• Saturday's game will be the third meeting between the Trailblazers and Wildcats on the gridiron, with each of the last two games having been won by ACU. Utah Tech dropped the overall series opener between the two sides during the 2022 season in St. George by a 26-10 count (10/1/22), while ACU posted a 24-7 home win last year (11/4/23) in Abilene.  

• Both Utah Tech and Abilene Christian are also members of the Western Athletic Conference in all other sports. 

• Utah Tech will look to improve on its current 4-31 (3-30 overall vs. AFCA) all-time record vs. ranked opponents (FCS and D-II), which includes an 1-13 mark over the previous two seasons. That record includes a 31-7 home loss to current No. 3/3 Montana State (8/31), and last Saturday's setback at current No. 11/14 UC Davis. Utah Tech's 2024 schedule currently features five teams ranked in both the AFCA and Stats Perform top-25 FCS polls. 

• Utah Tech is 4-11 all-time in conference openers, 1-2 during its brief FCS era, with all four of those wins coming at home.  

• The Trailblazers snapped a five-game skid in conference openers last season thanks to a 37-31 home victory over former UAC (and WAC) member Stephen F. Austin (10/7/23) inside Greater Zion Stadium.    

UTAH TECH ON THE AIR: All Utah Tech games this season are broadcast live on The Fan Sports Network (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City; www.thefansportsnetwork.com), while all home games will be streamed online on ESPN+.
        The "Voice of the Trailblazers" Rod Zundel is in his third season calling the play-by-play action on ESPN+, and he will be joined this Saturday night by former Utah Tech running back Ronnie Walker Jr. In addition, Devin Dixon (PBP) and Paul Ratliff (color) will have the call on The Fan Sports Network.  
        As part of this season's game day broadcast coverage, Utah Tech airs a 60-minute comprehensive pregame show, and 30-minute post-game show, both of which air live on the The Fan Sports Network and streamed live on YouTube on the newly created Trailblazer SportsVision (youtube.com/TrailblazerAthletics).
        Along with complete Game Day coverage, Zundel hosts the weekly "The Lance Anderson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on The Fan Sports Network and streamed on Trailblazer Sports Vision at 6 p.m. (MT).

FINALLY ELIGIBLE FOR POSTSEASON PLAY: Not only is the 2024 season Utah Tech's fifth Division I FCS season overall, it is also the FIRST season that the Trailblazers are eligible for NCAA postseason play.
        The NCAA Division I Board of Directors officially approved Utah Tech's move to active Division I status on June 28. With that confirmation, Trailblazer Athletics is now officially eligible to participate in all NCAA postseason championships in its 15 intercollegiate programs.

LET'S PLAY 12: Utah Tech's 2024 football schedule features a program NCAA-era high 12 games, six home games and six road dates, and a full eight-game United Athletic Conference (UAC) slate. Add in the bye week (11/9), and the 13-week regular season will be the longest in program history.   

TOOK ON ALL COMERS: As Utah Tech wrapped up its four-year NCAA Division-I FCS transitional period last November, it was safe to say that the Trailblazers did not shy away from playing anyone, anytime, anywhere. 
        Over their 38 games during those four years, the Trailblazers faced 15 top-25 teams (2-13) and 12 total FCS playoff teams.   
        In fact, Utah Tech's 2021 fall schedule was rated as the second-toughest schedule in the entire country and featured seven 2021 FCS Fall playoff teams, including the 2021 spring national champion (Sam Houston) and runner-up (South Dakota State).

AS FOR ANYWHERE: Utah Tech were road warriors during that four-year transitional period, a stretch that saw the Trailblazers travel more than 43,300 round trip miles on 21 trips.
        Utah Tech played road games in 13 different states, seven of which the program had never played in before, including three last season with trips to Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee. The Trailblazers also made their first-ever visits to Georgia (Spring 2021), Delaware (Fall 2021) and Iowa (2022) over the four-year span.
        Utah Tech traveled just over 15,000 round trip miles last season, which eclipsed the previous high of just under 13,300 miles set during the 2021 Fall campaign. 
        In their first FCS season in Spring 2021, the Trailblazers covered 7,630 miles for three road dates. Then after the 2021 Fall season, Utah Tech traveled "only" 7,424 miles in 2022, thanks in large part to playing three in-state road games at Weber State, Southern Utah and BYU.
        Of note, Utah Tech's longest trip to play a football game came during the 2021 Fall season, when the Trailblazers traveled 4,697 miles round trip to play at Delaware (10/30/21).

THIS YEAR'S ROAD SLATE: Utah Tech is "only" scheduled to travel 10,518 total miles for its six road dates this season. We say only because the Trailblazers have a pair of short bus trips that bookend their six itineraries.
        In addition to their quick trip down I-15 to Las Vegas (252 miles round trip) earlier this to play at UNLV, the Trailblazers will make an even shorter drive up the interstate to Cedar City (105 miles round trip) for their annual "Battle For the Ax" showdown at Southern Utah on Saturday, Nov. 23.
        In between those two drives are four flights, the next two of which come next month with back-to-back road trips, with the first stop in Florence for a UAC match-up at North Alabama (3,818 miles round trip) on Saturday, Oct. 5.
        The Trailblazers get back on bird one week later with a trip to the "Lone Star State" to face Tarleton State in Stephenville (2,162 round trip miles) on Saturday, Oct. 12. Utah Tech will wrap up its out-of-state road schedule with its first-ever trip to the "Bluegrass State" to play at Eastern Kentucky (3,227 round trip miles) on Saturday, Oct. 26. 

ONE TRAILBLAZER LANDS ON PRESEASON ALL-UAC LIST: Utah Tech had only player voted onto the 2024 United Athletic Conference preseason all-conference team. 
        Redshirt sophomore long snapper Ryan Kean was the lone Trailblazer representative to crack the list, doing so on special teams.  
        Last season, Kean (6-2. 210; Corona, Calif./Centennial HS) earned first team all-UAC and Stats Perform Freshman All-America honors after he was near perfect on every special teams snap as the Trailblazers' primary long snapper.

YOUR LOSS IS OUR GAIN: Utah Tech's defense racked up season highs of 8.0 TFLs and 4.0 sacks last Saturday night at UC Davis. Those efforts marked the ninth time the Trailblazers had recorded at least 8.0 TFLs, and eighth time with at least 4.0 sacks, in a game during their NCAA Division I FCS era.
        Last season, the Blazers collected 10.0 TFLs and five sacks at Austin Peay (11/11/23). Meanwhile, the current FCS-era program high for TFLs is 12.0 (t-#5 all-time at Utah Tech), posted in a home win over Fort Lewis (3/27/21) and on the road at Montana (10/9/21). In addition, the Blazers tallied an FCS-era high 7.0 sacks in a home triumph over Southern Utah (11/5/22) during the 2022 season.  

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS
• RS-freshman Reggie Graff made his first collegiate start at QB last Saturday night at UC Davis, against which he ran for a team and career-high 85 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown ... he also threw for 95 yards on 7-of-21 passing and another score.
• Graff rattled off 49 of those yards on consecutive plays in the third quarter, including a career-long 37-yard scamper down the right sideline, which ultimately set up his 12-yard TD run up the middle one play later.
• Graff also completed a 48-yard TD pass to fellow RS-freshman WR Bryce Parker with less than three minutes to play in the game. 
• One week earlier vs. NAU (9/14), Graff led the offense on its longest touchdown drive of the young season, a 14-play, 80-yard trek in the fourth quarter which he ended with his first collegiate TD pass, a 23-yard toss over the middle to a sliding Tru Tanner in the back of the end zone. 
• Graff finished with 154 total yards in the NAU loss, including 100 yards in the air on 9-of-17 passing, and a team-high 54 rush yards on 14 carries.
• Three of Utah Tech's four TD passes on the year have been 30 yards or longer. 
• RS-junior Deacon Hill, who started in each of the previous three games, missed the UC Davis game due to injury, though he is expected to return to action this Saturday night vs. ACU. 
• Hill threw for a season-high 188 yards on 14-of-28 passing with two touchdowns at UNLV (9/7) ... Hill connected with TE Alec Burton for a 61-yard scoring strike on the Blazers' third play from scrimmage early in the first quarter, which was followed by a 31-yard catch-and-run by RB Chris Street on 4th-and-4 late in the third quarter. 
• Hill rushed for a team-high 25 yards on two carries in the opener vs. Montana State (8/31), highlighted by a 24-yard touchdown scamper early in the fourth quarter ... Hill's TD run was the third of his collegiate career (2 at Iowa in 2023). 
• RS-junior RB Chris Street racked up a season-high 62 all-purpose yards vs. NAU (9/14), this after he tallied 60 all-purpose yards at UNLV (9/7) ... Street posted career highs of 46 receiving yards on five catches (team leading), including his 31-yard TD reception in the third quarter ... Street's TD catch was his first as a Trailblazer, and of his collegiate career. 
• Sophomore RB Nygel Osborne ran for a season-best 39 yards on seven carries and his first TD of the season vs. NAU (9/14) ... Osborne's fourth quarter TD was his third rushing score of his brief career - all of which have come at home ... the sophomore also ran for two scores in last year's season finale vs. Southern Utah (11/18).
• Bolstered by his first collegiate TD reception at UC Davis, Parker finished with a career-high 65 yards on two catches, and he rushed one time for 15 yards ... Parker's reception yardage total eclipsed his previous career high of 52 yards he posted at UNLV (9/7), against which he hauled in a career best three passes. 
• Redshirt senior RB/KR Shamar Garrett tallied 48 all-purpose yards at UC Davis, including 19 yards on a career-high four catches, to along with seven rush yards and 22 combined return yards (18 KOR/4 PR). 
• After going two full years without one pass completion to a tight end, the new look Trailblazer offense has recorded 16 of its 54 total completions (on 24 combined targets) to tight ends through its first four games.
• RS-sophomore TE Eric Olsen notched career highs of four receptions for 29 yards at UNLV (9/7), which he chased with two catches for 36 yards last vs. NAU (9/14).
• Senior TE Jay McEuen caught two of his three targets at UNLV for 15 yards ... he also had one reception for three yards vs. NAU (9/14).
• Though McEuen was not targeted at UC Davis last Saturday, he did record his first two career rush attempts and finished with 14 yards ... nine of those 14 yards came on an end-around sweep ahead of Graff's final two runs on Utah Tech's third-quarter scoring drive. 
• Fellow senior TE Alec Burton was finally able to do the one thing he had waited his whole college career for - catch a touchdown pass ... Burton scored his first collegiate TD on the third play from scrimmage at UNLV (9/7) when Hill found him all alone over the middle for a 61-yard scoring strike.
• The touchdown catch was Burton's first reception as a Trailblazer, and just his 17th collegiate reception overall ... Burton spent six seasons at Ohio University, where he recorded 16 catches for 118 yards in 33 games as a Bobcat.
• Burton's TD catch at UNLV was also the first by a Blazer tight end in 24 games ... prior to the Burton grab, the last TD catch by a tight end came in the 2021 fall finale vs. Missouri State (Cade Veach - 11/20/21).  
• Freshman OLB Rick Mua'e tied his career high with 1.5 sacks (for 18 yards) at UC Davis last Saturday night, which was part of a six-tackle night ... Mua'e enjoyed a breakout performance at UNLV (9/7), against which he collected eight total tackles and 1.5 TFLs, including his first collegiate sack late in the first half.
• In addition, senior LB Fisher Jackson (1.0 sack), sophomore DL Uili Angilau (1.0 sack) and senior DL John Sniffen (0.5 sack) were all also able to get to the QB at UC Davis.
• Since we are talking breakouts, redshirt freshman DB Quincy Lejay was pressed into duty last Saturday vs. NAU, and he responded with a then-career high seven tackles, including a 0.5 TFL ... Lejay bettered that one week later with a career highs in tackles (9-team high), PBUs (2-team high) and TFLs (1.0) at UC Davis. 
• RS-junior ILB Spencer Rich continued his strong start to the season eight tackles at UC Davis, which matched his team-high total from a week ago vs. NAU (9/14) ... Rich led the Trailblazer defensive effort with a season-high 12 total tackles at UNLV (9/7).
• Sophomore safety Brevin Hamblin picked up right where he left off following his strong freshman campaign as he racked up nine tackles and a 0.5 TFL in the opener vs. MSU (8/31) ... Hamblin followed that up with 10 more stops and a forced fumble at UNLV (9/7), and had six total tackles at UC Davis.
• After missing the MSU opener, redshirt junior safety Micah Gardner has been solid in the defensive backfield ... Gardner racked up a career-high seven tackles with a 0.5 TFL at UNLV (9/7), and followed that with six more stops vs. NAU.  
• Senior ILB Malakai Fakahua registered a career-best seven tackles at UNLV (9/7) and forced a fumble early in the second half for the Blazers' first takeaway of the season ... Fakahua collected six more tackles last Saturday at UC Davis. 
• Freshman DB Foster Slaughter pounced on the loose ball on the Fakahua forced fumble at UNLV to record his first collegiate fumble recovery, which was part of a two-tackle day.
• Speaking of "pouncing," redshirt junior LB Amari Pouncy registered his first TFL and forced fumble of the year in the fourth quarter at UC Davis, which was recovered by fellow junior Cody Carlson. 
• RS-junior safety Jagger Williams led the Trailblazer defensive effort with 10 total tackles (four solo), along with a 0.5 TFL and one PBU vs. Montana State (8/31) ... Williams' 10 tackles were one off of his career high of 11 he set last year vs. Eastern Kentucky (10/28/23).
• Carlson was one of three Blazer defenders who tallied eight tackles in the MSU game (8/31), doing so in his Trailblazer debut ... Carlson recorded his first PBU and made five tackles vs. NAU. 
• Not to be outdone, Sniffen and sophomore corner Gabriel Valenzuela also posted "snowmen" in their season debuts vs. MSU. 
• RS-junior DL Laytan Tanuvasa notched the game's lone sack in the second opener vs. MSU (8/31), which came in the second quarter as he bolted into the Bobcat backfield virtually untouched and dropped MSU QB Tommy Mellott for a nine-yard loss on 1st and 10 on the Blazer 11 yard line.
• Tanuvasa's sack served as a precursor for arguably the play of the night for the Trailblazers as the Utah Tech defense forced MSU to settle for a 26-yard field goal attempt, which was blocked by sophomore CB Scooter Jackson.
• Jackson got a great jump on the snap and flew around the left side to make the diving rejection, which was recovered by Carlson at the Blazer 26 yard line.
• Jackson's field goal block was Utah Tech's first since former DL Max Christensen III blocked a field goal try nearly one year-to-the-day on the road at another "MSU" opponent in Missouri State (9/23/23). 
• Senior punter Andy Day punted seven times for 297 yards (42.4 ypp) at UC Davis last Saturday night, highlighted by a 66-yard kick late in the first quarter ... Day's 66-yarder was the second-longest of his career (76 at Weber State; 2021), and tied for the ninth-longest punt in Utah Tech's NCAA era. 
• Day was named UAC Football Specialist of the Week (9/2) after he tied his own school record with 10 punts in the opener vs. Montana State (8/31) ... Day punted for 468 yards (46.8 ypp), including two kicks downed inside the 20 yard line, while his 468 yards were the second-most in the program's NCAA era. 
• Day (193 punts; 8,145 yards) also eclipsed the 8,000-yard plateau in the UC Davis game, this after he reached another milestone at UNLV (9/7) when he became Utah Tech's career leader in total punts during the third quarter ... Day passed former Trailblazer Robert Metz (2012-15), who recorded 175 punts over four seasons.
• Day's current 42.20 ypp career average ranks him third on the program's all-time list. 
• Sophomore PK Ilya Uvaydov is a perfect 7-for-7 on his PAT attempts to this point of the season ... Uvaydov also drilled his first collegiate field goal from 48 yards out in the first quarter vs. NAU (9/14). 

