2021 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

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2021 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record1–10 (0–8 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMatt Wade (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorRobert Bala (2nd season)
Home stadiumEccles Coliseum
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Sacramento State $^   8 0     9 3  
No. 2 Montana State ^   7 1     11 3  
No. 7 Eastern Washington ^   6 2     10 3  
No. 6 Montana ^   6 2     10 3  
No. 17 UC Davis ^   5 3     8 4  
Weber State   5 3     6 5  
Northern Arizona   4 4     5 6  
Portland State   4 4     5 6  
Idaho   3 5     4 7  
Northern Colorado   2 6     3 8  
Cal Poly   1 7     2 9  
Idaho State   1 7     1 10  
Southern Utah   0 8     1 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

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[edit]

Polls[edit]

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.[1]

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 Colroado
13 Cal Poly

Preseason All–Big Sky team[edit]

The Thunderbirds had one player selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]

Schedule[edit]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 288:00 p.m.at San Jose State*CBSSNL 14–4516,204
September 28:30 p.m.at No. 25 (FBS) Arizona State*P12NL 14–4144,456
September 185:00 p.m.vs. Tarleton State*ESPN+W 40–35  8,346
September 256:00 p.m.No. 6 Eastern WashingtonL 21–50  7,096
October 26:00 p.m.Portland State
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
L 13–20  4,013
October 97:00 p.m.at Sacramento StateESPN+L 20–41  6,244
October 162:00 p.m.at Northern ArizonaL 35–59  7,511
October 236:00 p.m.Northern Colorado
  • Eccles Coliseum
  • Cedar City, UT
ESPN+L 9–17  3,208
October 3012:00 p.m.at No. 11 MontanaRTRML 19–2022,587
November 62:00 p.m.at IdahoESPN+L 24–42  6,082
November 132:00 p.m.Weber State
ESPN+L 0–62  4,045

[3]

Conference opponents not played this season: Cal Poly, Idaho State, Montana State, UC Davis

Game summaries[edit]

At San Jose State[edit]

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

At No. 25 (FBS) Arizona State[edit]

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

Vs. Tarleton State[edit]

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

No. 6 Eastern Washington[edit]

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

Portland State[edit]

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

At Sacramento State[edit]

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

At Northern Arizona[edit]

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

Northern Colorado[edit]

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

At No. 11 Montana[edit]

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

At Idaho[edit]

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

Weber State[edit]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Thunderbirds Picked 11th in Big Sky Preseason Polls". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "Kaho'ohanohano-Davis Named to Big Sky Preseason Team". suutbirds.com. July 26, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021 Southern Utah Football Schedule". suutbirds.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.