# 2016 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

The 2016 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum. This was their fifth year as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 6:00 pm | at Utah* | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | L 0–24 | 45,945 |
| September 10 | 6:00 pm | Southeastern Louisiana* | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | WBS | W 28–23 | 7,010 |
| September 24 | 6:00 pm | No. 25 Portland State | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | WBS | W 45–31 | 10,306 |
| October 1 | 2:30 pm | at No. 11 Montana | Washington–Grizzly StadiumMissoula, MT | WBS | L 20–43 | 26,092 |
| October 8 | 6:00 pm | UC Davis | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | WBS | W 24–3 | 8,107 |
| October 15 | 12:00 pm | at No. 22 North Dakota | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Midco SN | L 23–45 | 10,506 |
| October 22 | 6:00 pm | Weber State | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT (Beehive Bowl) | WBS | L 36–37 | 8,511 |
| October 29 | 2:35 pm | at Idaho State | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | Eversport.tv | W 52–27 | 4,667 |
| November 5 | 12:00 pm | Montana State | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | WBS | W 38–21 | 7,342 |
| November 12 | 1:00 pm | at BYU* | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | BYUtv | L 7–37 | 59,302 |
| November 19 | 3:00 pm | at Northern Arizona | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ (Grand Canyon Rivalry) | NAU-TV, FSAZ | W 48–21 | 5,626 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Utes | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | SUU | Utah |
| 1 | 10:38 | 9 | 67 | 4:22 | Utah | 26-yard field goal by Andy Phillips | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | 3:41 | 9 | 53 | 4:49 | Utah | Troy McCormick 4-yard touchdown run, Andy Phillips kick good | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 1:11 | 4 | 37 | 1:00 | Utah | Tim Patrick 2-yard touchdown reception from Troy Williams, Andy Phillips kick good | 0 | 17 |
| 4 | 9:27 | 2 | 57 | 0:37 | Utah | Tim Patrick 57-yard touchdown reception from Troy Williams, Andy Phillips kick good | 0 | 24 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 0 | 24 |
Game Stats:
* Passing: SUU: McCoy Hill 6-12-0--42, Tannon Pedersen 0-6-1--0; Utah: Troy Williams 20-35-0--272, Tyler Huntley 3-4-0--26.
* Rushing: SUU: Malik Brown 10-49, Ty Rutledge 1-33, Hill 8-26, Raysean Pringle 5-13, James Felila 3-9, Isaiah Diego-Wi 1-0, Pedersen 4-(-14); Utah: Troy McCormick 12-55, Joe Williams 12-49, Armand Shyne 8-19, T. Williams 5-15.
* Receiving: SUU: Mike Sharp 1-14, Steven Wroblews 1-12, Rutledge 1-9, Logan Parker 1-6, Felila 1-4, Pringle 1-(-3); Utah: Tim Patrick 5-105, Rae Singleton 2-56, Troy McCormick 3-55, Tyrone Smith 3-31, Evan Moeai 1-18, Walla Gonzales 1-11, Demari Simpkins 1-8, Siaosi Wilkins 1-8, Terrell Burgess 1-7, Kyle Fulks 2-1, Joe Williams 3-(-2)
* Interceptions: Utah: Marcus Williams 1-0.

### Southeastern Louisiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
| • Thunderbirds | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | SLU | SUU |
| 1 | 12:51 | 5 | 75 | 2:09 | SLU | Brandon Acker 19-yard touchdown reception from Justin Alo, Jonathan Tatum kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | 9:45 | 10 | 60 | 3:06 | SUU | Brady Measom 6-yard touchdown reception from Patrick Tyler, Keita Calhoun kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 1 | 0:45 | 8 | 40 | 2:21 | SLU | 24-yard field goal by Jonathan Tatum | 10 | 7 |
| 2 | 12:14 | 4 | 69 | 1:47 | SLU | Rasheed Harrell 5-yard touchdown run, Jonathan Tatum kick good | 17 | 7 |
| 2 | 8:33 | 11 | 87 | 3:41 | SUU | Ty Rutledge 3-yard touchdown run, Keita Calhoun kick good | 17 | 14 |
| 3 | 7:57 | 7 | 53 | 2:15 | SUU | Brady Measom 10-yard touchdown reception from Patrick Tyler, Keita Calhoun kick good | 17 | 21 |
| 4 | 9:27 | 9 | 69 | 2:39 | SUU | Mike Sharp 16-yard touchdown reception from Patrick Tyler, Keita Calhoun kick good | 17 | 28 |
| 4 | 3:33 | 12 | 75 | 5:54 | SLU | Juwan Dickey 20-yard touchdown reception from Justin Alo, 2-point pass failed | 23 | 28 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 23 | 28 |
Game Stats:
* Passing: SLU: Justin Alo 18-31-2--275; SUU: Patrick Tyler 18-28-0--188, Mike Sharp 1-1-0--34, Ty Rutledge 0-1-0--0.
* Rushing: SLU: Kaelyn Henderson 5-46, Julius Maracalin 6-40, Rasheed Harrell 7-36, Alo 7-13, Darius Durall 7-13, Jake Ingarfia 1-(-2), Micah Thomas 1-(-3) ; SUU: Malik Brown 32-146, Raysean Pringle 6-30, James Felia 4-17, Tate Lewis 1-10, Tyler 6-8, Rutledge 3-6, Team 2-(-2).
* Receiving: SLU: Brandon Acker 8-146, Juwan Dickey 5-88, Juwaan Rogers 3-39, Joe Pack 1-4, Javon Conner 1-(-2); SUU: Brady Measom 6-58, Mike Sharp 4-64, Steven Wroblews 4-59, Logan Parker 2-23, Desean Holmes 2014, Rutledge 1-4.
* Interceptions: SUU: Mike Needham 1-4, Tyler Collett 1-0.

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #25 Vikings | 3 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 45 |

### At Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| #11 Grizzlies | 9 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 43 |

### UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

### At North Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 14 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 23 |
| #22 Fighting Hawks | 7 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 45 |

### Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 37 |
| Thunderbirds | 14 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 36 |

### At Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 10 | 21 | 14 | 52 |
| Bengals | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |

### Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 38 |

### At BYU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Cougars | 14 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 37 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 14 | 14 | 20 | 0 | 48 |
| Lumberjacks | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | | |
| Coaches | 23 | 23 | 21 | RV | 24 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | | |