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Cedar City • Southern Utah begins life without Gary Crowton on Saturday night against Sacramento State.
Crowton, the Thunderbirds' former offensive coordinator, left the program two weeks ago for personal reasons. Justin Walterscheid, the previous assistant offensive coordinator and receivers coach, has replaced him.
"There is a lot of adversity with the change," Southern Utah coach Ed Lamb said. "I have tremendous confidence in our team and in Justin. We're not changing anything. But every coordinator brings a little bit different perspective."
According to Lamb, he still doesn't know all the details behind Crowton's decision to step away.
"He's played it very close to the vest," Lamb said, "but it was not a case of … us getting rid of him. Personally, I was devastated because of what coach [Crowton] has meant to me and what he offered our program."
Southern Utah comes off a bye week. The Thunderbirds are 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big Sky Conference. They are one of two teams that remain unbeaten in league play. The other is Eastern Washington.
"I hope we're not paying too much attention to the conference standings right now," Lamb said. "It's very early."
luhm@sltrib.com Twitter: @sluhm
Sacramento St. at Southern Utah
P At Eccles Coliseum
Kickoff • 6 p.m.
TV • None
Radio • 590 AM
Records • Southern Utah 3-2, 2-0; Sacramento State 1-5, 0-3
Series • Sacramento State, 8-7
Last meeting • Sacramento St., 42-21 (2014)
About the Thunderbirds • They come off a bye. … They have won three consecutive games. … They haven't won four straight since 2010. … During the winning streak, they outscored Northern Colorado, Brevard College and Weber State 129-10. … Senior S Miles Killebrew is their leading tackler (9.2). … Senior LB Mike Needham has three of the team's 12 interceptions.
About the Hornets • They have lost five straight since an opening win over Eastern Oregon (41-20). … They come off a 35-13 loss at Montana State. … Because of injuries, they were down to their No. 4 quarterback against the Bobcats. Freshman Nate Ketteringham completed 5 of 9 passes for 40 yards last week. … Head coach Jody Sears was at Weber State from 2012-2013.