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OVC football title closer to being decided
November 10, 2012 |
EIU plays its last OVC game of the season on Saturday when it hosts Southeast Missouri (the Panthers have a non-conference game with nationally-ranked Central Arkansas the last week of the season). UT Martin will play at Tennessee Tech on Saturday, while Jacksonville State hosts Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky hosts Murray State…Tennessee State has a bye, but closes out the season in two weeks at UT Martin. Eastern Illinois and UT Martin are 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.. OVC Standings
This Week’s Schedule
*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) Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (3-6, 2-4 OVC) at Eastern Illinois Panthers (6-3, 5-1 OVC)Saturday, Nov. 10 • 11:00 a.m. CT O’Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Ill. TV: FOX College Sports (live)/FOX Sports South (delayed – 10pm) Series Record:…………………….. Eastern Illinois leads 13-6 Last Meeting:…….. Southeast Missouri won 37-30 (10/1/11) Tony Samuel at Southeast Missouri:…………. 28-49 (7 yrs.) Tony Samuel Overall:………………………….. 62-106 (15 yrs.) Dino Babers at Eastern Illinois:…………………….. 6-3 (1 yr.) Dino Babers Overall:……………………………………….. same Southeast Missouri Last Week: L, 31-7 vs. #23 Eastern Kentucky Eastern Illinois Last Week:…… W, 31-24 at Tennessee Tech
GAME NOTES: Southeast Missouri travels to Eastern Illinois for the OVC TV Game of the Week which can be seen live on FOX College Sports and delayed on FOX Sports South (10 pm CT). With a victory Eastern Illinois guarantees itself at least a share of the OVC Championship, as this marks the team’s last conference game of the year (EIU closes out the regular season at Central Arkansas next week). EIU has won five OVC Championships, with the last coming in 2009. This is the 20th meeting between the two teams. Although EIU holds a 13-6 all-time advantage, Southeast Missouri has won the last two meetings, which came after six-straight wins in the series by the Panthers. In last year’s matchup Southeast overcame a 17-14 halftime deficit to win thanks in part to racking up 541 yards of total offense and limiting the Panthers to just 278 yards. Redhawks quarterback Matt Scheible passed for 130 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 161 yards and two additional scores. Jimmy Garoppolo had 192 passing yards and two scores for the Panthers. SCOUTING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: Southeast Missouri suffered a 31-7 loss to No. 23 Eastern Kentucky on Saturday in its final home game of the season. The Redhawks managed just 262 yards of total offense on the game, including 206 on the ground (SEMO entered the game averaged over 250 yards a game on the ground). Senior Levi Terrell did finish with 57 yards pushing him over the 1,000 yards mark on the season; he has gone over 100 yards in five of six OVC games this season and ranks third in the OVC in rushing (115.33 yards/game). True freshman quarterback Blake Jackson carried the ball 10 times for 68 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker Blake Peiffer needs just one tackle to reach 100 on the season (the second-straight year he would reach that mark); Peiffer currently ranks second in the OVC and 13th nationally in tackles/game (11.0). 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). SCOUTING EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois won its third-straight game (and for the fifth time in its last six contests) at Tennessee Tech on Saturday. The win pushed EIU just one victory from claiming at least a share of the OVC Championship. The Panthers trailed the Golden Eagles 10-0 after the first quarter and 10-7 at halftime before exploding for 17 points in the third quarter. Jimmy Garoppolo completed 27-of-41 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns to move into fourth place on the OVC career passing touchdown list (59). Erik Lora caught seven passes for 75 yards and continues to lead all FCS players in receiving yards/game, total receiving yards and receptions/game. Lora now has 100 catches on the season, first in OVC history and 16th in NCAA FCS history (23 away from the all-time record). Senior Chris Wright caught four passes for 102 yards and a 73-yard touchdown in the win. Wright now has 29 career touchdowns which ranks third in OVC history, just three off the all-time record. Jourdan Wickliffe added a team-high 13 tackles and intercepted a pass while Robert Hayes had 12 stops on defense. As a team EIU 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 Racers (4-5, 3-3 OVC) at #18 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (7-3, 5-2 OVC)Saturday, Nov. 10 • 12:00 p.m. CT Roy Kidd Stadium (20,000) • Richmond, Ky. TV:…………………………………………… OVC Digital Network Series Record:…………….. Eastern Kentucky leads 42-25-4 Last Meeting:……… Eastern Kentucky won 34-33 (10/29/11) Chris Hatcher at Murray State:………………….. 17-14 (3 yrs.) Chris Hatcher Overall:…………………………. 111-41 (13 yrs.) Dean Hood at Eastern Kentucky:……………… 33-23 (5 yrs.) Dean Hood Overall:…………………………………………. same Murray State Last Week: W, 49-28 vs. #18 Tennessee State Eastern Kentucky Last Week: W, 31-7 at Southeast Missouri
