Traveling to Tempe to battle Pac-12 program Arizona State in a game that featured a three-hour weather delay, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team came up just short of an upset victory, falling 24-21.
The Sun Devils got on the board first early in the game, taking just six minutes to take the 7-0 lead.
The game was a back-and-forth for the rest of the opening period until the T-birds tied the game up in quarter number two.
SUU put together an 11-play, 62-yard drive, capping it off with a one-yard rushing score from Targhee Lambson to make it 7-7 four minutes into the second quarter.
And that’s a T-Bird TD! pic.twitter.com/VFfH6RdG15
— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) September 1, 2023
Arizona State countered with a pair of touchdowns, taking a 21-7 lead into halftime.
The first of the two scores came on a fourth-and-eight when Sun Devils quarterback Jaden Rashada found Xavier Guillory for a 47-yard touchdown, while the second came just two seconds before the halftime break.
Second half
After a lengthy weather delay, the teams returned to the field for the second half of play. The break appeared to slow down the ASU offense, and the T-birds responded.
With just 49 seconds to play in the third quarter, Justin Miller threw a 17-yard touchdown to Zach Miller to finish off a 5-play, 70-yard drive to cut the Sun Devils lead to 21-14.
It’s Miller to Mitchell 👀👀
⚡️: 14
🔱: 21 pic.twitter.com/vqDN6BllKu— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) September 1, 2023
Arizona State added a field goal early in the final frame to make it 24-14, but the SUU special teams came up big midway through the quarter to keep it close.
With 7:50 to play, Southern Utah’s Jordan Washington broke through the line on an ASU punt attempt, blocking the kick. George Ramirez picked it up for the defense, rumbling 47 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-21.
🙌🙌🙌 blocked punt and @gramirez_9 takes it to the 🏠
⚡️: 21
🔱: 24 pic.twitter.com/TDtsTMCP6h— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) September 1, 2023
The T-birds’ defense then stopped the Sun Devils on the next drive, but the offense was unable to capitalize and was forced to punt after just a three-play drive.
Arizona State was able to grind out the game for the final five minutes, running out the clock to preserve the win.
Quarterback Justin Miller led SUU on offense, completing 8-of-17 passes for 123 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers.
George Ramirez had a standout performance for the T-birds on defense, registering seven tackles, two pass breakups, and the 47-yard blocked punt touchdown return.
Up next
Southern Utah (0-1) has another tough test up next on the schedule, traveling to Provo to face in-state foe BYU.
The game takes place on Saturday, September 9 at 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
