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
The founder of Stadium Sportzz and the Sportzz with Spencer podcast, Spencer hopes to one day achieve his dream of working in the world of sports media after completing his Bachelor's degree. Spencer first gained experience in the field of sports writing as a high school senior, where he became the first intern to have a published byline writing for The Spectrum & Daily News in St. George, Utah. Later in the fall of 2017, he was the sports editor for independent campus news source Thunderground and the public address announcer for the women's soccer team at Southern Utah University. Since then, Spencer has worked as a high school sports reporter in St. George, writing for both St. George News and Southern Utah Now. Spencer is also an avid freelancer and has had works appear in the Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, RSL Soapbox, and Fansided's Venom Strikes. Currently, he is a regular contributor to Fan-Insider.com and the UK-based Tottenham site, SpursWeb. When he isn't playing, watching, writing about, or discussing sports, Spencer enjoys working as a part-time athletics PA voice at Utah Tech University and spending time with his amazing wife.

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