2013 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

The 2013 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth year head coach Ed Lamb and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum. This was their second year as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a four way tie for fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the first round to Sam Houston State.

2013 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football
FCS Playoffs First Round vs Sam Houston State, L 20–51
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 21
FCS Coaches	No. 24
Record	8–5 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Ed Lamb (6th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Justin Walterscheid (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Teag Whiting (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Justin Ena (4th season)
Home stadium	Eccles Coliseum

2013 Big Sky Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 Eastern Washington $^		8	–	0					12	–	3
No. 5 Northern Arizona ^		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 8 Montana ^		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 21 Southern Utah ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 20 Montana State		5	–	3					7	–	5
Cal Poly		5	–	3					6	–	6
UC Davis		5	–	3					5	–	7
Sacramento State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Portland State		3	–	5					6	–	6
North Dakota		2	–	6					3	–	8
Idaho State		1	–	7					3	–	9
Weber State		1	–	7					2	–	10
Northern Colorado		0	–	8					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

The 2013 schedule was the first 12-game schedule in Thunderbirds history. Even though the Thunderbirds played 9 conference opponents, only 8 of the games counted as conference games. The series with Sacramento State was scheduled before Southern Utah became a member of the Big Sky and did not count as a conference game for either team.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	5:30 pm	at South Alabama*		Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL	ESPN3	W 22–21	15,240
September 7	6:05 pm	Fort Lewis*		Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	BSTV	W 49–0	5,872
September 14	4:30 pm	at Washington State*		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	L 10–48	31,127
September 21	7:05 pm	at Sacramento State*		Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	BSTV	W 24–21 OT	5,612
September 28	1:35 pm	at Northern Colorado		Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	BSTV	W 27–21	4,361
October 5	1:05 pm	UC Davis		Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	BSTV	L 3–21	3,558
October 12	2:05 pm	Portland State		Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	BSTV	W 17–7	6,539
October 19	6:05 pm	at No. 4 Eastern Washington		Roos Field Cheney, WA	BSTV	L 10–34	10,135
October 26	1:05 pm	Idaho State		Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	BSTV	W 19–9	3,342
November 9	1:00 pm	at Weber State		Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	BSTV	W 27–21	4,978
November 16	4:00 pm	at No. 8 Montana State		Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN3	W 22–14	18,187
November 23	1:05 pm	No. 10 Northern Arizona	No. 20	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT (Grand Canyon Rivalry)	BSTV	L 10–20	2,521
November 30	1:00 pm	at No. 14 Sam Houston State	No. 22	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	L 20–51	4,069
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Game summaries

South Alabama

See also: South Alabama Jaguars football and 2013 South Alabama Jaguars football team

Southern Utah at South Alabama

1 2 3 4 Total • Thunderbirds 10 0 3 9 22 Jaguars 0 7 7 7 21 Date: August 29 Location: Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL Game start: 6:30 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:12 Game attendance: 15,240 Game weather: 87 °F (31 °C), Sunny, winds S at 9mph Referee: Steve Marlowe TV announcers (ESPN3): Shawn Kenney and Cole Cubelic Sources:

Scoring summary 1 5:52 Southern Utah Colton Cook 33-yard field goal 3–0 1 1:16 Southern Utah Raysean Martin 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 10–0 2 4:37 South Alabama Brandon Bridge 40-yard run (Aleem Sunanon kick) 10–7 3 11:15 Southern Utah Colton Cook 37-yard field goal 13–7 3 7:38 South Alabama Jereme Jones 6-yard pass from Ross Metheny (Aleem Sunanon kick) 13–14 4 14:47 South Alabama Danny Woodson 20-yard pass from Ross Metheny (Aleem Sunanon kick) 13–21 4 6:13 Southern Utah Anthony Norris 2-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (two-point conversion failed) 19–21 4 0:00 Southern Utah Colton Cook 28-yard field goal 22–21

---

Ft. Lewis

See also: Fort Lewis Skyhawks football

Ft. Lewis at Southern Utah

1 2 3 4 Total Skyhawks 0 0 0 0 0 • Thunderbirds 21 21 7 0 49 Date: September 7 Location: Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT Game start: 6:05 PM MST Elapsed time: 3:24 Game attendance: 5,872 Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), Cloudy, winds SW at 6mph Referee: Bruce Palmer TV announcers (Big Sky TV): Art Challis and Matt Roan Sources:

Scoring summary 1 8:38 Southern Utah Toa Afatasi 4-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 7–0 1 4:13 Southern Utah Matt Holley 19-yard fumble return (Colton Cook kick) 14–0 1 0:00 Southern Utah Miles Killebrew 89-yard fumble return (Colton Cook kick) 21–0 2 6:22 Southern Utah Anthony Norris 8-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 28–0 2 6:07 Southern Utah Anthony Norris 19-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 35–0 2 2:54 Southern Utah Easton Pederson 6-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 42–0 3 9:56 Southern Utah Malik Brown 5-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 49–0

---

Washington State

See also: Washington State Cougars football and 2013 Washington State Cougars football team

Southern Utah at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total Thunderbirds 3 7 0 0 10 • Cougars 14 14 13 7 48 Date: September 14 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Game start: 3:37 PM PST Elapsed time: 3:11 Game attendance: 31,127 Game weather: 91 °F (33 °C), Thin & Whispy Clouds, winds E at 12mph Referee: Mark Duddy TV announcers (Pac-12): JB Long & Jeremy Bloom Sources:

Scoring summary 1 13:03 Washington State Dom Williams 43-yard pass from Connor Halliday (Andrew Fuerney kick) 0–7 1 6:02 Southern Utah Colton Cook 40-yard field goal 3–7 1 3:56 Washington State Isiah Myers 10-yard pass from Connor Halliday (Andrew Fuerney kick) 3–14 2 10:55 Southern Utah Raysean Martin 3-yard run (Colton Cook kick good) 10–14 2 4:22 Washington State Dom Williams 55-yard pass from Connor Halliday (Andrew Fuerney kick) 10–21 2 0:38 Washington State Damante Horton 72-yard interception return (Andrew Fuerney kick) 10–28 3 8:38 Washington State Andrew Fuerney 46-yard field goal 10–31 3 4:20 Washington State Andrew Fuerney 30-yard field goal 10–34 3 2:53 Washington State Gabe Marks 1-yard pass from Connor Halliday (Andrew Fuerney kick) 10–41 4 11:07 Washington State Vince Mayle 3-yard pass from Connor Halliday (Andrew Fuerney kick) 10–48

---

Sacramento State

See also: Sacramento State Hornets football and 2013 Sacramento State Hornets football team

Southern Utah at Sacramento State

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Thunderbirds 0 13 0 8 3 24 Hornets 7 14 0 0 0 21 Date: September 21 Location: Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA Game start: 6:05 PM PST Elapsed time: 2:51 Game attendance: 5,612 Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), Overcast & Wet, winds at 6mph Referee: Gregg Wilson TV announcers (Big Sky TV): Jason Ross, Steve McElroy & Danny Sullivan Sources:

Scoring summary 1 8:38 Sacramento State Morris Norrise 33-yard pass from Garrett Safron (Jesse Aguilar kick) 0–7 2 13:32 Southern Utah Raysean Martin 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick blocked) 6–7 2 10:53 Sacramento State DeAndre Carter 20-yard pass from Garrett Safron (Jesse Aguilar kick) 6–14 2 7:14 Southern Utah Raysean Martin 2-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 13–14 2 3:45 Sacramento State Ezekiel Graham 11-yard run (Jesse Aguilar kick) 13–21 4 0:31 Southern Utah Raysean Martin 1-yard run (Aaron Cantu pass to Griff McNabb for two-point conversion) Tied 21–21 OT 0:00 Southern Utah Colton Cook 38-yard field goal 24–21

---

Northern Colorado

See also: Northern Colorado Bears football and 2013 Northern Colorado Bears football team

Southern Utah at Northern Colorado

1 2 3 4 Total • Thunderbirds 3 14 7 3 27 Bears 0 7 7 7 21 Date: September 28 Location: Nottingham Field Greeley, CO Television network: Big Sky TV Sources:

Scoring summary 1 2:47 Southern Utah Colton Cook 48-yard field goal 3–0 2 10:37 Northern Colorado Jace Davis 19-yard pass from Tim Tancik (Jamie Falloon kick) 3–7 2 1:02 Southern Utah Levi Teo 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 10–7 2 0:15 Southern Utah Griff McNabb 12-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 17–7 3 11:43 Northern Colorado Tim Tancik 1-yard run (Jamie Falloon kick) 17–14 3 6:26 Southern Utah Easton Pederson 17-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 24–14 4 6:08 Southern Utah Colton Cook 36-yard field goal 27–14 4 0:58 Northern Colorado Dimitri Stimphil 5-yard pass from Tim Tancik (Jamie Falloon kick) 27–21

---

UC Davis

See also: UC Davis Aggies football and 2013 UC Davis Aggies football team

UC Davis at Southern Utah

1 2 3 4 Total • Aggies 0 14 7 0 21 Thunderbirds 3 0 0 0 3 Date: October 5 Location: Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT TV announcers (Big Sky TV): Art Challis and Matt Roan Sources:

Scoring summary 1 5:36 Southern Utah Colton Cook 30-yard field goal 3–0 2 11:01 UC Davis Gabe Manzanares 16-yard run (Brady Stuart kick) 3–7 2 4:27 UC Davis Gabe Manzanares 1-yard run (Brady Stuart kick) 3–14 3 9:11 UC Davis TJ King 19-yard pass from Randy Wright (Brady Stuart kick) 3–21

---

Portland State

See also: Portland State Vikings football and 2013 Portland State Vikings football team

Portland State at Southern Utah

1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 0 7 0 0 7 • Thunderbirds 0 10 0 7 17 Date: October 12 Location: Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT TV announcers (Big Sky TV): Art Challis and Matt Roan Sources:

Scoring summary 2 13:08 Southern Utah Colton Cook 48-yard field goal 3–0 2 5:15 Southern Utah Fatu Moala 5-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 10–0 2 0:01 Portland State Paris Penn 4-yard run (Nick Fernandez kick) 10–7 4 6:01 Southern Utah Aaron Cantu 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 17–7

---

Eastern Washington

See also: Eastern Washington Eagles football and 2013 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

Southern Utah at Eastern Washington

1 2 3 4 Total Thunderbirds 0 3 0 7 10 • #4 Eagles 14 0 13 7 34 Date: October 19 Location: Roos Field Cheney, WA Television network: Big Sky TV Sources:

Scoring summary 1 8:02 Eastern Washington Samson Ebukam 21-yard interception return (Kevin Miller kick) 0–7 1 2:01 Eastern Washington Ashton Clark 12-yard pass from Vernon Adams (Kevin Miller kick) 0–14 2 0:12 Southern Utah Colton Cook 34-yard field goal 3–14 3 5:33 Eastern Washington Kendrick Bourne 31-yard pass from Vernon Adams (Kevin Miller kick) 3–21 3 2:43 Eastern Washington Cooper Kupp 52-yard pass from Vernon Adams (Kevin Miller kick missed) 3–27 4 13:18 Eastern Washington Mario Brown 11-yard run (Kevin Miller kick) 3–34 4 0:45 Southern Utah C.J. Morgan 29-yard pass from Mike Sharp (Colton Cook kick good) 10–34

---

Idaho State

See also: Idaho State Bengals football and 2013 Idaho State Bengals football team

Idaho State at Southern Utah

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 0 6 0 3 9 • Thunderbirds 3 10 0 6 19 Date: October 26 Location: Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT TV announcers (Big Sky TV): Art Challis and Matt Roan Sources:

Scoring summary 1 6:16 Southern Utah Colton Cook 38-yard field goal 3–0 2 12:15 Southern Utah Mike Sharp 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 10–0 2 6:37 Southern Utah Colton Cook 30-yard field goal 13–0 2 4:27 Idaho State Cameron Richard 4-yard pass from Justin Arias (Brendon Gracias kick missed) 13–6 4 10:53 Southern Utah Colton Cook 38-yard field goal 16–6 4 5:27 Idaho State Brendon Gracias 34-yard field goal 16–9 4 0:27 Southern Utah Colton Cook 22-yard field goal 19–9

---

Weber State

See also: Weber State Wildcats football and 2013 Weber State Wildcats football team

Southern Utah at Weber State

1 2 3 4 Total • Thunderbirds 0 7 10 10 27 Wildcats 7 0 0 14 21 Date: November 9 Location: Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT TV announcers (Big Sky TV): Carl Arky and Ty Sparrow Sources:

Scoring summary 1 5:39 Weber State Cameron Livingston 31-yard pass from Austin Chipoletti (Shaun McClain kick) 0–7 2 0:22 Southern Utah Levi Te'o 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick) Tied 7–7 3 9:22 Southern Utah Mike Sharp 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 14-7 3 2:00 Southern Utah Colton Cook 23 yard field goal 17–7 4 6:27 Southern Utah Griff McNabb 12-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 24–7 4 5:16 Weber State Gamal Fowler 22-yard pass from Austin Chipoletti (Shaun McClain kick) 24–14 4 1:32 Southern Utah Colton Cook 36-yard field goal 27–14 4 0:02 Weber State Cameron Livingston 7-yard pass from Austin Chipoletti (Shaun McClain kick) 27–21

---

Montana State

See also: Montana State Bobcats football and 2013 Montana State Bobcats football team

Southern Utah at Montana State

1 2 3 4 Total • Thunderbirds 3 6 6 7 22 #8 Bobcats 0 0 0 14 14 Date: November 16 Location: Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT Game start: 4:07 PM MST Elapsed time: 2:45 Game attendance: 18,187 Game weather: 29F • Wind: WSW 5-20 • Weather: snow flurries, wind Referee: Kelly Holman Television network: Big Sky TV Sources:

Scoring summary 1 4:18 Southern Utah Colton Cook 29-yard field goal 3–0 2 0:48 Southern Utah Chris Robison 5-yard run (Colton Cook kick missed) 9–0 3 9:12 Southern Utah Aaron Cantu 1-yard run (two-point conversion failed) 15–0 4 9:18 Montana State Chad Newell 13-yard run (Rory Perez kick) 15–7 4 5:11 Southern Utah Aaron Cantu 1-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 22–7 4 2:47 Montana State DeNarius McGhee 1-yard run (Rory Perez kick) 22–14

---

Northern Arizona

See also: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football and 2013 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

Northern Arizona at Southern Utah

1 2 3 4 Total • Lumberjacks 0 0 3 17 20 #20 Thunderbirds 0 7 3 0 10 Date: November 23 Location: Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT Game start: 1:05 PM MST Elapsed time: 2:40 Game attendance: 2,521 Game weather: 36F • Wind: N@5mph • Light snow TV announcers (Big Sky TV): Art Challis and Matt Roan Sources:

Scoring summary 1 2:22 Southern Utah Raysean Martin 4-yard run (Colton Cook kick) 7–0 3 8:15 Southern Utah Colton Cook 32-yard field goal 10–0 3 4:11 Northern Arizona Andy Wilder 29-yard field goal 10–3 4 8:40 Northern Arizona Nick Cole 25-yard pass from Kyren Poe (Andy Wilder kick) Tied 10–10 4 5:43 Northern Arizona Andy Wilder 20-yard field goal 10–13 4 0:10 Northern Arizona Blair Wishom 52-yard interception return (Andy Wilder kick) 10–20

---

FCS Playoffs

At Sam Houston State (FCS Playoffs First Round)

See also: Sam Houston State Bearkats football and 2013 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

#22 Southern Utah at #14 Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total #22 Thunderbirds 10 0 10 0 20 • #14 Bearkats 7 16 7 21 51 Date: November 30 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 1:00 PM MST Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary 1 5:19 Southern Utah Colton Cook 42-yard field goal 3–0 1 3:36 Southern Utah Anthony Norris 38-yard pass from Aaron Cantu (Colton Cook kick) 10–0 1 1:31 Sam Houston State Chance Nelson 32-yard pass from Brian Bell (Luc Swimberghe kick) 10–7 2 11:02 Sam Houston State Keshawn Hill 3-yard run (two-point conversion failed) 10–13 2 0:59 Sam Houston State Brian Bell 1-yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick) 10–20 2 0:00 Sam Houston State Luc Swimberghe 24-yard field goal 10–23 3 8:38 Sam Houston State Ragan Henderson 7-yard pass from Brian Bell (Luc Swimberghe kick) 10–30 3 5:26 Southern Utah Colton Cook 38-yard field goal 13–30 3 4:46 Southern Utah Robert Torgerson 39-yard fumble return (Colton Cook kick) 20–30 4 14:57 Sam Houston State Timothy Flanders 2-yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick) 20–37 4 7:57 Sam Houston State Timothy Flanders 1-yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick) 20–44 4 5:10 Sam Houston State Keshawn Hill 2-yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick) 20–51

---

Media

All Thunderbirds football games were broadcast live on KSUU. They were streamed online at power91radio. All conference road games and all home games not on Root were streamed via Big Sky TV.