2018 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

American college football season

2018 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football

Conference| Big Sky Conference
Record| 1–10 (1–7 Big Sky)
Head coach|

* Demario Warren (3rd season)

Offensive coordinator| Justin Walterscheid (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator| Rod Chance (3rd season)
Home stadium| Eccles Coliseum

Seasons

<- 2017

2019 ->

2018 Big Sky Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 6 Weber State +^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 3  |
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 12  | - | 3  |
No. 7 UC Davis +^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 3  |
No. 17 Montana State ^  |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 5  |
Idaho State |  | 5  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
Montana |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
Cal Poly |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
Northern Arizona |  | 3  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 6  |
Portland State |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  |
Idaho |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  |
Northern Colorado |  | 2  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  |
Southern Utah |  | 1  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 1  | - | 10  |
Sacramento State |  | 0  | - | 7  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 8  |

* $ - Conference champion
* ^ - FCS playoff participant
* Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games.

Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah as seventh-year as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in Big Sky play to finish in 12th place.

## Preseason

[edit]

### Polls

[edit]

On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Thunderbirds were predicted to finish in sixth place in both the coaches and media poll.[1]

Coaches poll  Predicted finish  | Team  | Votes (1st place)

|
|

1  | Eastern Washington  | 134 (6)
2  | Weber State  | 124 (3)
3  | Northern Arizona  | 121 (3)
4  | Idaho  | 101 (1)
5  | Sacramento State  | 94
6  | Southern Utah | 91
7  | Montana  | 82
8  | Montana State  | 76
9  | UC Davis  | 64
10  | Cal Poly  | 40
11  | Northern Colorado  | 30
12  | Idaho State  | 29
13  | Portland State  | 21
Media poll  Predicted finish  | Team  | Votes (1st place)

|
|

1  | Eastern Washington  | 651 (27)
2  | Weber State  | 636 (19)
3  | Northern Arizona  | 535 (1)
4  | Montana  | 496 (2)
5  | Idaho  | 483 (3)
6  | Southern Utah | 449 (1)
7  | Sacramento State  | 415
8  | Montana State  | 391 (1)
9  | UC Davis  | 331 (1)
10  | Idaho State  | 170
11  | Cal Poly  | 169
12  | Northern Colorado  | 166
13  | Portland State  | 103

### Preseason All-Conference Team

[edit]

The Thunderbirds had five players selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.[2]

Marquez Tucker – Sr. OT

PJ Nu’usa – Jr. OG

Zach Larsen – Jr. C

Chinedu Ahanonu – Sr. LB

Jalen Russell – So. CB

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 1| 6:00 p.m.| North Alabama*|

* Eccles Coliseum
* Cedar City, UT

| Pluto TV 236| L 30–34| 8,912
September 8| 6:00 p.m.| at Oregon State*|

* Reser Stadium
* Corvallis, OR

| P12N| L 25–48| 36,448
September 15| 9:00 p.m.| at Arizona*|

* Arizona Stadium
* Tucson, AZ

| P12N| L 31–62| 41,493
September 22| 4:00 p.m.| at Northern Arizona|

* Walkup Skydome
* Flagstaff, AZ (Grand Canyon Rivalry)

| Pluto TV 239| L 23–31| 5,832
October 6| 2:00 p.m.| at No. 5 Eastern Washington|

* Roos Field
* Cheney, WA

| ATTRM| L 17–55| 8,887
October 13| 6:00 p.m.| Sacramento State|

* Eccles Coliseum
* Cedar City, UT

| Pluto TV 236| W 48–27| 10,424
October 20| 3:00 p.m.| at Idaho|

* Kibbie Dome
* Moscow, ID

| Pluto TV 242| L 12–31| 12,798
October 27| 6:00 p.m.| Northern Colorado|

* Eccles Coliseum
* Cedar City, UT

| Pluto TV 236| L 39–42| 7,106
November 3| 1:00 p.m.| Montana|

* Eccles Coliseum
* Cedar City, UT

| ATTRM| L 14–57| 7,162
November 10| 5:00 p.m.| No. 3 Weber State|

* Eccles Coliseum
* Cedar City, UT (Beehive Bowl)

| ELVN| L 18–31| 7,415
November 17| 5:00 p.m.| at Cal Poly|

* Alex G. Spanos Stadium
* San Luis Obispo, CA

| Pluto TV 244| L 24–38| 4,520

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Mountain time

* Source: Schedule

## Game summaries

[edit]

### North Alabama

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Lions | 3  | 10  | 7  | 14 | 34
Thunderbirds  | 0  | 16  | 7  | 7 | 30

See also: 2018 North Alabama Lions football team

### At Oregon State

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Thunderbirds  | 0  | 7  | 9  | 9 | 25
Beavers | 17  | 24  | 0  | 7 | 48

See also: 2018 Oregon State Beavers football team

### At Arizona

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Thunderbirds  | 0  | 17  | 0  | 14 | 31
Wildcats | 7  | 17  | 24  | 14 | 62

See also: 2018 Arizona Wildcats football team

### At Northern Arizona

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Thunderbirds  | 0  | 7  | 16  | 0 | 23
Lumberjacks | 7  | 7  | 10  | 7 | 31

See also: 2018 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team and Grand Canyon Rivalry

### At Eastern Washington

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Thunderbirds  | 3  | 7  | 7  | 0 | 17
No. 5 Eagles | 14  | 20  | 21  | 0 | 55

See also: 2018 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

### Sacramento State

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Hornets  | 21  | 3  | 0  | 3 | 27
Thunderbirds | 7  | 20  | 14  | 7 | 48

See also: 2018 Sacramento State Hornets football team

### At Idaho

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Thunderbirds  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 12 | 12
Vandals | 10  | 14  | 7  | 0 | 31

See also: 2018 Idaho Vandals football team

### Northern Colorado

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Bears | 14  | 10  | 18  | 0 | 42
Thunderbirds  | 8  | 3  | 14  | 14 | 39

See also: 2018 Northern Colorado Bears football team

### Montana

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Grizzlies | 20  | 10  | 21  | 6 | 57
Thunderbirds  | 7  | 7  | 0  | 0 | 14

See also: 2018 Montana Grizzlies football team

### Weber State

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

No. 3 Wildcats | 7  | 14  | 7  | 3 | 31
Thunderbirds  | 6  | 6  | 6  | 0 | 18

See also: 2018 Weber State Wildcats football team and Beehive Bowl

### At Cal Poly

[edit]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Thunderbirds  | 14  | 7  | 0  | 3 | 24
Mustangs | 0  | 21  | 7  | 10 | 38

See also: 2018 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Eastern Washington Picked to Win the Big Sky".
2. ^ "Doss, Buss Headline Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team".

* v
* t
* e

Southern Utah Thunderbirds football

Venues|

* Eccles Coliseum (1967–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Northern Arizona: Grand Canyon Rivalry
* Weber State: Beehive Bowl

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses