OVC Football Report for Week of Nov. 5

November 6, 2012 |

Eastern Illinois and UT Martin each won OVC contests on Saturday to improve to 5-1 in OVC play with two weekends of football to play…The teams are one win ahead of Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State in the loss column.

A win on Saturday for EIU guarantees it at least a share of the OVC Championship; if UTM wins its final two games of the year the Skyhawks will win the OVC and earn the league’s automatic berth.

Three OVC teams are ranked in the Sports Network Top 25 poll with EKU being 22nd, UTM 23rd and TSU 24th; it marks the first time since Oct. 19, 2009 that the OVC has had three teams ranked in the same poll…In the FCS Coaches poll EKU is 18th and UTM 24th.

UT Martin is ranked for the first time since Nov. 24, 2008 when the squad was 24th in both major polls…Murray State senior quarterback Casey Brockman became the OVC’s career leader in total offense (9,945 yards), passing former MSU quarterback Michael Proctor (1986-89) on Saturday; Brockman already holds OVC career records for passing yards (9,458) and completions (884) and should soon hold the passing attempts mark as well.

Brockman also needs just 300 yards to break the OVC single-season passing yards mark…Brockman currently ranks second in OVC history for career touchdown passes (65), while UT Martin’s Derek Carr is third (62) and Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garoppolo is fourth (59); the trio of active quarterbacks trail only former EIU and current Dallas Cowboys signal caller Tony Romo (85 touchdowns from 1999-2002).

All three of those signal callers rank in the Top 10 in passing yards/game making the OVC the only league nationally with three quarterbacks in the top 10 of that stat category. For the second time this season Carr threw seven touchdown passes (without an interception) in a game, as the Skyhawks topped Jacksonville State; Carr is the only Division I quarterback (FBS or FCS) to throw seven touchdowns passes twice in the 2012 season…For his efforts Carr was named National Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

UT Martin’s Quentin Sims and Jacksonville State’s Alan Bonner each caught five touchdowns passes in a game against each other on Saturday; the five touchdown catches tied the OVC single-game record also held by Murray State’s Marcus Harris (2010). EIU wide receiver Erik Lora became the first player in OVC history with 100 receptions in a season; Lora now ranks 16th in NCAA FCS single-season history for catches, just 23 away from the record held by Elon’s Terrell Hudgins

This OVC Football Week’s Schedule

Saturday, November 10

*Southeast Missouri at Eastern Illinois, 11:00 a.m. (FOX College Sports; Delayed on FOX Sports South at 10pm)

*Murray State at #18 Eastern Kentucky, 12:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)

*#23 UT Martin at Tennessee Tech, 1:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)

*Austin Peay at Jacksonville State, 3:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)

adidas^® OVC Players of the Week

OFFENSIVE

Derek Carr, QB • Sr., 6-1, 191 • McKenzie, Tenn. • UT Martin

Carr became the first player in Division I (FBS or FCS) this year to throw for seven touchdowns twice, as the senior tossed seven touchdown passes in UT Martin’s 49-47 victory over Jacksonville State. The win pushed the Skyhawks to 5-1 in OVC play, which ties them for first place with two weeks to play. Carr completed 28-of-43 passes for 402 yards and the seven touchdowns without an interception; earlier this season Carr threw for seven touchdowns in a win over Murray State, a game where he also did not throw an interception. Five of his seven touchdown passes went to senior Quentin Sims who tied the OVC record for touchdown catches in a game. Carr threw four touchdowns in the first quarter alone as the Skyhawks jumped out to a 28-7 lead. He added one touchdown pass in each the second and third quarters and tossed his final score to Jeremy Butler with 5:31 to play; that strike proved to be the game-winning score. In the process Carr became UT Martin’s all-time leader in total offense (7,767), a mark that now ranks seventh in OVC history. He also moved into third place in OVC history for touchdown passes (62) and fifth in career passing yards (7,730). Carr currently ranks fifth nationally in points responsible for (16.67/game), 10th in total passing yards (2,578), 10th in passing yards/game (286.44) and 11th in passing efficiency (151.63).

Others Nominated: Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois; Jared McClain, Eastern Kentucky; Alan Bonner, Jacksonville State; Jaamal Berry, Murray State; Michael German, Tennessee State.

DEFENSIVE

Brooklyn Fox, DB • Sr., 6-4, 215 • Tulsa, Okla. • Eastern Kentucky

Fox had four tackles, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass that he returned 59 yards in Eastern Kentucky’s 31-7 road win over Southeast Missouri on Saturday. The interception ended Southeast Missouri’s first drive of the game and Fox’s return to the Redhawks 8-yard line set up a touchdown just four plays later. In the second quarter he recovered a fumble at the Southeast Missouri 29-yard line which led to an EKU field goal four plays later. Overall he was part of a defensive unit that held Southeast to its lowest point total of the season (7) and held its leading rusher Levi Terrell to a season-low 57 rushing yards. Fox currently ranks fourth nationally in interceptions/game (0.60).

Others Nominated: Roosevelt Holliday, Eastern Illinois; Rashod Byers, Jacksonville State; Jeremy Brackett, Murray State; Daniel Fitzpatrick, Tennessee State; Ben Johnson, UT Martin.

SPECIALIST

Steven Mix, P • Jr., 6-2, 225 • Barlow, Ky. • Murray State

Mix helped Murray State win the field position battle in Saturday’s 49-28 victory over No. 18 Tennessee State. Mix punted three times, all of which were downed inside the TSU 20-yard line, for an average of 43.3 yards. Mix also boomed a 55-yard punt that was downed at the 1-yard line and overall did not allow a single punt return yard.

Others Nominated: Gabriel Chambers, Jacksonville State; Weldon Garlington, Tennessee State; James Satterfield, UT Martin.

NEWCOMER

Jaamal Berry, RB • Jr., 5-11, 200 • Miami, Fla. • Murray State

Berry, the transfer from Ohio State, earned his third OVC Newcomer of the Week honor of the season after rushing for a career-high 163 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-28 victory over No. 18 Tennessee State on Saturday. Berry carried the ball 16 times in averaging an impressive 10.2 yards/carry. The junior scored on a 35-yard run late in the second quarter, added a 5-yard rush late in the third quarter and capped the game’s scoring with a 1-yard rush with 3:05 to play in the game. Berry also caught three passes for 19 yards to finish the day with 182 all-purpose yards.

Others Nominated: Jourdan Wickliffe, Eastern Illinois; Deshaun Sands, Eastern Kentucky; Hamish MacInnes, Jacksonville State; A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State; Jeremy Butler, UT Martin.

Notes From Around the Gridiron

OVC Title Race: With two weeks of competition left there are still a lot of possibilities in the OVC Championship race. With a win against Southeast Missouri on Saturday, Eastern Illinois (5-1 OVC) can lock up at least a share of the OVC Championship; the title would be the program’s sixth overall and first since 2009. UT Martin (5-1 OVC) has two OVC game remaining (at Tennessee Tech, vs. Tennessee State) and controls its destiny; with two wins the Skyhawks will win the OVC Championship and earn the league’s automatic bid into the Division I Football Championship (the team has won the title and appeared in the playoffs just once – 2006). Eastern Kentucky (5-2) and Tennessee State (4-2) currently sit one game behind those teams in the loss column and are hoping for losses by both to gain shares of the OVC crown. EKU hosts Murray State in its final OVC game of the season on Saturday, while TSU has a bye this week before playing at UT Martin next week.

Carr Named National Player of the Week By Sports Network and College Sporting News (Nov. 5): UT Martin senior quarterback Derek Carr earned his second National Offensive Player of the Week honors of the 2012 season on Nov. 5 by each the Sports Network and College Sporting News after his performance against Jacksonville State. Carr became the first player in Division I (FBS or FCS) this year to throw for seven touchdowns twice, as the senior tossed seven touchdown passes in the 49-47 victory. Carr completed 28-of-43 passes for 402 yards and the seven touchdowns without an interception; earlier this season Carr threw for seven touchdowns in a win over Murray State, a game where he also did not throw an interception. Five of his seven touchdown passes went to senior Quentin Sims who tied the OVC record for touchdown catches in a game. Carr threw four touchdowns in the first quarter alone as the Skyhawks jumped out to a 28-7 lead. He added one touchdown pass in each the second and third quarters and tossed his final score to Jeremy Butler with 5:31 to play; that strike proved to be the game-winning score.

Bonner and Sims Tie OVC Single Game Receiving Touchdowns Record: In a Nov. 3 game between Jacksonville State and UT Martin two players tied the OVC single-game record for receiving touchdowns. Jacksonville State senior Alan Bonner caught 10 passes for 235 yards and five touchdowns while UT Martin senior Quentin Sims hauled in 10 passes for 137 yards and the five scores. The five touchdowns by each player tied the OVC record also held by Murray State’s Marcus Harris (2010).

Brockman Sets OVC Career Passing Yards and Total Offense Marks: Murray State senior quarterback Casey Brockman set the OVC career passing yardage mark against Jacksonville State on Oct. 27. Brockman broke the record of 9,028 yards previously held by Morehead State’s Chris Swartz (1987-90); Brockman currently has 9,458 career passing yards. A week later (Nov. 3) against Tennessee State Brockman became the OVC career leader for total offense, passing Murray State’s Michael Proctor (who has 9,886 yards from 1986-89); Brockman now has 9,945 yards of total offense for his career.

Brockman Nears OVC Single Season Passing Record: Murray State senior quarterback Casey Brockman needs just 300 yards to tie the OVC single-season passing yards record currently held by former Murray State quarterback (and current Memphis head coach) Justin Fuente (3,497 yards in 1999). Brockman enters this week third in OVC history with 3,197 yards and his 3,276 yards from last season ranks second on the list. Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is just 80 yards behind Brockman in the race for the record as he enters this week with 3,117 yards (sixth all-time).

Lora Sets OVC Single-Season Receptions Record; Now Ranks 16th in NCAA History: It took just eight games for Eastern Illinois wide receiver Erik Lora to set the OVC single-season receptions record. Lora recorded his 93rd catch of the season on Oct. 27 at Eastern Kentucky, breaking the previous record of 92 catches by Samford’s Efrem Hill (2003). Lora now has 100 catches and is setting his sights on the NCAA record of 123 receptions currently held by Elon’s Terrell Hudgins (accomplished in 12 games in 2009). Lora currently ranks 16th in NCAA FCS single-season history and is averaging a FCS-best 11.11 catches/game and is on pace for 123 receptions this year. Lora is also only 152 yards away from the OVC single-season receiving yards record of 1,453 currently held by Southeast Missouri’s Willie Ponder; Lora currently has an FCS-best 1,301 receiving yards and is averaging 144.56 yards/game.

The Offensive Valley Conference: OVC teams have put up a lot of points this season. That includes a 70-point outing by Murray State on Sept. 29 (the 6th most points in a FCS game this season), a 66-point outing by UT Martin on Oct. 13 (the 13th most points in a FCS game this season) and a 65-point effort by Eastern Illinois on Sept. 29 (the 16th most points in a FCS game this year). In the four Conference games on Sept. 22, eight OVC teams combined to score 287 points and account for 3,641 yards of total offense. That night saw three teams score 49 or more points, as Eastern Kentucky scored 51, Eastern Illinois scored 50 and Murray State scored 49 points.  It is the most combined points in Conference games since the league went from 10 to nine teams in 2007. Through 10 weeks this season OVC teams have scored 40 or more points in a game 23 different times. As a whole the OVC ranks first nationally in average total offense (414.5 yards/game) and points (30.6/game).

The League of Extraordinary Wide Receivers: Through 10 weeks of the season the OVC is showcasing what can be considered the best collection of wide receivers in the nation. Currently OVC wideouts rank first (Eastern Illinois’ Erik Lora) and seventh (Murray State’s Walter Powell) in receiving yards/game giving the OVC two of the top seven receivers nationally; no other conference has more than one individual in the top 7 nationally. For receptions in a single game in 2012, the OVC has four individuals in the Top 10, including the first (Lora, 21), second (Rogers, 18), third (Lora, 17) and 10th (Powell, 14) while two others performances (Lora and Powell with 13 apiece) are tied for 15th; no other conference nationally has more than two individuals in the Top 10 for receptions in a game. Lora and Powell currently rank first (11.11) and third (9.11) nationally in receptions/game.

Trio of OVC Quarterbacks Among Nation’s Elite: While OVC wide receivers are putting up extraordinary numbers, they have to have somebody throwing them the ball, and the league has several of the top quarterbacks nationally. The OVC currently has three quarterbacks in the top 10 nationally in passing yards/game, as Murray State’s Casey Brockman is fourth (355.22 yards/game), Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garoppolo ranks fifth (346.33 yards/game) and UT Martin’s Derek Carr is 10th (286.44 yards/game). The OVC is the only conference nationally with three quarterbacks in the Top 10 nationally in passing yards/game.

Carr Throws Seven Touchdowns For Second Time This Season: Twice this season UT Martin senior quarterback Derek Carr has thrown seven touchdowns in a game without throwing an interception. Carr achieved that feat against Murray State on Oct. 13 and against Jacksonville State on Nov. 3. He is the only quarterback in Division I (FBS or FCS) to have two games with seven touchdown passes this season.  In fact only three other Division I quarterbacks have thrown seven or more touchdowns in a game this season: Murray State’s Casey Brockman (8 vs. UT Martin), Old Dominion’s Taylor Heinicke (7 vs. Campbell) and West Virginia’s Geno Smith (8 vs. Baylor).

OVC Teams in the Top 25: Three OVC teams are now ranked in the Sports Network Top 25 poll, the first time the OVC has had three ranked teams in one poll at the same time since Oct. 19, 2009 (EIU, EKU, JSU). In this week’s poll Eastern Kentucky is 22nd, UT Martin is 23rd and Tennessee State is 24th. In the FCS Coaches Poll Eastern Kentucky is 18th and UT Martin is 24th. It marks the first time that UT Martin has been ranked since Nov. 24, 2008 (when they were 24th in both polls). Eastern Illinois is receiving votes in both polls and closing in on the Top 25 (they are 27th in the Sports Network poll and 29th in the FCS Coaches Poll).

NCAA Stats Leaders: In the latest set of NCAA statistical leaders, Eastern Illinois wide receiver Erik Lora is first nationally in receptions/game (11.11), receiving yards/game (144.56) and total receiving yards (1,301). Murray State wide receiver Walter Powell is third in receptions (9.11/game), fourth in all-purpose yards (181.56/game), seventh in receiving yards/game (114.33) and sixth in total receiving yards (1,029). UT Martin’s Quentin Sims is sixth in receptions/game (8.0). Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman is first nationally in completions (33.89/game), third in total offense (360.56 yards/game), fourth in total passing yards (3,197), fourth in passing yards/game (355.22) and fourth in points responsible for (19.11/game). Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is fourth nationally in total offense (350.0 yards/game), fourth in passing yards/game (346.33), fourth in total passing yards (3,117), fifth in points responsible for (18.89/game) and sixth in completions/game (29.11). UT Martin quarterback Derek Carr is eighth in points responsible for (16.67/game), 10th in passing yards/game (286.44) and 10th in total passing yards (2,578). Tennessee State running back Trabis Ward is seventh in rushing (131.60 yards/game). UT Martin’s Jason McNair is fourth in punt returns (15.62 yards/game), Tennessee Tech’s Chad Zinchini is fifth in punting (44.80 yards/punt) and Jacksonville State’s Telvin Brown is ninth in kickoff returns (28.58 yards/return). UT Martin’s Ben Johnson is fourth in tackles/game (12.22). Tennessee State’s Steven Godbolt III is second in interceptions (0.67/game), while Eastern Kentucky’s Brooklyn Fox is fourth (0.60/game). Murray State’s Brandon Hathaway is eighth in fumbles recovered/game (0.33). In the team rankings Eastern Illinois is fourth nationally in passing offense (368.11 yards/game), fifth in total offense (505.22 yards/game), seventh in scoring offense (39.89 points/game) and 10th in fumbles recovered (12). Murray State ranks fifth in passing offense (362.44 yards/game), sixth in total offense (498.11 yards/game) and sixth in scoring offense (40.56 points/game). Eastern Kentucky is first nationally in fewest fumbles lost (3), second in turnovers gained (26), third in turnover margin (+1.70), fourth in time of possession (33:57), fourth in fewest turnovers lost (9), sixth in passes intercepted (15) and ninth in rushing defense (110.2 yards/game). Southeast Missouri ranks fourth nationally in fewest yards penalized/game (34.78), fifth in fewest penalties/game (4.33) and ninth in rushing offense (249.56 yards/game). UT Martin is seventh in turnover margin (+1.0/game) and seventh in kickoff return yardage defense (15.0 yards/return) while Jacksonville State is eighth in third down conversion percentage (50.36%).

Carr Named National Performer of the Week, Three Others Receive National Positional Awards From College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) For Week No. 10: For the second time this year UT Martin quarterback Derek Carr was named National Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) after his seven touchdown performance against Jacksonville State. Carr completed 28-of-43 passes for 402 yards in that victory. Carr was also named National Quarterback of the Week as well. Jacksonville State wide receiver Alan Bonner was named National Wide Receiver of the Week after tying the OVC single-game record with five touchdown catches; in total Bonner caught 10 passes for 235 yards. Murray State’s Walter Powell was named National All-Purpose Performer of the Week after totaling 204 all-purpose yards including eight catches for 117 yards and a touchdown, 32 kickoff return yards and 55 punt return yards. Tennessee State’s A.C. Leonard was named National Tight End of the Week after catching seven passes for 115 yards at Murray State. In addition to those four winners, eight other OVC players earned honorable mention honors for the week. The goal of CFPA is to provide the most scientifically rigorous conferments in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.

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