SAN DIEGO – Traveling to face San Diego, the Southern Utah football team fell 30-27 in overtime on Saturday night.
The opening quarter was uneventful, as both teams traded punts back and forth through a scoreless period.
It would be the Toreros that broke the scoreless tie, taking a 7-0 lead with a touchdown just three minutes into the second quarter.
That proved to be the only score of the half, as the home team took the slim lead into the break.
San Diego would make it 14-0 midway through the third quarter, but the T-birds would respond on the next possession.
Capping a 7-play, 70-yard drive, quarterback Bronson Barron found Shane Carr for a 7-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7.
SUU cut further into the deficit with a field goal in the opening minutes of the fourth, but the Toreros added two touchdowns in the next two minutes to push their lead to 24-10 with just over six minutes to play.
While the game appeared to be over, the Thunderbirds would finish an 11-play, 75-yard possession with a score to make it 24-17. This time, Barron found Anson Kraut for a 13-yard touchdown.
Southern Utah’s defense would force a quick three-and-out on the next San Diego possession, giving the offense the ball back with 1:48 on the clock.
Barron would lead them down the field quickly, and with just 46 seconds left, the T-birds tied the game after the QB found Nunez for a 35-yard score to make it 24-24.
San Diego was unable to get into field goal range in the final 46 seconds, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime
SUU received the ball first in the extra period but had to settle for a 28-yard field goal that made it a 27-24 score.
The Toreros took over, and on the second play of the drive, forced the Thunderbird defense into committing a pass interference penalty. Another penalty followed, taking the ball to the 3-yard line. San Diego would find the endzone on the next play, securing the 30-27 win.
Bronson Barron led the way for the SUU offense in defeat, completing 24-of-40 passes for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Gabe Nunez was Barron’s favorite target on the night, catching 6 passes for 100 yards and a score.
While the aerial game was a highlight for the T-birds, the running game struggled. After a big opening game against Idaho State, the ground game produced only 82 yards against the Toreros.
On the other hand, the SUU defense handled the San Diego pass attack but struggled to stop the run.
The Toreros totaled just 64 yards through the air but racked up 296 yards and 3 scores on the ground.
With the loss, the T-birds drop to 1-1 on the season.
Coach Fitzgerald postgame
Up next
Southern Utah (1-1) returns home to face Northern Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The Grand Canyon Trophy Game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
