This Week's Schedule
Thursday, September 8
Maryville at Tennessee Tech, 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Saturday, September 10
Eastern Illinois at Northwestern, 2:30 p.m. (BTN)
Murray State at Mississippi Valley St., 4:00 p.m. (Racer TV Network)
#10 Jacksonville State at #23 Chattanooga, 5:00 p.m.
Missouri State at Eastern Kentucky, 5:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Tennessee State vs. Jackson State, 6:00 p.m. (Memphis, Tenn.)
Maryville College Scots (0-1, 0-0 USA South)
at Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (0-1, 0-0 OVC)
Thursday, Sept. 8 • 7:00 p.m. CT
Tucker Stadium (16,500) • Cookeville, Tenn.
TV:................................................. OVCSports.TV/WCTE
Live Stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/ttusports/fball
Series Record:.......................... Tennessee Tech leads 3-0
Last Meeting:.................. Tennessee Tech won 21-0 (1948)
Tony Ierulli at Maryville:................................ 35-46 (9 yrs.)
Tony Ierulli Overall:................................................. same
Watson Brown at Tennessee Tech:................ 18-28 (5 yrs.)
Watson Brown Overall:......................... 112-179-1 (27 yrs.)
Maryville College Last Week:.......... L, 35-7 vs. Huntingdon
Tennessee Tech Last Week:....................... L, 34-7 at Iowa
GAME NOTES: It will be a short week for both teams who played on Saturday and will take to the gridiron once again this Thursday night. The meeting is the fourth all-time between the two schools separated by just over 100 miles, but first since the 1948 season. Both teams lost in week one by nearly identical scores (34-7 and 35-7). It will mark the first game against a Division I opponent for Maryville since playing Davidson in the 1997 season.
SCOUTING MARYVILLE: Maryville College, a Division III school located just outside Knoxville, Tenn., opened its season on Saturday with a 35-7 home loss to Huntingdon College. The Scots fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter but drove 60 yards in seven plays early in the second frame to pull within 14-7 on a four-yard touchdown pass from Tim Connor to Wesley Idlette. But that would be the team's only score of the night. Maryville was limited to just 11 net rushing yards on the night as Conner was sacked six times and lost 31 yards overall. He did pass for 201 yards on 32 attempts. Ryan Roach caught seven of his passes for 131 yards.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech began the season with a 34-7 loss at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Iowa on Saturday. The Golden Eagles are now 0-26 all-time against FBS foes since the I-A/I-AA split in 1978. Tech saw the game delayed in the third quarter for 84 minutes, but the game was able to be resumed and completed. Last season TTU had a home game with Lane College shortened after a weather delay. The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 70,585, the 10th-highest crowd to ever see an OVC team play (tied with the mark when Eastern Illinois and Iowa played a year ago). Senior running back Dontey Gay notched his third career 100+ yard rushing game as he carried the ball 24 times for 108 yards and scored the Golden Eagles lone touchdown. Gay also caught two passes for four yards and had 60 yards in kick returns to account for 172 all-purpose yards on the day (that mark was the 24th-best among FCS players on the day). Senior wide receiver Tim Benford pulled in seven receptions for 60 yards and moved into the OVC career Top 10 receptions chart with 158 (10th); he is just two receptions away from moving up to ninth place all-time and needs only 237 yards to be in the OVC's Top 10 career receiving yards list. With rain coming down for most of the game, Iowa led just 3-0 at the end of the first quarter before scoring 24 points in the second quarter after picking off two Golden Eagle passes, including returning one for an 89-yard touchdown. The Tennessee Tech offensive line played well, giving up just one sack against a good Iowa defense. The TTU defense was keyed by Jake McIntosh who had seven tackles and forced a fumble and Will Johnson who had seven tackles and a pass breakup.
Eastern Illinois Panthers (1-0, 0-0 OVC)
at Northwestern Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Saturday, Sept. 10 • 2:30 p.m. CT
Ryan Field (47,130) • Evanston, Ill.
TV:........................................................................... BTN
Live Stats:........................................... http://bit.ly/ng1iS8
Series Record:............................................. First meeting
Last Meeting:.............................................................. n/a
Bob Spoo at Eastern Illinois:................ 143-122-1 (24 yrs.)
Bob Spoo Overall:................................................. same
Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern:..................... 35-29 (6 yrs.)
Pat Fitzgerald Overall:............................................ same
Eastern Illinois Last Week:.......... W, 33-26 vs. Illinois State
Northwestern Last Week:......... W, 24-17 at Boston College
GAME NOTES: The two Illinois-based schools separated by only 200 miles are meeting on the gridiron for the first time this Saturday. It marks the fifth time in the last six seasons that Eastern Illinois has played a team from the Big Ten Conference. The Panthers battled Illinois in 2006 and 2008, Purdue in 2007 and Iowa a season ago.
SCOUTING EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois began its final season under head coach Bob Spoo with a victory over rival Illinois State in the 100th meeting of the Mid-American Classic last Thursday night. The Panthers built a 12-9 halftime lead over the Redbirds but fell behind 19-12 with 3:55 to play in the third quarter before mounting a comeback. Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter and then hooked up with Lorence Ricks on a 42-yard scoring strike less than five minutes later to give his team the lead. After ISU tied the game at 26, Garoppolo led his team on an 8-play, 47-yard drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown to Chris Wright with 2:38 to go. Senior safety Nick Martinez then picked off two passes in the final 2:26 of the game to preserve the victory. Garoppolo finished the game 25-of-34 for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Ricks accumulated 255 all-purpose yards for the Panthers as they beat Illinois State 33-26 in the 100th playing of the Mid-America Classic by hauling in seven passes for 114 yards in addition to four kick returns for 141 yards (35.2 yards/return), including a long return of 50 yards. Senior Cory Leman tallied 11 tackles and a pass break-up for EIU.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: Northwestern began its season by going to Boston College and winning 24-17 on Saturday to improve to 12-5 in road games since the beginning of the 2008 season. Trailing 10-3 late in the second half, Northwestern used back-to-back 80-yard drives (one on either side of halftime) to go ahead for good against the Eagles. The Wildcats used a balanced offensive attack with 197 passing and 227 rushing yards on the afternoon in winning its seventh-straight season opener. With senior quarterback Dan Persa out with an injury, Kain Colter, who started the team's TicketCity Bowl game last year at running back, completed 17-of-24 passes for 197 yards and also carried the ball 23 times for 71 yards and a touchdown. Mike Trumpy added 85 rushing yards and a score while Adonis Smith had 53 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats continue to win close games as they are 29-9 in their last 38 games decided by seven points or less.
Murray State Racers (0-1, 0-0 OVC)
at Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (0-1, 0-1 SWAC)
Saturday, Sept. 10 • 4:00 p.m. CT
Rice-Trotten (10,000) • Itta Bena, Miss.
TV:....................................................... Racer TV Network
Live Stats:............................................................... none
Series Record:............................................. First meeting
Last Meeting:.............................................................. n/a
Chris Hatcher at Murray State:......................... 6-6 (2 yrs.)
Chris Hatcher Overall:.............................. 100-33 (12 yrs.)
Karl Morgan at Mississippi Valley State:........ 0-11 (2 yrs.)
Karl Morgan Overall:..................................... 0-11 (2 yrs.)
Murray State Last Week:..................... L, 21-9 at Louisville
Mississippi Valley State Last Week: L, 41-9 vs. Alabama State
GAME NOTES: Murray State and Mississippi Valley State will play for the first time on Saturday.
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: Murray State began the season last Thursday night with a 21-9 loss at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Louisville. The Cardinals ran out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, but after that time the Racers defense locked down the Cardinals offense attack, holding them to 131 yards of offense in the second half. On the night MSU forced three fumbles and had an interception against Louisville. Senior running back Mike Harris carried the ball 26 times for 116 yards and a touchdown for Murray State. Harris' touchdown came after Murray State went 74 yards in 13 plays and along the way converted three third time conversion opportunities. Junior quarterback Casey Brockman, a Walter Payton Award Watch List nominee, struggled early and finished the game 17-of-34 for 148 yards and picked up five first downs rushing; he was intercepted three times and sacked twice. Julian Whitehead led the defense with nine tackles (7 solo).
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE: Mississippi Valley State opened its 2011 season at home last week, falling 41-9 to fellow SWAC member Alabama State. The Delta Devils actually scored the first six points of the game, using two 50-plus yard drives that each ended in Carlos Sanchez field goals, one from 30 yards and one from 32 yards. But after that Alabama State reeled off 21-straight points before Sanchez connected again in the third quarter. MVSU committed seven turnovers overall on the afternoon despite out-gaining ASU 327 to 319 in total offense. Quarterback Garrick Jones completed 8-of-20 passes for 121 yards and rushed for a team-best 113 yards on 14 carries (8.1 yards/carry). On defense Terrel Johnson and Rico Mazique each had eight tackles. MVSU is still searching for its first win under now second-year head coach Karl Morgan.
#10 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (1-0, 1-0 OVC)
at #23 Chattanooga Mocs (0-1, 0-0 Southern)
Saturday, Sept. 10 • 5:00 p.m. CT
Finley Stadium (20,668) • Chattanooga, Tenn.
TV:.......................................................................... none
Live Stats: http://www.gomocs.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml
Series Record:........................... Chattanooga leads 24-11
Last Meeting:......... Jacksonville State won 21-17 (9/11/10)
Jack Crowe at Jacksonville State:.............. 75-48 (12 yrs.)
Jack Crowe Overall:.................................. 89-78 (17 yrs.)
Russ Huesman at Chattanooga:................... 12-11 (3 yrs.)
Russ Huesman Overall:........................................... same
Jacksonville State Last Week:........ W, 24-23 vs. UT Martin
Chattanooga Last Week:............... L, 40-7 at #10 Nebraska
GAME NOTES: A pair of Top 25 teams and regional rivals Jacksonville State and Chattanooga square off for the 36th time on Saturday at Finley Stadium. The all-time series dates back to a 5-0 game in the 1904 season and the two teams have played in six of the last seven years overall (only missing the 2009 season). Jax State has won the last four meetings and five of the last six overall since the rivalry was renewed in 2004 following a 21-year break. Last year the teams christened Jacksonville State's stadium expansion on Sept. 11, as the Gamecocks overcame a 17-0 third quarter deficit to win 21-17 when Marques Ivory hit a streaking James Shaw for a 72-yard scoring strike with just 1:16 to play in the game. Ivory finished the game 18-of-33 for 226 yards while UTC signal caller B.J. Coleman was 10-of-22 for 149 yards and a score. Mocs rusher Errol Wynn led everyone with 98 yards on the night. For the second year in a row this game is the first of two for Chattanooga against OVC foes; the Mocs will travel to Eastern Kentucky next weekend.
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: Jacksonville State continued its recent success of late game heroics when it overcame a 23-10 fourth quarter deficit to top OVC rival UT Martin 24-23 in the season opener last Thursday night. After a Skyhawk field goal made the lead 23-10, JSU needed just two plays to drive 50 yards and cut the lead to six when Georgia transfer Washaun Ealey took a short pass and went 43 yards for his first touchdown as a Gamecock. After getting the ball back and being forced to punt, Jax State took over at midfield with 4:27 to go. The Gamecocks would need nine plays to hit pay dirt, as Calvin Middleton scored on a 4-yard run with 38 seconds to play. The win did come with one major loss, as senior quarterback Marques Ivory suffered a broken fibula and will miss the rest of the 2011 season; in his place sophomore quarterback Coty Blanchard was 9-for-17 for 133 yards and a touchdown and also carried the ball nine times for 32 yards. Blanchard also punted the ball seven times for an average of 37.7 yards including three that were downed inside the UTM 20-yard line. Blanchard was named OVC Player of the Week for his efforts, the second-straight season he has opened the year as the Player of the Week. Ealey finished with 41 rushing yards to go along with his 43-yard receiving touchdown and was named OVC Newcomer of the Week. Middleton had 28 yards on the ground and also caught four passes for 40 yards. Since the 1993 season, JSU has claimed 14 victories in the final two minutes of games, including five in the past two seasons. JSU played in front of 17,919 fans last Thursday, the fourth-largest FCS crowd of the season so far.
