The Southern Utah Thunderbirds bring experience at key positions and their storyline is similar to Oregon Football.
Both Oregon and Southern Utah enter their game Saturday looking for respect. The Thunderbirds bring with them two winning seasons. Last year they were 6-5 and better in 2015 at 8-4. Southern Utah boasts a ton of returning talent including eight players on Defense and six on Offense including their biggest Offensive threat in Running Back James Felila.
As a Freshman, Felila had just 154 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, but he is expected to take on a larger role in 2017. The two storylines to follow, at least to start the season may be Royce Freeman and James Felila. Felilia has also put in the work with his Offensive Line picking up on assignments that could spring a teammate for a big gain.
While the Oregon Defense will be improved over time, the Southern Utah Defense returns a bulk of their players on the field from last season. MIke Needham is a beast at Defensive Tackle led in solo tackles last season Robert Torgerson had five sacks for the Thunderbirds in 2016 and led in tackles for loss. Both players were named Preseason Conference All Americans and both could have an impact early on Saturday.
The Southern Utah Offense lost a lot of experience at the skill positions last season, but Tight End Logan Parker will lead the outside game. The Oregon Defense could give some early looks and pick off some footballs with their speed at Corner and Safety. Oregon comes in fundamentally sound across the board with the new coaching staff making this a key focus in both Spring and Fall Camp.
Next: Experience Outweighs Unknowns vs Southern Utah
Southern Utah and Oregon meet on Saturday at Autzen Stadium. Autzen Zoo will have Live Coverage starting at 4pm Pacific Time. Kickoff is set fot 5:15pm PT on Pac-12 Network.