GAME NOTES: Saturday marks the final game of the regular season for Eastern Kentucky who has its bye week next week. The Colonels need to win and will scoreboard next week to see if it can gain a share of the OVC Championship and potentially a berth in the FCS Playoffs. Murray State enters the game having topped nationally-ranked Tennessee State to snap a two-game losing streak. EKU leads the Battle of the Bluegrass by a 42-25-4 all-time margin, including winning the last seven and 10 of the last 11 in the series. A year ago the Colonels grabbed a 28-13 third quarter lead and then held off a MSU rally that saw the Racers pull to within one point with 6:20 to go, but miss the ensuing extra point. Matt Denham led the Colonels with 219 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while T.J. Pryor passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another. Mike Harris had 206 rushing yards for the Racers while Casey Brockman passed for 332 yards and three touchdowns. SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: Murray State racked up 555 yards of total offense in its victory over No. 18 Tennessee State on Saturday. Quarterback Casey Brockman completed 27-of-38 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 19 yards and another score. In the process he established the OVC career record for total offense (9,945 yards), passing former MSU quarterback Michael Proctor (9,886 yards from 1986-89). Brockman enters this week just 300 passing yards away from the OVC single-season passing yards mark. Brockman currently leads the country in completions (33.89/game) and is third in total offense (360.56 yards/game) and fourth in points responsible for (19.11/game). Wideout Walter Powell had eight catches for 117 yards and a touchdown and 204 all-purpose yards; Powell is fourth nationally in all-purpose yards (181.56/game), third in receptions/game (9.11) and seventh in receiving yards/game (114.33). Junior transfer running back Jaamal Berry earned OVC Newcomer of the Week honors after carrying the ball 16 times for a career-high 163 yards (10.2 ypc) and three touchdowns while also pulling in three receptions for 19 yards. Punter Steven Mix was named OVC Specialist of the Week after averaging 43.3 yards/punt including a 55-yarder. SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: Eastern Kentucky shook off a loss the previous week at home to Eastern Illinois to top Southeast Missouri 31-7 on the road on Saturday. EKU ended the regular season road portion of its schedule with a 4-2 record away from home. The Colonels continue to force turnovers and were +3 for the game and are +17 on the season. As a unit 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) on the season. Senior All-American Matt Denham carried the ball 24 times for 99 yards and a touchdown. In the process he pushed his career total over 3,000 yards, becoming just the 10th EKU player to achieve that feat. Denham currently ranks 11th nationally in rushing (117.2 yards/game). Backup quarterback Jared McClain completed 8-of-11 passes for 138 yards and rushed for 24 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the third quarter. Senior Brooklyn Fox was named OVC Defensive Player of the Week after picked off his sixth pass of the season and returning it 59 yards to setup a touchdown and then recovery a fumble that led to an EKU field goal. Fox also had four tackles on the afternoon; he currently ranks fourth nationally in interceptions (0.60/game). Overall the EKU defense held Southeast Missouri to season low in points (7) and held leading rusher to Levi Terrell to a season-low 57 yards. EKU is currently ranked 18th in the FCS Coaches Poll and 22nd in the Sports Network Top 25.
#23 UT Martin Skyhawks (7-2, 5-1 OVC) at Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-7, 0-6 OVC)Saturday, Nov. 10 • 1:30 p.m. CT Tucker Stadium (16,500) • Cookeville, Tenn. TV:…………………………………. WCTE/OVC Digital Network Series Record:……………….. Tennessee Tech leads 21-10-2 Last Meeting:…………. Tennessee Tech won 34-31 (10/1/11) Jason Simpson at UT Martin:…………………… 44-33 (7 yrs.) Jason Simpson Overall:……………………………………. same Watson Brown at Tennessee Tech:……………. 27-38 (6 yrs.) Watson Brown Overall:……………………. 121-189-1 (28 yrs.) UT Martin Last Week:…….. W, 49-47 vs. Jacksonville State Tennessee Tech Last Week:….. L, 31-24 vs. Eastern Illinois
GAME NOTES: In-state rivals UT Martin and Tennessee Tech will play for the 34th time on Saturday afternoon. The matchup is part of the Sgt. York Trophy series which is contested between the four OVC football teams in the state of Tennessee. UT Martin controls its own destiny in the OVC Championship race; with two wins the Skyhawks will not only win its second OVC title (the team also won in 2006) but will earn the league’s automatic berth into the FCS Playoffs (2006 was its only appearance in the Division I playoffs). Tennessee Tech, which has been plagued with injuries, is looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. The series is even 3-3 over the last six seasons, with the away team winning each of those six matchups. Last season Tre Lamb found Zach Ziegler for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 to play to lift the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory. Lamb finished the day with 227 passing yards and two scores as well as 60 rushing yards and a touchdown. Tevin Barksdale had 87 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Skyhawks. SCOUTING UT MARTIN: After having won four games in a row (and six of its last seven) UT Martin finally cracked the Top 25 polls on Monday, coming in at No. 23 in the Sports Network poll and No. 24 in the FCS Coaches Poll. It marks the first time the Skyhawks have been ranked since Nov. 24, 2008 (when they were 24th in both polls). In the team’s 49-47 victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday senior quarterback Derek Carr completed 28-of-43 passes for 402 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. It marked the second