# 2021 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

The 2021 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah. They played their final season as a member of the Big Sky Conference, as they would depart for the Western Athletic Conference for the 2022 season.

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Thundebirds were predicted to finish eleventh in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (7) |
| 2 | Montana | (3) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | (2) |
| 4 | Montana State | (1) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | (1) |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Cal Poly | |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (14) |
| 2 | Montana | (4) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | (3) |
| 4 | Montana State | (3) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Northern Colorado | |
| 13 | Cal Poly | |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Thunderbirds had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 28 | 8:00 p.m. | at San Jose State* | CEFCU StadiumSan Jose, CA | CBSSN | L 14–45 | 16,204 |
| September 2 | 8:30 p.m. | at No. 25 (FBS) Arizona State* | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | P12N | L 14–41 | 44,456 |
| September 18 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. Tarleton State* | Globe Life ParkArlington, TX | ESPN+ | W 40–35 | 8,346 |
| September 25 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 6 Eastern Washington | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | | L 21–50 | 7,096 |
| October 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Portland State | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | | L 13–20 | 4,013 |
| October 9 | 7:00 p.m. | at Sacramento State | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | ESPN+ | L 20–41 | 6,244 |
| October 16 | 2:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ (Grand Canyon Rivalry) | | L 35–59 | 7,511 |
| October 23 | 6:00 p.m. | Northern Colorado | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | ESPN+ | L 9–17 | 3,208 |
| October 30 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 11 Montana | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | RTRM | L 19–20 | 22,587 |
| November 6 | 2:00 p.m. | at Idaho | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | ESPN+ | L 24–42 | 6,082 |
| November 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Weber State | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT (Beehive Bowl) | ESPN+ | L 0–62 | 4,045 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||
Conference opponents not played this season: Cal Poly, Idaho State, Montana State, UC Davis

## Game summaries
### At San Jose State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Spartans | 21 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 45 |

### At No. 25 (FBS) Arizona State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 25 (FBS) Sun Devils | 13 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 41 |

### Vs. Tarleton State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 14 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 40 |
| Texans | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 35 |

### No. 6 Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Eagles | 9 | 21 | 13 | 7 | 50 |
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| Thunderbirds | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 13 |

### At Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Hornets | 17 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 41 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Lumberjacks | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 59 |

### Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Thunderbirds | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |

### At No. 11 Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Grizzlies | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |

### At Idaho

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Vandals | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |

### Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 14 | 31 | 7 | 10 | 62 |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |