This Week's Schedule
Saturday, November 5
Central State at Austin Peay, 1:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
Central Methodist at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Murray State at #15 Tennessee Tech, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
*Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois, 1:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
*Eastern Kentucky at #18 Jacksonville State, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
UT Martin at Mississippi State, 6:30 p.m. (CSS)
Central State Marauders (1-8)
at Austin Peay Governors (2-6, 2-4 OVC)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Governors Stadium (10,000) • Clarksville, Tenn.
TV:........................................................... OVCSports.TV
Live Stats: http://www.apsugovernors.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml
Series Record:............................................. First meeting
Last Meeting:.............................................................. n/a
E.J. Junior at Central State:............................ 3-28 (3 yrs.)
E.J. Junior Overall:................................................. same
Rick Christophel at Austin Peay:................... 17-35 (5 yrs.)
Rick Christophel Overall:......................................... same
Central State Last Week:..... W, 36-0 at Kentucky Wesleyan
Austin Peay Last Week:........... L, 19-10 vs. Eastern Illinois
GAME NOTES: Austin Peay steps out of Conference play for the final time this season when the Governors hosts Central State on Saturday afternoon.
SCOUTING CENTRAL STATE: Central State, an independent member of Division II located in Wilberforce, Ohio, snapped an 18-game losing streak on Saturday, shutting out Kentucky Wesleyan 36-0 on the road. In Saturday's victory Central State scored an offensive touchdown in each quarter and added a fumble recovery in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to account for the scoring. Quarterback Jeffrey Brooks completed 13-of-21 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two more scores in the game. Daryl Conley led all rushers in the game with 91 yards on 13 carries while also scoring a touchdown. CSU out-gained Kentucky Wesleyan 344-to-279 for the game. The Marauders are coached by former Alabama linebacker E.J. Junior who was a first round NFL Draft pick and went on to play 13 NFL seasons for the Cardinals, Dolphins, Buccaneers and Seahawks, earning two Pro Bowl berths.
SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY: Austin Peay lost its fourth-straight game on Saturday, losing 19-10 to Eastern Illinois on Homecoming. All four losses have been in OVC play, after the team got off to a 2-0 start to begin conference play. APSU got off to another good start, grabbing a 10-0 advantage early in the second quarter. Senior Ryan White started the game with an eight-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Stephen Stansell added a 21-yard field goal with 14:50 to play in the second quarter. The Govs piled up 124 yards in the first quarter alone, but managed just 202 yards over the final three quarters. After leading 10-0, the Governors allowed two second quarter touchdowns to fall behind 13-10 and then was unable to score in the second half as EIU added field goals in each the third and fourth quarter to account for the remainder of the scoring. White led Austin Peay with 115 yards on 23 carries while Wesley Kitts added 86 yards on 11 carries (7.8 yards/rush). It marked the 13th 100-yard rushing game of White's career, which is the most among any active OVC players. Freshman quarterback Landon Curtis completed 14-of-30 passes for 111 yards, but was sacked four times. Josh Carroll led the way with nine tackles. In its last two games APSU has allowed just 36 points after allowing 105 in the previous two contests. Stansell would attempt a 60-yard field goal to end the first half; the attempt had the distance but was wide.
Central Methodist Eagles (5-3, 5-3 HAAC)
at Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (2-6, 2-4 OVC)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Houck Stadium (10,000) • Cape Girardeau, Mo.
TV:........................................................... OVCSports.TV
Live Stats: http://www.redhawkstv.com/LiveStats/2011Live/Football/xlive.htm
Series Record:............................................. First meeting
Last Meeting:.............................................................. n/a
Alan Dykens at Central Methodist:................ 17-23 (4 yrs.)
Alan Dykens Overall:.............................................. same
Tony Samuel at Southeast Missouri:............. 24-41 (6 yrs.)
Tony Samuel Overall:.................................. 58-98 (14 yrs.)
Central Methodist Last Week:............... W, 38-7 at Evangel
Southeast Missouri Last Week:.......... L, 38-30 at UT Martin
GAME NOTES: Southeast Missouri begins a three-game home stand to finish out the 2011 season on Saturday as the Redhawks host Central Methodist. It will be the first meeting all-time between the schools. Southeast Missouri is 7-1 in its last eight games at Houck Stadium.
SCOUTING CENTRAL METHODIST: Central Methodist is a NAIA member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) and are located in Fayette, Mo. The Eagles have played a full conference schedule so far this season, going 5-3 in those games. CMU has won three games in a row and during its three-game winning streak the team is averaging 37.7 points/game. In its win over Evangel University on Saturday, the Eagles had 357 rushing yards and scored 31 first-half points on its way to a 38-7 victory. CMU's James Cody, Jr. led the way with 158 rushing yards and a touchdown.
SCOUTING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: Trailing 28-3 in the second quarter, Southeast Missouri State nearly erased that 25-point deficit, but came up just short in a 38-30 loss at UT Martin on Saturday. Senior quarterback Matt Scheible rushed for a team-high 85 yards and passed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the game. It marked his first 200-plus yard passing game since the 2009 season-opener. With the 285 yards of total offense, Scheible moved into 10th place in OVC history with 6,598 yards of total offense. His three touchdown passes moved him into third on Southeast's career list (31). Freshman Spencer Davis caught two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and finished the game with four catches for 53 yards. Davis finished the contest with 114 all-purpose yards, and in the process became Southeast's all-time single-season leader in kick return yards (593). Davis currently ranks 31st nationally in all-purpose yards (133.14 yards/game). Junior linebacker Black Peiffer had another strong game, recording 15 tackles to lead all players. Peiffer is now averaging 12.38 tackles/game which is sixth in the nation. He has six-straight double-digit tackle games and needs just one more tackle to reach 100 for the season.
Murray State Racers (4-4, 2-3 OVC)
at #15 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (5-2, 4-1 OVC)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 1:30 p.m. CT
Tucker Stadium (16,500) • Cookeville, Tenn.
TV:.......... ESPN3/Racer TV Network/WCTE/OVCSports.TV
Live Stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/ttusports/fball
Series Record:.................... Tennessee Tech leads 41-34-1
Last Meeting:.................. Murray State won 44-13 (11/6/10)
Chris Hatcher at Murray State:........................ 10-9 (2 yrs.)
Chris Hatcher Overall:............................... 104-36 (12 yrs.)
Watson Brown at Tennessee Tech:................ 23-29 (5 yrs.)
Watson Brown Overall:......................... 117-180-1 (27 yrs.)
Murray State Last Week:...... L, 34-33 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Tennessee Tech Last Week: W, 21-14 at #13 Jacksonville State
GAME NOTES: Tennessee Tech, now in a three-way tie for first place in the OVC, hosts Murray State in a key OVC contest on Saturday at Tucker Stadium. The two teams are playing for the 77th time in a series that dates back to 1930. The teams have split the series evenly over the last four years, with the squad's rotating years in which they win. A season ago it was Murray State claiming the win, pulling out a 44-13 victory at home. The Racers scored the first 16 points of the game and racked up 504 yards of total offense. Mike Harris did most of the damage on the ground, carrying the ball 23 times for 242 yards (10.5 yards/carry) and scoring a touchdown. Casey Brockman passes for 202 yards and two scores and Marcus Harris hauled in eight catches for 126 yards and a score. Tim Benford had eight catches for 98 yards for Tech. Saturday's game marks the annual Homecoming contest for Tennessee Tech.
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: Murray State saw its two-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday with a 34-33 loss to rival Eastern Kentucky. The Racers trailed by one point at halftime but mounted a comeback, including scoring with 6:20 to play to cut the margin to one point. A missed point, however, followed and proved to be the difference in the game. Senior Mike Harris carried the ball 21 times for 206 yards, becoming the first MSU player to ever rush for 200 yards against EKU. Harris also had six receptions for 66 yards and finished the game with 272 all-purpose yards. The senior now has five 100-yard rushing games this season. Senior kicker Kienan Cullen made two field goals to move his career total to 52, tying the OVC all-time mark which has stood since 1984. Sophomore linebacker Qua Huzzie was named OVC Defensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week after registering 13 tackles (8 solo), 4.0 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass break-up. That performance also earned him Sports Network/Fathead.com National Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech has put itself in the driver's seat for the OVC Championship if it takes care of business and wins its final three games of the year (including a meeting with co-leader Eastern Kentucky next week). Tech put itself in that position by knocking off previously undefeated Jacksonville State on Saturday, beating the No. 13-ranked Gamecocks 21-14. It marked the fifth victory for TTU in its last six games overall and allowed the team to climb to No. 15 in the FCS Coaches poll (its highest-ranking this season). The win on Saturday saw Tennessee Tech rush for three touchdowns and force the game's only turnover (deep in Tech territory) on JSU's final possession. The forced fumble came from senior Corey Watson who was named OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after adding eight tackles and a pass break-up to go along with that key play. Quarterback Tre Lamb was nearly perfect throwing the ball, completing 15-of-18 passes for 168 yards. Tim Benford hauled in four of those passes to increase his career total to 197, moving him into fourth place in OVC history; Benford is just four catches out of third-place. Returning from an injury that cost him five games, junior transfer Adam Urbano carried the ball 13 times for 95 yards (7.3 yards/carry) and a touchdown. Senior Nick Campbell was named OVC Specialist of the Week after punting five times, averaging 37.2 yards/punt and not allowing a single one of them to be returned by the Gamecocks.
Tennessee State Tigers (3-5, 2-3 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois Panthers (2-7, 1-6 OVC)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 1:30 p.m. CT
O'Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Ill.
TV:.................................................. WEIU/OVCSports.TV
Live Stats:.......... http://www.sidearmstats.com/eiu/football
Series Record:............................ Eastern Illinois leads 8-6
Last Meeting:...... Eastern Illinois won 31-28 in OT (11/6/10)
Rod Reed at Tennessee State:....................... 5-15 (2 yrs.)
Rod Reed Overall:.................................................. same
Bob Spoo at Eastern Illinois:................ 144-129-1 (25 yrs.)
Bob Spoo Overall:................................................. same
Tennessee State Last Week:....................................... Idle
Eastern Illinois Last Week:............ W, 19-10 at Austin Peay
GAME NOTES: Saturday's game will mark the final OVC game and final home contest in the legendary coaching career of EIU's Bob Spoo. Spoo, who is in his 25th year on the Panthers sidelines, will conclude his coaching career in two weeks when EIU plays at Southern Illinois. For Saturday's contest Eastern Illinois will host Tennessee State. EIU leads the all-time series with TSU by an 8-to-6 margin. Last season the two teams played in a thrilling overtime game in Nashville, as the Panthers pulled out a 31-28 victory. In that game Tennessee State got off to a 28-7 lead at halftime before Jimmy Garoppolo hooked up with Chris Wright for three second half touchdowns, and Cameron Berra hit a 37-yard field goal in overtime to win it. Garoppolo completed 20-of-33 passes for 331 yards and four touchdowns while Wright hauled in five catches for 217 yards and three scores, as he earned OVC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. Terrance Wright rushed for 135 yards and a score in the loss for TSU.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE: Tennessee State had its two-game winning streak snapped two weeks ago with a 33-22 loss at Eastern Kentucky in a game that preceded the team's bye week. TSU turned the ball over three times in the contest which led to 21 EKU points. In the loss senior wide receiver Calvin McNairl caught six passes for a career-high 146 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came on an 89-yard slant pass from Jeremy Perry in the fourth quarter and was the longest reception for Tennessee State since 2004 (when Fred Burnette had a school-record reception of 99 yards). His effort was part of a 408-yard night of total offense for the Tigers; 343 of those yards came through the air. Senior Dante' Thomas rushed for 25 yards and a touchdown and in the process moved into TSU's career top five rushers (1,661 yards). Freshman punter Matt Moseley had a school record 73-yard punt in the third quarter; the punt broke the previous record of 69 yards that Moseley had set earlier in the season. In the game Moseley averaged 50.8 yards/punt, including putting two inside the EKU 20-yard line.
SCOUTING EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois ended a seven-game losing streak and won for the first time in OVC play this season on Saturday when the Panthers went on the road to top Austin Peay 19-10. Despite trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter, EIU came alive in the second quarter and led 13-10 at halftime. In that second frame sophomore quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hooked up with Chris Wright for a 52-yard touchdown pass and later Jake Walker capped a 9-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Panthers defense continued to be tough in the second half, shutting out the Governors in the third and fourth quarter while kicker Cameron Berra added a pair of field goals to account for the final margin. Walker rushed for 124 yards on 25 carries, becoming the first EIU player to reach the 100-yard plateau this season (and first dating back 15 games to the 2010 season). Garoppolo completed 27-of-36 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns. Garoppolo ranks 22nd nationally in passing yards/game (246.56) and 15th nationally in total passing yards (2,219). Kenny Whittaker had seven catches while Wright added five. Defensively senior linebacker Gordy Kickels had nine tackles (6 solo), 2.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack, pass break-up and two quarterback hurries.
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (5-3, 4-1 OVC)
at #18 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5-3, 4-1 OVC)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 3:00 p.m. CT
Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium (24,000) • Jacksonville, Ala.
TV:..................................... WJXS/ESPN3/OVCSports.TV
Live Stats: http://www.jsugamecocksports.com/sports/2010/9/1/FB_0901102541.aspx
Series Record:........................................... Series tied 4-4
Last Meeting:.......... Eastern Kentucky won 49-37 (11/6/10)
Dean Hood at Eastern Kentucky:.................. 24-18 (4 yrs.)
Dean Hood Overall:................................................ same
Jack Crowe at Jacksonville State:............... 79-51 (12 yrs.)
Jack Crowe Overall:.................................... 93-81 (17 yrs.)
Eastern Kentucky Last Week:...... W, 34-33 at Murray State
Jacksonville State Last Week: L, 21-14 vs. #19 Tennessee Tech
GAME NOTES: Since Jacksonville State joined the OVC prior to the 2003 season, the Gamecocks and Colonels have been the two winningest teams in OVC play. Since 2003 EKU has won 53 Conference games while JSU has won 52 Conference contests. The two teams have been even on the field, each winning four times in the previous eight meetings. Eastern Kentucky won 49-37 a season ago in Richmond, upsetting the No. 2-ranked Gamecocks and handing them their first loss of the season and preventing them from becoming the No. 1 team in the country (as No. 1 Appalachian State had lost earlier in the day). EKU quarterback T.J. Pryor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score in the win. His favorite target was Orlandus Harris who had 205 receiving yards on four catches (two touchdowns) and earned OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors. JSU quarterback Marques Ivory threw for 444 yards and three scores. It was the first win over a Top 5 team for EKU since the 1990 season (when they beat No. 1 Middle Tennessee). Saturday's game is a battle between two of the three OVC teams tied for first-place in the standings. The team that loses will have a hard time of battling back and winning the OVC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs over the final two weeks of the season.
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: Since its bye week on Oct. 1, Eastern Kentucky has won four games in a row behind a strong rushing attack that has averaged 297.75 yards/game over that stretch. The star has been junior Matt Denham who has run for 200-plus yards in three of those four victories, including 219 yards and two touchdowns in the team's win at Murray State on Saturday. That performance earned him his second-straight OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors of the season. Denham is one of just two players at the FCS level to have three 200-yard rushing games this season and he now ranks ninth nationally in rushing (112.13 yards/game). Denham now leads the OVC in multi-rushing touchdown games (4) this season. T.J. Pryor passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score against MSU. With the 179 yards Pryor moved into third place on the all-time EKU passing list (4,773 yards). The EKU defense continued to be strong and forced a turnover for the ninth consecutive game dating back to last season. EKU turned three turnovers against the Racers into 14 crucial points.