time this season Carr has thrown seven touchdown passes (without an interception), making him the only Division I (FBS or FCS) quarterback to achieve that feat this year. The performance earned him his second National Player of the Week honor of the 2012 season. In the process Carr moved into third place on the OVC career touchdown passing list (62) and fifth on the OVC career passing yards list (7,730). Carr completed 10 of his passes to senior Quentin Sims who racked up 137 receiving yards and five touchdowns; the five touchdowns tied the OVC single-game record for a wide receiver. Sims now has 22 career receiving touchdowns, just two outside the career Top 10 list; his 72 receptions this season is just one away from the OVC single-season Top 10. Ben Johnson led the UTM defense with a season-high 17 stops; Johnson now ranks fourth nationally in tackles/game (12.22). As a team UT Martin is seventh nationally in turnover margin (+1.0/game) SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: With Tre Lamb out once again with an injury Tennessee Tech turned to Darian Stone at quarterback and the sophomore completed 22-of-43 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries (5.9 ypc) to lead the Golden Eagle offense. He became just the second TTU quarterback to rush for 100 or more yards in a game and the first to do so in 21 years. Doug Page added 30 yards and scored both of the team’s rushing touchdowns on the afternoon. On defense Tech was led by Tra’Darius Goff who had 12 tackles while James Huguely added 11 and Austin Tallant had 10. Saturday’s game marks the final home game of the season for the Golden Eagles, who will play at Austin Peay during the final week of the regular season.
Austin Peay Governors (1-8, 0-6 OVC) at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5-4, 4-3 OVC)Saturday, Nov. 10 • 3:00 p.m. CT Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium (24,000) • Jacksonville, Ala. TV:…………………………………. WJXS/OVC Digital Network Series Record:……………… Jacksonville State leads 13-6-3 Last Meeting:…….. Jacksonville State won 44-14 (10/15/11) Rick Christophel at Austin Peay:………………. 19-45 (6 yrs.) Rick Christophel Overall:…………………………………… same Jack Crowe at Jacksonville State:…………… 86-56 (13 yrs.) Jack Crowe Overall:……………………………. 100-86 (18 yrs.) Austin Peay Last Week:……… W, 56-0 vs. Culver-Stockton Jacksonville State Last Week:……….. L, 49-47 at UT Martin
GAME NOTES: Austin Peay travels to Jacksonville State for the 23rd meeting in the series between the two schools. JSU has won the last five meetings in the series dating back to 2007 (when APSU re-joined the OVC as a scholarship program). The last win in the series for the Governors came in 1979. Last year Jax State jumped out to a 31-7 lead on its way to a 44-14 victory in Clarksville. Washaun Ealey rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown and the Gamecock defense returned a fumble for a score in the second quarter and returned two interceptions for scores in the fourth quarter (overall JSU picked off five passes on the day). Ryan White led APSU with 68 yards on the ground. SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY: Austin Peay snapped a 10-game losing streak dating back to last season with a 56-0 victory over NAIA foe Culver-Stockton on Saturday. The 56 points in one game was a higher point total than the team scored in four games during the entire month of October (55). APSU scored 49 of those points in the first half and gained 447 yards of total offense while limiting CSC to just 41 yards and five first downs for the game. Ean Pemberton led the rushing attack with 112 yards on eight carries (14.0 ypc) and two rushing touchdowns. Terrence Oliver added 67 yards and two rushing scores, giving the Govs two running back with two rushing touchdowns apiece in the same game for the first time since 2003. Overall APSU racked up 378 rushing yards as a team and had six rushing scores (the most rushing scores since also having six in a game in the 1996 season). It marked the first time the team had scored 50 or more points in a game since 2001 (59 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan). SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: Despite scoring 47 points, Jacksonville State came out on the short end of a 49-47 decision to UT Martin on Saturday. The Gamecocks fell behind 28-7 after one quarter but were able to tie the game at 35 in the third quarter and pulled to within 42-41 in the fourth quarter before missing the point after attempt. With just 41 seconds left in the game Washaun Ealey rushed for a two-yard touchdown but JSU’s two-point attempt was no good. Quarterback Marques Ivory completed 17-of-36 passes for 323 yards and six touchdowns, which set the JSU single-game record for touchdown passes. Senior Alan Bonner hauled in 10 catches for 235 yards and five touchdowns; the five touchdown passes tied the OVC single-game record. Bonner now has 1,872 career receiving yards which is third in JSU history; his performance was one of just four 200-receiving yards games in JSU history. DaMarcus James led the Gamecocks rushing attack with 128 yards. Defensively Rashod Byers had a career-high 15 tackles, including 10 in the second half. This week’s game is the final OVC contest of the season for Jax State who will play at SEC opponent Florida to end the season. SectionsFeatured Story, Football, NCAA, Ohio Valley Conference, Schools, SportsTopicsAustin Peay, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Clarksville Sports Network, football, Govs, NCAA, Ohio Valley Conference, OVC, Tennessee |
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