Southern Utah can clinch title tie at South Dakota

Vermillion, S.D. » Southern Utah finished 0-11 just two years ago.

The Thunderbirds haven't had a winning season since 2004.

So, guess which team can clinch at least a tie for the Great West Conference championship today at South Dakota?

That's right.

Southern Utah hopes to continue its amazing turnaround under second-year coach Ed Lamb when it visits the Dakota Dome.

The Thunderbirds are 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the five-team Great West.

If SUU can beat the Coyotes, it clinches a tie for the league championship and takes another step toward a possible berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

"It's something that just a short time ago didn't seem possible," Lamb said. "[But] we have our work cut out for us."

Behind a high-powered offense that averages 35 points per game and an ever-improving defense, Southern Utah has won three of its last four games.

In this week's FCS Gridiron Power Index, which is considered a good indicator of a team's chance to reach the postseason, SUU is tied for 21st.

The Thunderbirds are the highest-ranked team from the Great West, which is rated as the second-best league in the country -- behind the Colonial Athletic Conference and just ahead of the Big Sky Conference.

Seven teams from the Colonial Athletic Conference are ranked in the top 25, including James Madison, which is tied with SUU

Four Great West teams are ranked in the top 35.

Of course, all the talk of conference titles and playoff berths won't mean anything if the Thunderbirds don't win their final three games, starting at South Dakota and finishing with Eastern Washington and San Diego.

The Coyotes?

They are 3-5 overall but 29-3 in their last 32 home games.

"South Dakota is a very good football team," Lamb said. "They've got one of the best players in the conference in [quarterback] Noah Shepard. ... We've got a big task ahead of us. But there's a big reward if we can get it done."