Flagstaff, Ariz. • Southern Utah's Cody Larsen sacked Northern Arizona's Cary Grossart for a 15-yard loss on fourth-and-3, keeping the Lumberjacks out of the end zone in the third overtime and preserving a 35-29 victory for the Thunderbirds on Saturday.
"He can take over a play when he wants to," SUU coach Ed Lamb said of Larsen. "He's saved our butts all season."
Northern Arizona (8-2, 6-1 Big Sky) fell into a tie for the conference lead with Eastern Washington and Montana State. SUU (5-6, 4-4) also gave Eastern Washington its only league loss.
The difference for Southern Utah in the third OT proved to be Easton Pedersen's 22-yard touchdown pass from Brad Sorensen.
"NAU still has a lot to play for, but our seniors were playing in their last game and that's a powerful thing," said Lamb.