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA: Chattanooga opened its season at No. 10 Nebraska, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FBS). The Mocs defense played well, holding the explosive Cornhuskers to 364 yards of total offense and winning the turnover battle, including recovering a pair of fumbles and netting an interception. Senior linebacker Ryan Cossiglio had a game-high 14 tackles, including two for loss, forced a fumble and had a pass breakup while sophomore defensive back D.J. Key made 11 stops and recovered a fumble. Senior signal caller B.J. Coleman, a Payton Award nominee, completed 19-of-33 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown; he found eight different receivers on the night.
Missouri State Bears (0-1, 0-0 MVFC)
at Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0-1, 0-0 OVC)
Saturday, Sept. 10 • 5:00 p.m. CT
Roy Kidd Stadium (20,000) • Richmond, Ky.
TV:........................................................... OVCSports.TV
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/eku/football/index.htm
Series Record:............................ Missouri State leads 1-0
Last Meeting:................... Missouri State won 31-9 (9/3/10)
Terry Allen at Missouri State:....................... 23-63 (6 yrs.)
Terry Allen Overall:................................... 118-92 (19 yrs.)
Dean Hood at Eastern Kentucky:.................. 19-16 (4 yrs.)
Dean Hood Overall:................................................ same
Missouri State Last Week:............. L, 51-7 at #15 Arkansas
Eastern Kentucky Last Week:........ L, 10-7 at Kansas State
GAME NOTES: Eastern Kentucky and Missouri State will meet for the second-straight year and second time ever on Saturday in Richmond. The two teams were slated to kick off the 2010 season on a Thursday night but thunderstorms pushed last year's game back to Friday. In that matchup the Bears led 17-9 at halftime but scored 14 points in the second half (the only scores by either team) on its way to a 31-9 victory. EKU won the passing battle (315 to 199) but MSU won the rushing game (189 to 35) in the game. T.J. Pryor was 22-of-47 for 315 yards and rushed for 15 yards for the Colonels while Chris Douglas rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown for the Bears. This season both teams opened their respective campaigns with games against teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), as EKU lost at Kansas State and Missouri State lost at nationally-ranked Arkansas. Missouri State is in the midst of a four-game road trip to begin the 2011 season.
SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE: Missouri State opened the 2011 season at Arkansas, losing 51-7 to the 15th-ranked team in the FBS. The Razorbacks out-gained the Bears 466-to-163 overall in winning the contest. Arkansas scored three times in the first quarter and led 44-0 before the Missouri State got on the board late in the third quarter. The Bears forced a Razorback fumble and got the ball at the Arkansas 33-yard line. From there Kierra Harris threw a strike to Jermaine Saffold in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Harris finished the game 8-for-14 for 70 yards. Chris Douglas led the ground attack with 72 yards on 18 rushes. Mike Crutcher led the defense with 10 tackles.
