Southern Utah and Northern Arizona have started a tradition of circling each other on the calendar every year to prepare for their rivalry that, while still young, has become one of the most exciting games in the Big Sky. Since SUU joined the Big Sky in 2012, the two teams have had battles that ultimately decided playoff berths and even conference titles. While this season lacks a certain sense of climax because of disappointing seasons it doesn’t change that both squads will look to try and best the other.
Spreading the Wealth
There hasn’t been a go to guy for NAU when it comes to scoring this year. It is actually a great problem to have if you are coach Jerome Souers because in this instance the reasoning is that everyone seems to be capable of getting in the endzone. Going into this game against the Thunderbirds, 10 different players have hit pay dirt for the Lumberjacks with Emmanuel Butler leading the charge with 8 touchdown receptions. Blake Kemp has had a tremendous time in the pocket for NAU finding open threats down the field and in the red zone up to this point as NAU has yet to score under 30 points since their win against Montana State. Last week they scored 31 in a loss to North Dakota but the three touchdown passes Kemp tossed should be a good sign for NAU fans going against Southern Utah who had a really tough game against BYU last week by giving up over 400 yards passing to the quarterbacks the Cougars played with in that game. Look to Kemp to have a big day spreading out the Thunderbirds’ defense.
Watching the Hawks Amongst Thunderbirds
While SUU has had a tough time against the pass this season, they seem to try and balance that out with a tremendous ability to jump routes and take away possessions. This year they have collected 17 interceptions thus far and the biggest ball hawk in the backfield for head coach Demario Warren is Tyler Collet. Collet has collected four errant passes this season and has six passes deflected on top of that. They like to sit in zone coverages a lot of the time and they try to read routes ahead of the pass so they can get the offense back on the field. The wide outs for NAU would be wise to use their double move routes often in the game and take the top off the defense. Teams have put up a combined 3,027 yards passing on SUU this season and NAU is the only school in the FCS to have three receivers this season register over 100 yards each in a single game. Could be a track meet in the open field for NAU wide receivers if they run their routes well enough.
Staying Sharp on Sharp
Mike Sharp is one of the best weapons in the Big Sky right now. The wide out ranks second in the Big Sky in catches and seventh in the conference in receiving yards. Throughout his career he has been a threat to reach the endzone as he currently sits at 27 touchdowns with the school record being one more big catch away from being his. The Lumberjacks are going to have to do their very best to keep Sharp shadowed throughout the game. The last two weeks have not been great for Sharp as he has not broken the goal line in either of those contests and was even held to just 15 yards receiving last week. It is hard to hold that against him though as BYU is a considerable jump in talent compared to the FCS schools he is used to playing. Prior to that though Montana State held him to 8 catches and 63 yards on the day. Even with Sharp being corralled so much, SUU was still able to get three receiving touchdowns from three different targets in that game so NAU is going to have a tough time trying to limit the damage in this passing game. If they let Sharp go off though, no telling how many touchdowns will end up being scored on them.
The Grand Canyon Rivalry will kick off at 2:00 PM this Saturday in Flagstaff, AZ. Be sure to catch the game of Fox Sports AZ to see the action.