Southern Utah Flies Past Abilene Christian Behind Ground Attack
Oct 28, 2023, 6:25 PM | Updated: Oct 31, 2023, 10:54 am
SALT LAKE CITY – The Southern Utah football team blew out the Abilene Christian Wildcats behind an impressive rushing performance.
Southern Utah crushes Abilene Christian
The Thunderbirds hosted the Wildcats at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah on Saturday, October 28.
SUU beat Abilene Christian, 52-14.
Took care of business today 😤#FocusFightFinish ⚡️ #TBirdNation ⚡️ #RaiseTheHammer pic.twitter.com/Ur1K2Z4k3F
— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
The Thunderbirds started strong and finished even better. Southern Utah struck first on a Justin Miller touchdown pass to Isaiah Wooden with 2:25 remaining in the opening quarter. The score gave the T-Birds a 7-0 lead.
Q1 | Justin Miller throws a DART to Isaiah Wooden 🎯
TOUCHDOWN SUU 👊
⚡️: 7
🐱: 0 pic.twitter.com/tqR5p51ayH— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
Less than a minute later, the Wildcats tied the game with a 55-yard touchdown run.
Early in the second quarter, the Thunderbirds began their blowout on a 10-yard connection between Miller and Targhee Lambson.
Q2 | @justinmiller_12 finds @nolimit_targ for the easy TD 🤑
⚡️: 14
🐱: 7 pic.twitter.com/6kDjxvfJX5— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
Three minutes later, Braedon Wissler found pay dirt to give Southern Utah a 21-7 lead.
Q2 | @Wiss_Mode punches it in for the TD 🥊
⚡️: 21
🐱: 7 pic.twitter.com/4VPxSCwHcG— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
Less than a minute after Wissler’s score, Lambson broke into the end zone on a 13-yard rush.
Q2 | @nolimit_targ won't be denied ✊
⚡️: 28
🐱: 7 pic.twitter.com/lLOyhfKK0M— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
Abilene Christian stopped the bleeding with a touchdown with only 10 seconds left in the first half. At halftime, the Thunderbirds owned a 28-14 lead.
Following the break, the T-Birds stretched their advantage to 35-14 on another touchdown run by Wissler with 8:49 left in the third quarter.
Q3 | @Wiss_Mode with his 2⃣nd rushing TD of the day 🔥
⚡️: 35
🐱: 14 pic.twitter.com/ZOPs3PtKV5— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
Five minutes later, Miller and Wooden linked up for another touchdown to make it a 42-14 game.
Q3 | Guess who? Yep, Justin Miller and Isaiah Wooden.
AGAIN 🔥
Name a better duo, we'll wait 🙂
⚡️: 42
🐱: 14 pic.twitter.com/7dKz5uyAzt— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
In the fourth quarter, Southern Utah extended its lead with another touchdown by Lambson and a field goal by Reid Harris.
Q4 | @nolimit_targ does it again 🔄
🔥 TOUCHDOWN SUU 🔥
⚡️: 49
🐱: 14 pic.twitter.com/jnpr1mFi6x— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
Q4 | The kick is good 🦿
⚡️: 52
🐱: 14 pic.twitter.com/4otwtpGEy8— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) October 28, 2023
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Miller finished the game 18/21 passing for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Lambson had 101 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Wissler added 17 rushes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Wooden led SUU’s receivers with nine catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
Up next for SUU football
With the win, the Thunderbirds moved to a record of 3-5 this season, including 2-2 in United Athletic Conference games.
RELATED: Southern Utah Football Comes Back Late To Take Down Tarleton State
Southern Utah’s next game is at home against the Lincoln (CA) Oaklanders on November 4 at 1 p.m. (MDT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Kyle Ireland is a Sports Producer and Locals in the NFL Insider for sports.ksl.com. He’s also co-host of the Yards After College Podcast. Follow him on X/Twitter (@kyleireland), Instagram (@kyleirelandksl), and Threads (@kyleirelandksl).
