CEDAR CITY – Facing a ranked opponent for the sixth time this season, the Southern Utah football team handled No. 22/24 Austin Peay 33-17 on Saturday night.
The Thunderbirds would take the lead early, marching 75 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead just under four minutes into the game. Braedon Wissler would break through into the endzone from 1-yard out to cap the drive.
SUU would then force a three-and-out on defense before adding a Jayden Rogers 27-yard field goal on the following drive to make it 10-0 with 1:29 on the first quarter clock.
The Governors would cut into the home team’s lead just over two minutes into the second period, making it 10-7 while finishing off a nine-play drive.
Southern Utah would have an immediate answer, as a Josh Dye 10-yard rushing touchdown made it 17-7 with under seven minutes to play in the first half.
Both teams would add field goals on their final drives of the half as the score sat at 20-10 heading to the break.
Each team began the third quarter with punts, but the T-birds would come up with a big defensive play on Austin Peay’s second drive. Josh Dunn would force a fumble that Sebastian Adamski recovered, and a few plays later, SUU would add a 40-yard field goal to push its advantage to 23-10.
The Governors would have an answer, however, on their next possession, cutting the T-birds’ lead to 23-17 in the third quarter’s final seconds.
With just under nine minutes remaining in the game, Danny King booted a 43-yard field goal for SUU to make it a 26-17 ballgame.
Two drives later and with time running out, Austin Peay began the drive at its own 8-yard line. After advancing to the T-birds’ 38-yard line, Southern Utah’s defense recorded a sack that jarred the ball loose and recovered the fumble to all but seal the win.
About two minutes later, Talmage Brown would notch a 13-yard scoring run to make it 33-17 to wrap up a Thunderbirds win.
Southern Utah would edge the Governors in nearly every statistical category in the victory, winning the battle in total yards (371-312), passing yards (184-178), rushing yards (187-134), and forced turnovers (2-0).
Joshua Dye led the SUU offense in the game, racking up 155 yards rushing and a touchdown on 34 carries.
On defense, Sebastian Adamski recorded 9 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery.
With the win, the T-birds improve to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in UAC play. It’s also their third straight victory after starting the season 1-5.
Coach Fitzgerald postgame
Up next
Southern Utah (4-5, 3-2 UAC) heads to the Bluegrass State to battle Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The game will kick off at 1 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.
