After a thrilling victory last week, the Weber State Wildcats will be meeting up with the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday. The win was enough to bring them to 3-0 on the season, moving them up to No. 3 in the rankings. Meanwhile, Southern Utah is 1-3 on the year and is a huge underdog. Will the Thunderbirds pull off the upset or will the Wildcats dominate and cover the sports betting line?
Weber State Wildcats @ Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Date: Saturday, April 3, 2021 – 4 p.m.ET
Location: Eccles Coliseum, Cedar City, Utah
Weber State Wildcats
The Wildcats just can’t seem to get away from playing close games. Two of their three games have resulted in crazy finishes that they are lucky to have won.
Their offense did struggle in their last game against UC Davis, though most of that was because they turned the ball over twice in the opposing team’s red zone with one interception and one fumble.
Their passing attack hasn’t done much because they have flipped between Randall Johnson and Bronson Barron at the quarterback position.
Barron was lost a few weeks ago due to injury but should return soon. He has thrown for 438 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Johnson has been decent while filling in, throwing for 170 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception but has been sacked five times.
They need to do a better job of protecting the quarterback if they want to sustain long drives.
Their running back trio featuring Josh Davis, Daniel Wright Jr., and Dontae McMillan is averaging 7.1 yards per carry, so that’s taking a lot of pressure off the passing game.
If they can ground out some tough yards and chew the clock in Week 7, they should be in a good position to get the win.
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds are 1-3 but they could easily be 4-0 or 3-1. Sounds farfetched? Just take a look at their defeats. Their three losses have come by a combined four points.
They do have the talent to hand the Wildcats their first loss despite a 19-point underdog status and have the offense to back that up.
Justin Miller has thrown for 1,198 yards, 13 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Not to mention the fact that he completes a ridiculous 70% of his passes while also maintaining a 168.2 passer rating.
He has been a leader for this team and provides them with a spark. They have also been solid on the ground, but it doesn’t compare to their passing game. The defense hasn’t been terrible but they still have quite a few things to get cleaned up to take that next step. If Miller continues to play how he has, this team will have a shot at winning. The Thunderbirds look like a good bet to cover.