#AB3FOREVER: Just prior to the start of the 2024 campaign Utah Tech announced that junior running back Chris Street was awarded the No. 3 jersey for the upcoming season.
        The awarding of the No. 3 jersey is the fifth instance in what has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. 
        Head coach Lance Anderson noted that he recently took some time to get familiar with the story of Reinhardt, both as a student-athlete and as a young man. He quickly realized the importance and the impact this tradition has on the Trailblazer football program, a tradition he is very eager to continue.   
        "Once I heard the story about Abe Reinhardt, the kind of person he was, the kind of football player he was, and his tragic passing, I was very touched and felt like this is something we need to continue," said Coach Anderson. "I felt it was very important that our team understands who he was and what this jersey truly represents.
        "I have been impressed by Chris since I got here," Coach Anderson added. "His outgoing personality, his positive outlook, and I really feel like he also represents all the other traits that we talked about what this jersey represents. Toughness, hard work, accountability, trust, leadership – Chris demonstrates all those qualities, and I think he'll do a great job wearing that jersey and representing Abe."

ABOUT THE ABILENE CHRISTIAN "WILDCATS": Abilene Christian rolls into St. George on Saturday with a 2-2 record in tow through its first four games of the 2024 season, which includes a hard-fought 27-24 home loss to No. 4-ranked Idaho last Saturday night at Wildcat Stadium.
        The Wildcats began the year with wild 52-51 overtime road loss at Big XII member Texas Tech (8/31), before rattling off two-straight wins over UAC newcomer West Georgia (W, 38-24; 9/7) and Big Sky member Northern Colorado (W, 24-22; 9/14). 
        ACU boasts a high-powered offense that is ranked third in the FCS subdivision in passing (330.0 ypg) and sixth in total offense (458.0 ypg). 
        Graduate quarterback Maverick McIvor (6-2; 210) is currently ranked second in the FCS (and fifth-overall including FBS) with 1,320 yards passing, and he is sixth-nationally in touchdown passes (9). McIvor's favorite target is senior WR Nehemiah Martinez (5-9; 200), who is ranked t-fourth nationally in TD receptions (4) and 13th in receiving yards (336).
        The Wildcats also get the job done on the ground as redshirt senior Isaiah Johnson (5-10; 210) averages 49 yards per game out of the backfield and is t-fourth in the FCS ranks with six rushing touchdowns.
        On defense, redshirt senior LB Will Shaffer (6-0; 240) leads ACU with 39 total tackles to go with 2.0 TFLs.  
        Keith Patterson (East Central [OK], 1986) is in his third season at ACU, where he is 14-12 overall. Patterson does have a tie to the state of Utah as he served as defensive coordinator at Utah State under then-head coach Matt Wells in 2018. Patterson later followed Wells to Texas Tech ahead of the 2019 season.  

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech opens a two-game UAC road swing with a long trip to the "Yellowhammer State" to face North Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kick-off at Braly Stadium in Florence is set for 3 p.m. (MT).