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: In a matchup of two nationally-ranked teams, Jacksonville State came out on the short-end of a 21-14 loss to No. 19 Tennessee Tech on Saturday, slipping out of sole possession of first place and finding itself in a three-way tie with TTU and Eastern Kentucky. The loss was the second in a row for the Gamecocks, the first time since the beginning of the 2009 season the team has lost two games in a row. Jax State was limited to 40 yards below its season rushing average. Despite being limited offensively, the game was tied entering the fourth quarter, before TTU scored with 13:06 to play in the game. On its final possession of the game, the Gamecocks fumbled deep in Tech territory, giving the Golden Eagles the ball back on its own 32-yard line with 1:25 to play. Calvin Middleton rushed for 69 yards and Washaun Ealey added 68 yards (although his streak of four-straight 100-plus yard games was snapped). Coty Blanchard completed 17-of-22 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown pass and also rushed for 31 yards and a score. The Gamecocks are now ranked No. 18 in both FCS Top 25 polls.
UT Martin Skyhawks (5-3, 4-2 OVC)
at Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-4, 1-4 SEC)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 6:30 p.m. CT
Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field (55,082) • Starkville, Miss.
TV:.......................................................................... CSS
Live Stats:.......................................... http://bit.ly/rWiSgw
Series Record:............................................. First meeting
Last Meeting:.............................................................. n/a
Jason Simpson at UT Martin:........................ 37-28 (6 yrs.)
Jason Simpson Overall:............................................. n/a
Dan Mullen at Mississippi State:................... 18-15 (3 yrs.)
Dan Mullen Overall:................................................ same
UT Martin Last Week:....... W, 38-30 vs. Southeast Missouri
Mississippi State Last Week:............ W, 28-16 at Kentucky
GAME NOTES: UT Martin steps out of Conference play for the final time this season when it plays at SEC foe Mississippi State on Saturday night. MSU is the third SEC opponent UTM has played in the past four seasons. The Skyhawks are 0-12 all-time against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foes. The game begins a three-game road stretch to end the regular season for the Skyhawks.
SCOUTING UT MARTIN: UT Martin won its second-straight game on Saturday, topping Southeast Missouri 38-30 in its final home game of the 2011 season. With the victory, UTM remained just one game behind the OVC leaders in the loss column. So far this year the Skyhawks have lost three total games by a combined seven points. In the victory over SEMO, Tevin Barksdale rushed for 135 yards, his second 100-plus yard game of the season. He opened the game with a 64-yard touchdown run to give UTM the early lead as the Skyhawks would lead 28-9 at halftime. Quarterback Derek Carr passed for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the contest and he now ranks sixth in UTM history in total offense (4,533 yards). Sophomore Ben Johnson led UT Martin with 14 tackles in the win and also added a pass break-up and two quarterback hurries. Junior kicker Cody Sandlin made five PATs in the game and is now 34-of-36 on the season and ranks 10th nationally in scoring (9.0 points/game). The Skyhawks currently rank third nationally in scoring offense (39.75 points/game) and 11th in total offense (440.88 yards/game). CJ Estelle continues to lead all FCS players in punt returns (19.6 yards/return).
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE: The Bulldogs are 4-4 this year under the direction of third-year head coach Dan Mullen. The Bulldogs are 3-3 over its last six games of the season and during that streak have not won or lost two games in a row. After a narrow 14-12 loss to No. 13 South Carolina on Oct. 15, Mississippi State used its bye week to prepare for a road contest at Kentucky on Saturday, and topped the Wildcats 28-16. Quarterback Chris Relf passed for 92 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 13 yards and two more scores in the game. Fellow quarterback Tyler Russell added 172 passing yards and a touchdown as MSU built a 21-6 halftime advantage. The Bulldogs had 398 yards of total offense on the evening, including 134 yards on the ground as Vick Ballard rushed the ball 17 times for 87 yards. On the season Ballard has 688 rushing yards and five scores.