Facing Tarleton State on the road Saturday night, the T-birds rallied from a 20-point deficit to win its UAC road opener.
Tarleton State started the scoring off in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead around four minutes into the game.
The Texans had an even bigger second quarter, notching a pair of field goals and a touchdown to take a 20-0 lead into the halftime break.
Finding themselves in a three-score hole, SUU wasn’t about to let it get any larger in the second half.
The T-birds came out of the locker room at halftime and appeared to be a completely different team than the one on the field during the first two quarters.
The comeback begins
SUU began its comeback around the seven-minute mark of the third quarter when quarterback Justin Miller found Anson Kraut for a 48-yard touchdown, making the score 20-7.
👏👏👏 First Career TD Anson Kraut!
⚡️: 7
🤠: 20 pic.twitter.com/Ks3UxV6m1e— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 8, 2023
After forcing a punt on Tarleton State’s next possession, the T-birds orchestrated a nine-play, 96-yard touchdown drive to cut the deficit to 20-14. To cap the drive, Justin Miller found Tim Patrick for a five-yard score.
T-Bird Touchdown! @TimPatrickJr_
⚡️: 14
🤠: 20 pic.twitter.com/ZddIQTNHFC— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 8, 2023
The Texans extended their lead to open the final frame, scoring a touchdown to end a 64-yard drive. Tarleton State went for the two-point conversion but was unsuccessful, making the score 26-14.
It took nearly 11 minutes for the next points to be scored, but it was the T-birds who notched the touchdown. With 2:55 to play, Targhee Lambson caught a 12-yard scoring toss from Justin Miller, cutting the deficit to 26-21 following the successful PAT.
Touchdown! @justinmiller_12 finds @nolimit_targ for 6!
⚡️: 21
🤠: 26 pic.twitter.com/m0ACPRJxmf— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 8, 2023
With Tarleton State looking to seal a victory by running down the clock, SUU’s Tre Gola-Collard forced Texans running back Kayvon Britten to fumble the ball with just 2:29 to go. Josh Lopez recovered it for the T-birds, picking it up and running 23 yards for a touchdown. SUU went for two and were unsuccessful but now found themselves ahead, 27-26.
D-TD @joshlopez_25 with the scoop and Score to put the Birds Up!
⚡️: 27
🤠: 26 pic.twitter.com/hdCjCZQz2Z— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 8, 2023
Tarleton State then had one last chance to regain the lead, but the SUU defense forced a turnover on downs and ran out the clock to seal the dramatic comeback victory.
Quarterback Justin Miller led the T-birds through the air, completing 34-of-45 passes for 314 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.
True freshman Anson Kraut led the receivers’ group, catching four passes for 68 yards and his first career touchdown.
SUU’s defense was also solid on the night, allowing just 311 total yards of offense to the Texans.
The win improves the T-birds’ record to 2-4 overall, including 1-1 in United Athletic Conference action.
Up next
SUU (2-4, 1-1 UAC) will have a bye week before returning home to face Austin Peay (3-2, 1-0 UAC) on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The game between the T-birds and Governors will kick off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
