2018 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

The 2018 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah as seventh-year as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in Big Sky play to finish in 12th place.

2018 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record1–10 (1–7 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJustin Walterscheid (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorRod Chance (3rd season)
Home stadiumEccles Coliseum
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 Weber State +^   7 1     10 3  
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^   7 1     12 3  
No. 7 UC Davis +^   7 1     10 3  
No. 17 Montana State ^   5 3     8 5  
Idaho State   5 3     6 5  
Montana   4 4     6 5  
Cal Poly   4 4     5 6  
Northern Arizona   3 4     4 6  
Portland State   3 5     4 7  
Idaho   3 5     4 7  
Northern Colorado   2 6     2 9  
Southern Utah   1 7     1 10  
Sacramento State   0 7     2 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games.
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

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Polls

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On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Thunderbirds were predicted to finish in sixth place in both the coaches and media poll.[1]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Eastern Washington 134 (6)
2 Weber State 124 (3)
3 Northern Arizona 121 (3)
4 Idaho 101 (1)
5 Sacramento State 94
6 Southern Utah 91
7 Montana 82
8 Montana State 76
9 UC Davis 64
10 Cal Poly 40
11 Northern Colorado 30
12 Idaho State 29
13 Portland State 21
Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Eastern Washington 651 (27)
2 Weber State 636 (19)
3 Northern Arizona 535 (1)
4 Montana 496 (2)
5 Idaho 483 (3)
6 Southern Utah 449 (1)
7 Sacramento State 415
8 Montana State 391 (1)
9 UC Davis 331 (1)
10 Idaho State 170
11 Cal Poly 169
12 Northern Colorado 166
13 Portland State 103

Preseason All-Conference Team

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The Thunderbirds had five players selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.[2]

Marquez Tucker – Sr. OT

PJ Nu’usa – Jr. OG

Zach Larsen – Jr. C

Chinedu Ahanonu – Sr. LB

Jalen Russell – So. CB

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.North Alabama*Pluto TV 236L 30–348,912
September 86:00 p.m.at Oregon State*P12NL 25–4836,448
September 159:00 p.m.at Arizona*P12NL 31–6241,493
September 224:00 p.m.at Northern ArizonaPluto TV 239L 23–315,832
October 62:00 p.m.at No. 5 Eastern WashingtonATTRML 17–558,887
October 136:00 p.m.Sacramento State 
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
Pluto TV 236W 48–2710,424
October 203:00 p.m.at IdahoPluto TV 242L 12–3112,798
October 276:00 p.m.Northern Colorado
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
Pluto TV 236L 39–427,106
November 31:00 p.m.Montana
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
ATTRML 14–577,162
November 105:00 p.m.No. 3 Weber State
ELVNL 18–317,415
November 175:00 p.m.at Cal PolyPluto TV 244L 24–384,520

Game summaries

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North Alabama

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1 2 3 4 Total
Lions 3 10 7 14 34
Thunderbirds 0 16 7 7 30

At Oregon State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Thunderbirds 0 7 9 9 25
Beavers 17 24 0 7 48

At Arizona

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1 2 3 4 Total
Thunderbirds 0 17 0 14 31
Wildcats 7 17 24 14 62

At Northern Arizona

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1 2 3 4 Total
Thunderbirds 0 7 16 0 23
Lumberjacks 7 7 10 7 31

At Eastern Washington

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1 2 3 4 Total
Thunderbirds 3 7 7 0 17
No. 5 Eagles 14 20 21 0 55

Sacramento State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Hornets 21 3 0 3 27
Thunderbirds 7 20 14 7 48

At Idaho

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1 2 3 4 Total
Thunderbirds 0 0 0 12 12
Vandals 10 14 7 0 31

Northern Colorado

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 14 10 18 0 42
Thunderbirds 8 3 14 14 39

Montana

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1 2 3 4 Total
Grizzlies 20 10 21 6 57
Thunderbirds 7 7 0 0 14

Weber State

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Wildcats 7 14 7 3 31
Thunderbirds 6 6 6 0 18

At Cal Poly

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1 2 3 4 Total
Thunderbirds 14 7 0 3 24
Mustangs 0 21 7 10 38

References

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  1. ^ "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".
  2. ^ "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".