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Cedar City • Two years after Ammon Olsen left BYU and re-enrolled at Southern Utah, his only regret is his last pass.

Olsen laments his low throw on a failed two-point conversion that kept the Thunderbirds from winning at Portland State and thereby ending the Big Sky Conference title chase last weekend. Yet the 24-23 defeat created the biggest home game in the program's history. The campus known for the annual Utah Shakespeare Festival will stage a potentially dramatic production Saturday when Northern Arizona visits Eccles Coliseum.

"I'm expecting this place to be packed to the gills," said SUU athletic director Jason Butikofer, whose office overlooks the 8,500-seat stadium that is usually less than two-thirds filled.

In Iron County, where SUU coach Ed Lamb modestly hopes his program is a strong second choice for fans who care more about BYU or Utah, the T-birds are getting attention in their fourth season as Big Sky members. The team features three defensive players who could become NFL Draft picks, a quarterback who mistakenly figured he never would occupy Taysom Hill's position at BYU, and an eighth-year coach whose revival of a downtrodden program made him marketable for other jobs long before now.

"There's just always been something more to accomplish," said Lamb, 41, explaining his "choosy mind-set" in evaluating other opportunities.

SUU's guarantee of at least a Big Sky co-championship has reduced that to-do list and may expand Lamb's options, as SUU administrators are well aware. Yet nobody is looking beyond Saturday, when the T-birds can win the 13-team league's outright title or fall into a possible four-way tie — and fail to make the 24-team FCS playoff field. No wonder Olsen labels the meeting with rival NAU "all or nothing."

Joining charter member Weber State in the Big Sky has raised SUU's profile throughout the state. Even so, defensive end James Cowser regularly fielded questions at home in Davis County about where he would transfer after two years, as if SUU were a junior college. "There's a lot of misconceptions," Cowser said. "We're a legit football program."

NFL scouts support that claim, regularly attending SUU's practices and games primarily to watch Cowser, the Big Sky's all-time leader in sacks and tackles for loss, and defensive backs Miles Killebrew and LeShaun Sims.

Known in town for his humility and by his players for his consistency, Lamb carefully answers questions in interviews. Asked to cite a defining moment in his team's championship year, he paused for 15 seconds before saying, with a wry smile, "This week's game, I hope."

A few checkpoints help tell SUU's story. Having made the playoffs in 2013, when they finished 8-5, the T-birds dipped to 3-9 last season and were motivated to improve. More players stayed in town for summer workouts, impressing Olsen, who ignores the Festival City USA marketing by saying Cedar City is "not the funnest place to be in the summer."

Loaded with seniors — this may have been a better year for SUU to face Utah and BYU, rather than in 2016 — the T-birds opened the season by leading Utah State in the fourth quarter before losing 12-9 via a punt-return touchdown. SUU then fell 55-10 at FCS power South Dakota State and the players were humbled. The T-birds rededicated themselves and delivered seven straight victories, while maintaining what they describe as "an 0-and-2 mentality" during the winning streak.

SUU defensive coordinator Demario Warren had former high school teammate Desmond Bishop address his players via phone. Bishop told them about the Green Bay Packers' 3-3 start in 2010, when they went on to win the Super Bowl, and the T-birds responded well. SUU's defense allowed only 16 points in the next five games. Even during a rough afternoon against Cal Poly, the defense contributed three touchdowns in an adventurous 54-37 win. The Big Sky's top-ranked defense allowed 508 rushing yards, but linebacker Mike Needham returned two fumbles for touchdowns and Cowser added another score.

Assessing the defense's work, Cowser said, "Try to find the weakest link, and I could tell you major plays they've made for us."

SUU's run ended at Portland State, where Lamb ordered the two-point try because he lacked confidence in SUU's kicking game, usually a big factor in overtime. Olsen's pass was too low for 6-foot-7 tight end Steve Wroblewski to catch. "Perfect play-call, perfect situation, clear read. I think I just got too excited," Olsen said. "It's something I could do with my eyes closed."

Olsen stewed about the pass for a couple of days afterward before regrouping, knowing there could be much more football to come in his senior season or his "weird, kind of crazy" college career could end Saturday. After graduating from Alta High School, he spent a year at SUU, then transferred to BYU after an LDS Church mission to Mexico. He was BYU's No. 2 quarterback in 2013 — which, as we know now, would be Hill's only full, healthy season. Wanting to play, Olsen returned to Cedar City and wondered how he would be received by his teammates, armed with this explanation: "I just left to find my wife and come back here."

Much as Courtney Olsen did, the T-birds embraced the quarterback, and he thrived in 2014 under offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, the former BYU coach. "I felt myself get better immediately," Olsen said. But then Crowton left the program in late September, citing personal reasons (Lamb says he knew Crowton would be a "short-term solution") and later becoming an Oregon State staff consultant. Receivers coach Justin Walterscheid became the coordinator and has performed impressively as "more of an engineer," by Lamb's description, with practical applications of Crowton's creativity.

Crowton left during an off week in SUU's schedule, giving Walterscheid time to make the transition. "That literally felt like a whole offseason … kind of a crazy two weeks," said Olsen, who keeps in touch with Crowton.

Lamb, a former BYU player who once assisted Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego, has a defensive coaching background but pays considerable attention to the offense, particularly the quarterback. Compared with other coaches in his past, Lamb is "very up front," Olsen said. "He'll tell you what he's thinking, which I love about him."

Butikofer, who came to SUU in August, marvels about Lamb's low-maintenance nature and ability to "do more with less," while never worrying about what SUU lacks. While higher-level programs may have used indoor facilities, Lamb was thrilled Tuesday when workers brushed snow off the synthetic turf of Eccles Coliseum, enabling the T-birds to practice.

The school's athletic budget of about $10.5 million is easily the Big Sky's lowest. Butikofer hopes that his fund-raising background at bigger schools will enhance Lamb's program, encouraging him to stay and "grow a dynasty here."

Of course, nobody expects Lamb to become like Eric Houle, who has built a strong cross-country program in his 24 years and keeps trying to do more. "For me to win a national title at SUU potentially is a whole lot cooler than winning it at a place that has won [multiple titles]," Houle said.

Eric Leavitt, chair of SUU's board of trustees, is a big admirer of Lamb as a person, beyond his coaching ability "We fully understand the position we're in," Leavitt said. "We're not going to have him forever."

As for the immediate future, T-bird fans just want Lamb's eighth season to last beyond Saturday, while hoping for a Big Sky title that they don't have to share with anybody.

Twitter: @tribkurt Ed Lamb at SUU

Ed Lamb's Southern Utah coaching record, after inheriting an 18-game losing streak:

Year Record

2008 4-7

2009 5-6

2010 6-6

2011 6-5

2012 5-6

Year Record

2013 8-5

2014 3-9

2015 7-3

Total 44-46 —

Title fight

Southern Utah can win the Big Sky Conference's outright championship by beating Northern Arizona on Saturday. If NAU wins, a four-way tie is possible. The schedule of key games, with FCS coaches poll rankings and conference records:

• No. 20 Northern Arizona (5-2) at No. 18 Southern Utah (6-1)

• No. 17 Montana (5-2) at Montana State (4-3)

• No. 11 Portland State (5-2) at No. 19 Eastern Washington (5-2).