The Thunderbirds, who have won at least a piece of the Big Sky title two of the past three years, took a gut punch in their opener, losing to first-time FCS school North Alabama 34-30. Quarterback Chris Helbig had a decent game, hitting 28 of 38 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Southern Utah had 11 different receivers catch passes, led by a 161-yard performance from Ty Rutledge. Landon Measom and Logan Parker, combining for nine touchdowns a year ago, are the team’s top returning receiving threats.
Surely the Beavers will look at the video and see some offensive opponents if they can get some dual threat action from Conor Blount or Jack Colletto, as North Alabama quarterback Christian Lopez threw for 350 yards and ran for 105.