver Chris Robinson also had an exceptional game. SUU head coach Ed Lamb knows that despite a stellar quarterback performance, things have to change.
“I think that our team is mature enough that we understand that the wins just aren’t going to be there with 500 yards passing and less than 50 yards rushing. We have got to completely make sure we improve how we stop the run on defense and how we run the ball on offense if we are going to have any chance to be successful,” he said.
“I think (running the ball) is really an area where we have struggled all year. We need to do a much better job of being able to run the ball into a defense that is set up to stop the run. That is the key to the game, and we have not been able to do that.”
While SUU's passing game has drastically improved from the start of the season, North Dakota’s offense is struggling. UND averages 13.7 points per game while SUU averages 22.9 points per game. However, UND's defense is one of the best in the Big Sky. They are ranked second in points allowed, holding opponents to just 22.7 points per game.
Lamb said of UND's defense, “I am very impressed with the way (head coach Bubba Schweigert) has put together a team philosophy. They are playing really solid defense, very aggressive system of defense but also very good in their zone coverages, keeping the ball in front of them, they really make you beat them on defense.”
With the SUU offense finally coming together and UND's gritty defense, it will be interesting who comes on top in this Big Sky Conference dual.
UND and SUU kick-off in Cedar City Saturday at 1:05 p.m. Live stats will be available at suutbird.com.