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: In week one of the 2011 season two FCS teams went to FBS foes and came out on top. Several others were close including Eastern Kentucky who did not trail Kansas State until the Wildcats scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:39 to play in the game. EKU forced K-State into five turnovers (the fifth consecutive game dating back to last season that the team had forced five or more turnovers) on the night (four fumbles, one interception) but was unable to capitalize on offense for most of the night. EKU was limited to just 10 yards of net rushing and 119 passing yards while the Wildcats finished with 303 yards of total offense. Eastern was without junior starting quarterback T.J. Pryor who has a hand injury (and may not play this week against Missouri State) but instead went with true freshman Jared McClain who completed 9-of-26 passes for 119 yards; McClain was picked off twice and sacked four times. Sophomore punter Jordan Berry was named OVC Specialist of the Week after punting 10 times for a 41.8 yards/punt average; he had four of his punts downed inside the K-State 20-yard line and had two punts of six or more yards, including a long of 67. On the defensive side of the ball Patrick McClellan was named OVC Defensive Player of the Week after forcing two fumbles and recovering one that he returned 18 yards to the K-State 1-yard line which led to EKU's lone touchdown of the night. McClellan also had seven tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Brooklyn Fox added a team-best 11 tackles while Buck Buchanan Award nominee Jeremy Caldwell had three tackles and saw time on offense where he had a team-best three catches for 22 yards.
Tennessee State Tigers (1-0, 0-0 OVC)
vs. Jackson State Tigers (1-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Saturday, Sept. 10 • 6:00 p.m. CT
Liberty Bowl (62,380) • Memphis, Tenn.
TV:.......................................................................... none
Live Stats:............................................................... none
Series Record:................... Tennessee State leads 23-19-2
Last Meeting:............... Jackson State won 33-26 (9/11/10)
Rod Reed at Tennessee State:......................... 4-8 (2 yrs.)
Rod Reed Overall:.................................................. same
Rick Comegy at Jackson State:.................... 33-24 (6 yrs.)
Rick Comegy Overall:............................... 141-51 (20 yrs.)
Tennessee State Last Week:............. W, 33-7 vs. Southern
Jackson State Last Week: W, 44-2 vs. Concordia College (Ala.)
GAME NOTES: Two long-term rivals get together on Saturday night in the 22nd annual Southern Heritage Classic at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. This marks the 18th year in a row (and 20th overall) that the teams have squared off in this Classic which began in 1990 (the two other games were between TSU and Mississippi Valley State and Grambling). Tennessee State had won seven straight in the series until Jackson State pulled out a 33-26 victory a season ago. In that game JSU got out to a 21-7 lead and withstood TSU senior Preston Brown rushing for 218 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries. Five of the last six meetings have been determined by a combined 25 points (including two of those that went into overtime). Tennessee State is 11-10 all-time in the event while Jackson State is 8-11. The all-time series between the two schools is at 23-19-2 in favor of Tennessee State.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE: Tennessee State got the 2011 season off on the right foot by dominating Southern 33-7 in the 13th annual John Merritt Classic in Nashville. The Tigers got off to a hot start when Joseph Wylie picked off a Southern pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown to put TSU up 7-0 just five minutes into the game. Then the Tigers rushing game got into the act and Trabis Ward scored on a five yard rush to push the advantage to 13-0; Ward would finish the game with 141 yards on 18 carries (7.8 yards/carry) and two catches for 16 yards on his way to Offensive MVP honors. Dante' Thomas would add 87 yards rushing and a touchdown while Ryan Berry (44 yards) and quarterback Jeremy Perry (40) yards also added good efforts on the ground. Overall TSU had 342 yards of rushing offense, a new John Merritt Classic record and the third-highest FCS team mark of the opening weekend of play. In addition to his 40 yards of rushing, Perry completed 15-of-31 passes for 148 yards and a score. Defensively senior linebacker Rico Council was named Defensive MVP of the Classic after recording nine tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two sacks and picking off a pass. He keyed a TSU defensive attack that limited Southern to just 37 rushing yards on the night.
SCOUTING JACKSON STATE: Jackson State started its 100th year of football on Saturday with a convincing 44-2 victory over over-matched Concordia College, a Division III school from Selma, Ala., in the W.C. Gorden Classic in Jackson. Quarterback Casey Therriault began his senior season with another convincing performance, completing 15-of-32 passes and 218 yards and a touchdown and rushing for two additional touchdowns. Last season Therriault passed for 3,436 yards and 31 touchdowns while rushing for 10 additional scores.