Facing Abilene Christian on Saturday in Cedar City, SUU responded with a big win following a close defeat the week prior.

The T-birds were the team to jump ahead in this matchup, notching a touchdown near the end of the opening period. It was the SUU defense that set up the scoring chance, thanks to an AJ Felton interception that was returned to the 16-yard line.

After breaking the Southern Utah career touchdown passes record last game, Justin Miller added another, finding Isaiah Wooden for a 14-yard score and the 7-0 advantage.

The Wildcats responded to the T-birds’ score with a touchdown of their own just 50 seconds later to tie the score at 7-7 heading to the second quarter.

SUU had a response for the visiting team however, scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 28-7 lead.

Justin Miller found Targhee Lamb for a 10-yard touchdown to start the scoring run just over three minutes into the period, while the second of the three scores came from a 6-yard Braedon Wissler run.

The T-birds took a three-touchdown lead on the following drive, thanks once again to a big play from the defense.

Trevon Gola-Callard forced the second interception of the game, returning the ball to the 19-yard line.

The offense made quick work with the short field, notching a touchdown just two plays later when Targhee Lambson found the endzone on a 13-yard run.

Abilene Christian recorded a touchdown in the closing moments of the half, cutting the SUU lead to 28-14 as the teams headed to the locker room.

Second half

The T-birds stopped any potential momentum the Wildcats gained from ending the first half with a score, tallying a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter.

SUU’s offense was once again given a great starting position by the defense, with Jordan Washington grabbing an interception that got the drive started at the 32-yard line.

Braedon Wissler then made the score 35-14 at the 8:49 mark of the period with a 10-yard rushing touchdown.

Isaiah Wooden increased the T-birds’ advantage a little over five minutes later, making the score 42-14 with a 25-yard touchdown catch from Justin Miller.

Southern Utah continued to add points in the final period, first with a Targhee Lambson 1-yard rushing score just under two minutes into the quarter. The touchdown was Lambson’s third of the night (two rushing, one receiving).

The T-birds added a 27-yard field goal with just over two minutes to play to cap off the 52-14 victory.

Southern Utah had a memorable game on both sides of the ball, racking up 482 yards of offense (308 rushing, 174 passing).

Justin Miller led the aerial attack, completing 18-of-21 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

Isaiah Wooden caught nine passes for 119 yards and two scores to lead the receivers, while multiple T-birds had big nights on the ground.

Targhee Lambson led the rushing attack for SUU, tallying 101 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns and adding three catches for 21 yards and a score. Braedon Wissler also had a solid game, notching 84 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

On defense, the T-birds forced three turnovers, limiting the Wildcats to just 223 yards of offense (74 passing, 149 rushing).

With the win, SUU improves to 3-5 overall, 2-2 in UAC action.

Up next

SUU now turns its attention to its final home game of the season, taking on Lincoln University (CA) in a non-conference matchup.

The T-birds will battle the Oaks at 1 p.m. MT on Saturday, Nov. 4. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

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Spencer Rodak
Spencer has always been passionate about sports, growing up playing and following various sports. He ran cross country in high school and began his journey in sports media in 2017 as a journalism intern at The Spectrum & Daily News. Since then, his work has been published in numerous outlets including Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, St. George News, Southern Utah Now, SUU's Thunderground, SB Nation's RSL Soapbox, FanSided's Venom Strikes, fan-insider.com, The Spurs Web, and Iron County Today. Spencer is the founder of Stadium Sportzz and both the Sportzz with Spencer and Mountain States Sports Report podcasts. His experience extends to public address announcing, having first served as the PA announcer for Southern Utah University soccer in 2017 and as a high school sports PA announcer. He is now entering his fourth year as a PA announcer at Utah Tech University, where he also occasionally takes on the role of in-game emcee. Spencer's versatility also extends to radio, where at The Fan Sports Network he produced high school and Utah Tech athletics broadcasts, hosted the weekly Region 9 Football Tailgate Show, and appeared daily on The Drive. Now working towards completing his Bachelor's degree in Media Studies, Spencer was recently named the Sports Director at Utah Tech University's 91.3 The Blaze for the 2024-25 year. He will host a weekly show and serve as a play-by-play broadcaster, continuing his dedication to sports journalism and broadcasting. When he isn’t talking, writing about, or watching sports, Spencer enjoys traveling and spending time with his amazing wife.

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