OVC Football Previews ? NCAA Division I Football Championship First Round 11/22/2011 5:05:00 PM This Week's ScheduleSaturday, November 262011 NCAA Division I Championship - First Round#17 James Madison at Eastern Kentucky, 11:00 a.m. (ESPNU)#15 Central Arkansas at #20 Tennessee Tech, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN3) #17 James Madison Dukes (7-4, 5-3 CAA)at Eastern Kentucky Colonels (7-4, 6-2 OVC)Saturday, Nov. 26 • 11:00 a.m. CTRoy Kidd Stadium (20,000) • Richmond, Ky.TV:...................................................................... ESPNULive Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/eku/football/index.htmSeries Record:............................................. First meetingLast Meeting:.............................................................. n/aMickey Matthews at James Madison:.......... 95-60 (12 yrs.)Mickey Matthews Overall:........................................ sameDean Hood at Eastern Kentucky:.................. 26-19 (4 yrs.)Dean Hood Overall:................................................ sameJames Madison Last Week:..... W, 34-17 at MassachusettsEastern Kentucky Last Week:......... W, 23-16 vs. UT MartinGAME NOTES: Saturday's first round playoff matchup features two squads who have combined for 30 NCAA Division I Playoff appearances and three National Championships. Eastern Kentucky is making its 20th FCS playoff appearance (ranked second all-time behind Montana's 21 appearances) and first since 2008 while James Madison is making its 10th appearance (ranked 13th all-time) and first appearance since 2008. EKU won the 1979 and 1982 National Championship while JMU was the champion in 2004. The winner will move on to face No. 2 nationally seed North Dakota State in the second round.SCOUTING JAMES MADISON: James Madison, ranked No. 17 in the Sports Network Top 25 poll (the team has been as high as No. 8 nationally this season), earned an at-large bid to the playoffs by finishing 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Dukes won its final two games of the season, topping Rhode Island at home and winning at Massachusetts. The team's three losses to FCS foes this season all came to CAA opponents who also made the 20-team playoff field (Maine, New Hampshire and Old Dominion). James Madison is tough defensively, ranking 12th nationally in total defense (305.0 yards/game) and 15th in scoring defense (19.27 points/game). The Dukes have had success rushing the ball this season, ranking 10th nationally in rushing offense (233.18 yards/game). Sophomore running back Dae'Quan Scott ranks 18th nationally in rushing (106.0 yards/game) and has scored 12 touchdowns. Sophomore Jordan Anderson is second on the team with 763 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. JMU head coach Mickey Matthews has been named National Coach of the Year three times, including most recently by the Sports Network in 2008.SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: Eastern Kentucky finished the regular season by winning six of its final seven games to earn an at-large bid to the playoffs. That winning streak came after a bye week in week five following a 1-3 overall start. The key to the Colonels run has been rushing, as the team ranks 22nd nationally in that category (203.0 yards/game). The emergence of Matt Denham following the team's bye week has been important, as he is averaging 193.0 yards/game over his last seven contests including rushing for 142 or more yards in each of those games (no other player at the FCS level has an active streak of seven or more 100-plus yard games). In 11 total games this year Denham is third nationally in rushing (131.36 yards/game). He rushed for 188 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 to play in last Saturday's victory over UT Martin. Receiver Tyrone Goard caught a touchdown in the victory, the fifth-straight game in which he has scored; he now has 11 touchdowns on the season, the most ever by a Colonel receiver In that UT Martin game the Colonels forced three Skyhawk turnovers in the fourth quarter, including two fumble recoveries in the final 1:24 of the game. Junior transfer Kevin Hamlin had two interceptions in the game, including one that ended a UTM 17-play drive at the EKU 7-yard line. Hamlin currently ranks 23rd nationally in interceptions (0.36/game). Overall the Eastern Kentucky defense has forced at least three turnovers in six-straight games. With the win over UTM, the Colonels finished in a three-way tie for the OVC Championship, its record 21st championship (most of any FCS team all-time) and first since the 2008 season.#15 Central Arkansas Bears (8-3, 6-1 Southland)at #20 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (7-3, 6-2 OVC)Saturday, Nov. 26 • 2:00 p.m. CTTucker Stadium (16,500) • Cookeville, Tenn.TV:...................................................................... ESPN3Live Stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/ttusports/fballSeries Record:............................................. First meetingLast Meeting:.............................................................. n/aClint Conque at Central Arkansas:............... 88-50 (12 yrs.)Clint Conque Overall:.............................................. sameWatson Brown at Tennessee Tech:................ 25-30 (5 yrs.)Watson Brown Overall:......................... 119-181-1 (27 yrs.)Central Arkansas Last Week:...................................... IdleTennessee Tech Last Week:......... W, 49-7 vs. Austin PeayGAME NOTES: Saturday's matchup will be a playoff first for both teams. Tennessee Tech captured its first OVC Championship since 1975 and is making its first NCAA Division I Playoff appearance since the playoffs began in 1978. Central Arkansas completed its reclassification to Division I in 2009 and was first eligible for postseason play last year. The Bears football team is the first UCA athletic program to qualify for any Division I Championship. The teams are two of the seven first-time playoff participants in this year's field. The winner of the game will move on to face No. 4 national seed Montana in the second round.SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS: Central Arkansas, ranked No. 15 in the Sports Network poll, enters the playoffs having won seven games in a row, including topping Texas State 23-22 two weeks ago (the team was idle last week). Of the Bears three losses this season, two came against FBS opponents (Louisiana Tech in overtime and Arkansas State), and to Southland champion Sam Houston State who is currently undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country. Those three teams combined to go 27-6 overall and 19-1 in their respective conferences (as each won their conference championship). Since moving to Division I in 2006, the Bears have had five winning seasons in six years, including a 10-2 season in 2008. This season UCA ranks 16th nationally in passing offense (278.73 yards/game), 20th in scoring offense (33.73 points/game) and 28th in total offense (405.82 yards/game). Senior quarterback Nathan Dick (who started his career at Arkansas) has completed 209-of-333 passes for 2,691 yards and 28 touchdowns against only eight interceptions in 10 games this season; he ranks eighth nationally in pass efficiency (153.59). Junior running back Jackie Hinton leads the team with 579 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Junior linebacker Seth Allison has 94 tackles, including 14.5 tackles-for-loss, on the season. UCA played two OVC teams in 2010, beating both Eastern Illinois and Murray State.SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: After ending its 36-year OVC Championship drought, Tennessee Tech, ranked 20th in the FCS Coaches poll, will be looking to make more history and win its first playoff game in its first-ever appearance. The Golden Eagles finished the regular season with seven victories, the most for the program since winning seven games in 2001. Despite only leading Austin Peay 14-7 at halftime on Saturday, Tennessee Tech added an early third quarter touchdown and then scored three touchdowns in less than four minutes later in the quarter to put the game out of reach. On a windy day, the Golden Eagles racked up a season-high 346 yards on the ground while the TTU defense limited APSU to just 255 yards of total offense. Senior running back Dontey Gay rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown (his school record 15th of the season) in the game to earn OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Gay raised his season rushing total to 1,009 yards, becoming just the seventh player in TTU history to reach that milestone. Gay currently ranks eighth nationally in scoring (9.0 points/game). Senior wide receiver Tim Benford, the OVC Offensive Player of the Year, enters the playoffs ranked third in OVC history in both career receptions (210) and receiving yards (3,007). He needs to catch six passes and net 88 yards to move to second all-time in both categories. Now in his fifth season as Tennessee Tech head coach and 27th season overall as a collegiate head coach (at six different schools), Cookeville native Watson Brown earned his first-ever conference championship this season and earned OVC Roy Kidd Coach of the Year honors for his efforts.