CEDAR CITY – Hosting No. 13/17 Abilene Christian on Saturday night, the SUU football team needed a win in the worst way.
Coming off a bye week, the Thunderbirds entered the game on a five-game skid.
Waiting for them? Another ranked opponent, their fifth time playing a Top 25 team in the season’s seventh game.
The difference? Thanks to key defensive plays, Southern Utah emerged with a 31-24 victory for its first upset of a ranked opponent this season.
SUU would take the lead early, thanks to a Joshua Dye 18-yard touchdown run to cap an 8-play, 40-yard drive with just over five minutes remaining in the opening quarter to make it 7-0.
The scoring chance was made possible by a Barron Taylor interception on ACU’s offensive possession.
Abilene Christian would score the next 10 points to take its first lead just over six minutes into the second quarter.
But while the Southern Utah offense uncharacteristically struggled to keep drives alive, the defense would once again come up big.
With two minutes to play in the half and the Wildcats looking to add to their lead, Mikey Allen intercepted a pass at the 32-yard line and took it all the way back for a touchdown to put the T-birds back in front, 14-10.
Abilene Christian would ultimately score the final points of the half, as Stone Earle found the endzone from eight yards out to make it 17-14 entering the halftime break.
Second half
The Wildcats received the second-half kickoff, looking to add to their lead.
Instead, the Thunderbirds’ defense recorded another big play, as Mason Stromstad forced a fumble that Mikey Allen recovered.
Southern Utah’s offense would then take over, not allowing the defensive stop to go to waste.
Just over four minutes later, Joshua Dye ran in a 1-yard touchdown for his second score of the game and the 21-17 lead with 10:37 left in the third quarter.
A touchdown early in the fourth quarter put ACU back in front 24-21, but an SUU field goal on the next drive would even the score at 24-24.
After forcing a three-and-out on defense, the T-birds took over offensively with just under five minutes to play.
Six plays and 47 yards later, quarterback Bronson Barron connected with Shane Carr for a 17-yard touchdown pass that put SUU in front, 31-24, with 2:17 to play.
The Wildcats would have one final chance to win or force overtime, but on third-and-ten, Mason Stromstad sealed the game with an interception as the T-birds celebrated the upset win and the end of a five-game skid.
Joshua Dye led the SUU offense in the win, totaling 179 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.
Defensively, Mason Stromstad recorded 11 tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception.
What’s next
Now sitting at 2-5 (1-2 UAC), the Thunderbirds still have a lot of work to do with five games remaining.
While a shot at an FCS playoff berth has likely been out the window for a few weeks, the team can still end the season strong and achieve a few different feats.
If the T-birds can finish with a 6-6 or 7-5 record, it would be just the second time in the program’s Division I era where they achieved a .500 record or better in three straight seasons, a feat currently only accomplished by the 2015-17 squads.
Another potential high moment? Winning the Battle for the Axe against Utah Tech and keeping the rivalry trophy in Cedar City for the third straight season.
After an upset win, Southern Utah can only hope the momentum carries over into the rivalry matchup in St. George on October 25.
Kickoff in The Battle for the Axe is slated for 6 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.
