# 2023 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

The 2023 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the United Athletic Conference (UAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach DeLane Fitzgerald, the Thunderbirds played their games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.
After the 2022 season, the WAC and the ASUN Conference, which had partnered in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, fully merged their football leagues, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 8:00 p.m. | at Arizona State* | Mountain America StadiumTempe, AZ | P12N | L 21–24 | 47,773 |
| September 9 | 1:00 p.m. | at BYU* | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | ESPN+ | L 16–41 | 60,834 |
| September 16 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 16 UC Davis* | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | L 21–23 | 7,942 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | Western Illinois* | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | ESPN+ | W 37–17 | 6,504 |
| September 30 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 25 Central Arkansas | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | ESPN+ | L 27–29 | 4,013 |
| October 7 | 5:00 p.m. | Tarleton State | Memorial StadiumStephenville, TX | ESPN+ | W 27–26 | 10,835 |
| October 21 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 24 Austin Peay | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | ESPN+ | L 45–48 $^{2OT}$ | 3,547 |
| October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | Abilene Christian | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | ESPN+ | W 52–14 | 2,969 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Lincoln (CA)* | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | ESPN+ | W 35–6 | 3,023 |
| November 11 | 3:00 p.m. | at Stephen F. Austin | Homer Bryce StadiumNacogdoches, TX | ESPN+ | W 45–17 | 6,835 |
| November 18 | 7:00 p.m. | at Utah Tech | Greater Zion StadiumSt. George, UT | ESPN+ | W 24–16 | 6,077 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at Arizona State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Sun Devils | 7 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
at Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, AZ
* Date: August 31, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy, 102 °F (39 °C)
* Game attendance: 47,773
* Referee: Cravonne Barrett
* TV announcers (Pac-12 Network): Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Lincoln Kennedy (analyst)
| Statistics | SUU | ASU |
| First downs | 11 | 19 |
| Total yards | 226 | 371 |
| Rushes/yards | 87 | 135 |
| Passing yards | 139 | 236 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 9–18–0 | 18–31–0 |
| Time of possession | 30:48 | 29:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Southern Utah | Passing | Justin Miller | 8/17, 123 yards, TD |
| Southern Utah | Rushing | Braedon Wissler | 15 carries, 45 yards |
| Southern Utah | Receiving | Zach Mitchell | 4 receptions, 52 yards, TD |
| Arizona State | Passing | Jaden Rashada | 18/31, 236 yards, 2 TD |
| Arizona State | Rushing | Cameron Skattebo | 17 carries, 75 yards, TD |
| Arizona State | Receiving | Xavier Guillory | 5 receptions, 73 yards, TD |

### at BYU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| • Cougars | 6 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | SUU | BYU |
| 1 | 7:17 | 9 | 52 | 4:06 | SUU | 29-yard field goal by Tyler Graham | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 1:03 | 9 | 85 | 4:23 | BYU | Isaac Rex 20-yard touchdown reception from Kedon Slovis, Will Ferrin kick no good | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | 12:36 | 5 | 36 | 2:12 | BYU | Keanu Hill 8-yard touchdown reception from Kedon Slovis, Will Ferrin kick good | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | 5:47 | 8 | 78 | 4:22 | BYU | Darius Lassiter 8-yard touchdown reception from Kedon Slovis, Will Ferrin kick good | 3 | 20 |
| 2 | 00:30 | 4 | 70 | 0:30 | BYU | Deion Smith 2-yard touchdown run, Will Ferrin kick good | 3 | 27 |
| 3 | 11:00 | 7 | 75 | 4:00 | SUU | Isaiah Wooden 33-yard touchdown reception from Justin Miller, Tyler Graham kick good | 10 | 27 |
| 3 | 0:36 | 7 | 72 | 3:25 | BYU | Kedon Slovis 6-yard touchdown run, Will Ferrin kick good | 10 | 34 |
| 4 | 9:39 | 1 | 39 | 0:09 | BYU | Chase Roberts 39-yard touchdown reception from Kedon Slovis, Will Ferrin kick good | 10 | 41 |
| 4 | 5:15 | 8 | 75 | 4:24 | SUU | Targhee Lambson 2-yard touchdown run, Tyler Graham kick no good | 16 | 41 |
| "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. | 16 | 41 |
| Statistics | SUU | BYU |
| First downs | 16 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 60–346 | 55–394 |
| Rushes–yards | 27–84, 1 TD | 23–46, 2 TD's |
| Passing yards | 262 | 348 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–33–1, 1 TD | 22–32–1, 4 TD's |
| Time of possession | 31:19 | 28:41 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| SUU | Passing | Justin Miller | 16–30–1, 235 yards, 1 TD |
| SUU | Rushing | Targhee Lambson | 7 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD |
| SUU | Receiving | Zach Mitchell | 7 receptions, 135 yards |
| BYU | Passing | Kedon Slovis | 22–32–1, 348 yards, 4 TD's |
| BYU | Rushing | LJ Martin | 6 carries, 27 yards |
| BYU | Receiving | Isaac Rex | 4 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD |