Teleconference Audio
Below is embedded audio from this week's OVC Football Coaches media teleconference. For a listing of this week's games and previews scroll down below the audio links.
This Week’s Schedule
Saturday, October 20
*#17 Tennessee State at Jacksonville State, 11 a.m. (FOX College Sports; Delayed on FOX Sports South at 10pm CT)
*UT Martin at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*#23 Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee Tech, 7:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
#17 Tennessee State Tigers (7-0, 3-0 OVC)
at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (3-3, 2-2 OVC)
Saturday, Oct. 20 • 11:00 a.m. CT
Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium (24,000) • Jacksonville, Ala.
TV: FOX College Sports (live)/FOX Sports South (delayed at 10pm CT)
Live Stats:
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=7507
Series Record:....................... Jacksonville State leads 6-1
Last Meeting:........ Jacksonville State won 38-16 (11/19/11)
Rod Reed at Jacksonville State:................... 15-14 (3 yrs.)
Rod Reed Overall:................................................... same
Jack Crowe at Jacksonville State:............... 84-55 (13 yrs.)
Jack Crowe Overall:.................................... 98-85 (18 yrs.)
Tennessee State Last Week: W, 40-28 at Southeast Missouri
Jacksonville State Last Week:.... L, 31-28 at Eastern Illinois
GAME NOTES: Tennessee State remained undefeated on the season (one of just four FCS teams perfect on the year) with a road victory at Southeast Missouri last week. The Tigers take the record and a national ranking to Jacksonville State for a key matchup on Saturday. The game is part of the OVC Game of the Week TV package. Jacksonville State has won six of the seven all-time meetings between the schools including the last three. The last time Tennessee State won was in 2006, a 38-31 victory in Jacksonville (the teams did not play in 2007 or 2009). In 2008 TSU was 8-2 (5-1 OVC) and ranked 16th nationally when they played at JSU, only to lose 26-21 on a touchdown run by Calvin Middleton with 13 seconds to play. Last year the two teams closed out the season against each other win the Gamecocks winning 38-16 to claim a share of the OVC Championship. In that game JSU’s Coty Blanchard completed 14-of-18 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 38 yards and another score. Jax State rushed for 190 total yards while holding TSU to 87 total yards on the ground.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE: Tennessee State is now 7-0 on the season and off to its best start since 1999, when the team was a perfect 11-0 in the regular season and ascended to No. 1 in the national polls. Entering this week the Tigers are ranked 17 in the Sports Network poll and 18th in the FCS Coaches poll. In its 40-28 victory over Southeast Missouri on Saturday, the Tigers never trailed by used several big plays when the game got close. With SEMO driving late in the third quarter down just six points, sophomore Steven Godbolt III intercepted a pass (just the second time this season SEMO had been picked off) and returned it 62 yards to the Southeast 26-yard line. Five players later junior running back Trabis Ward scored his second of four touchdowns to push the Tigers to a 12-point advantage. Ward scored three of his touchdowns in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 267 yards (the fourth-most in the FCS this year) on 43 carries (the most by a player in the FCS this year). Ward now ranks sixth nationally in rushing (129.71 yards/game) and second in scoring (11.14 points/game). The win was the first at Southeast Missouri for the Tigers since the 1999 season, breaking a five-game losing streak in Cape Girardeau. Despite allowing its most points of the season (28) to Southeast, TSU still ranks 13th nationally in scoring defense (16.43 points/game) and is the only OVC team in the Top 50 nationally in total defense (48th, 350.14 yards/game).
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: Jacksonville State is facing an important game, as a loss would give the team three OVC losses and pretty much eliminate them from OVC title contention. The Gamecocks committed five turnovers, missed three field goals and ran out of time to attempt a game-tying field goal in a 31-28 loss at Eastern Illinois on Saturday. The Gamecocks were impressive on the ground, rushing for 290 yards as a team, 149 of those yards coming from Washaun Ealey, who had three rushing touchdowns; Ealey was the first player to rush for 100 yards against EIU this season. The JSU defense was also able to limit the potent Panther offensive attack, holding them to 381 total yards, nearly 140 yards less than their season average (which ranks second nationally). Jax State held Eastern without points for the first 21:15 of the game, 6:59 longer than any other opponent this season. Junior Rashad Smith led the team with 13 tackles, his second double-digit tackle output of the season. As a team JSU ranks sixth nationally in third down conversion percentage (51.11%) and eighth in punt return yardage defense (2.67).
UT Martin Skyhawks (5-2, 3-1 OVC)
at Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (2-4, 1-2 OVC)
Saturday, Oct. 20 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Houck Stadium (10,000) • Cape Girardeau, Mo.
TV:................................................... OVC Digital Network
Live Stats:
http://www.redhawkstv.com/LiveStats/2013Live/Football/xlive.htm
Series Record:.................. Southeast Missouri leads 14-13
Last Meeting:..................... UT Martin won 38-30 (10/29/11)
Jason Simpson at UT Martin:........................ 42-33 (7 yrs.)
Jason Simpson Overall:........................................... same
Tony Samuel at Southeast Missouri:............. 27-47 (7 yrs.)
Tony Samuel Overall:................................ 61-104 (15 yrs.)
UT Martin Last Week:.................. W, 66-59 at Murray State
Southeast Missouri Last Week: L, 40-28 vs. #18 Tennessee State
GAME NOTES: UT Martin will play its second-straight road game while Southeast Missouri hosts its second-straight home game on Saturday afternoon in Cape Girardeau. Southeast Missouri holds a 14-13 advantage in the all-time series although UT Martin has won six of the last seven meetings (after SEMO had won eight in a row from 1997-2004). In last year’s meeting UTM pulled out to a 28-3 lead late in the second quarter before holding off a late Redhawks charge and winning 38-30. Tevin Barksdale rushed for 135 yards and a score and Derek Carr threw two touchdowns passes for UTM. Southeast got three passing touchdowns and 85 rushing yards out of quarterback Matt Scheible.
SCOUTING UT MARTIN: UT Martin had a historical day offensively on Saturday in topping rival Murray State 66-59. The 125 combined points in the game was the most in OVC history. The win was the second in a row and fourth in its last five games for the Skyhawks who are now 3-1 in OVC play. Senior quarterback Derek Carr set the NCAA FCS record for passing efficiency (min. 45 attempts) with a 243.78 rating after completing 42-of-46 (91.3%) passes for 560 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception or being sacked. In the process Carr became the UTM all-time leader in touchdown passes and now ranks seventh in OVC history for career passing yards (7,172). Because Carr had a big day, so did his receivers as Quentin Sims had 12 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns and Jeremy Butler had eight catches for 177 yards and a school record four touchdowns. That performance earned the transfer Butler OVC Newcomer of the Week honors. Chris Thompson made it three receivers with over 100 receiving yards after catching seven passes for 116 yards and a score. Senior defensive back Thad Williams started the game off on a good note for the Skyhawks, intercepting a pass and returning it 42 yards for a touchdown to put UTM up 7-0 just 1:29 into the game. Williams, who finished the game with six tackles, also had a key pass breakup late in the game as MSU was attempting to tie the game; the performance earned his OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
SCOUTING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: Southeast Missouri came up short against No. 18 Tennessee State on Saturday, falling 40-28. The Redhawks were able to pull within five points twice in the fourth quarter but TSU’s Trabis Ward rushed for three fourth quarter touchdowns to prevent the upset. Redshirt freshman Scott Lathrop established career-highs in both rushing (145 yards) and passing (222 yards) as he scored a touchdown both ways. He helped direct the Redhawks offense to 28 points, the most allowed by Tennessee State this season. Senior Levi Terrell added 110 yards and two touchdowns as the team racked up 288 total yards. It marked the first time this season the team had multiple 100-yard rushers in the same game. As a team Southeast continues to lead the OVC and rank 12th nationally in rushing yards/game (230.0). Senior Blake Peiffer had 14 tackles and in the process surpassed 300 career tackles, becoming just the seventh Southeast player to achieve that feat. Peiffer currently ranks seventh nationally in tackles/game (11.67).
#23 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (5-2, 3-1 OVC)
at Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-4, 0-3 OVC)
Saturday, Oct. 20 • 7:00 p.m. CT
Tucker Stadium (16,500) • Cookeville, Tenn.
TV:........................................ WCTE/OVC Digital Network
Live Stats:
http://livestats.prestosports.com/ttusports/fball
Series Record:.................... Eastern Kentucky leads 50-18
Last Meeting:........... Tennessee Tech won 28-21 (11/21/11)
Dean Hood at Eastern Kentucky:.................. 31-22 (5 yrs.)
Dean Hood Overall:................................................. same
Watson Brown at Tennessee Tech:................ 27-35 (6 yrs.)
Watson Brown Overall:......................... 121-186-1 (28 yrs.)
Eastern Kentucky Last Week:..... W, 45-14 vs. Austin Peay
Tennessee Tech Last Week:........................................ Idle
GAME NOTES: Sitting a game out of first place in the OVC standings, Eastern Kentucky will travel to face a Tennessee Tech team coming off a bye week and looking to snap a losing streak. Eastern Kentucky had won nine of the last 10 meetings in the series until a season ago when Tennessee Tech came out on top 28-21 on its way to a share of the OVC Championship. Both teams entered that contest nationally-ranked (TTU was 20th, EKU 25th) and it was Eastern Kentucky who jumped out to a 14-7 lead. The game was tied at 21 early in the fourth quarter before Tech took the next drive and marched 58 yards in 11 plays, capping the drive with a four-year run by quarterback Tre Lamb that proved to be the game-winner. Lamb completed 16-of-20 passes for two touchdowns and ran for 70 yards and the game-winning score. Adam Urbano added 137 yards on the ground for the Golden Eagles, who finished the night with 241 team rushing yards. Matt Denham led the Colonels rushing attack, netting 151 yards on 25 carries.
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: After suffering its first loss of the season to a FCS foe two weeks ago, Eastern Kentucky rebounded with a 45-14 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Homecoming this past weekend. Senior quarterback T.J. Pryor continued his assault on the EKU record book by breaking the school records for career touchdown passes and completions. Pryor completed his first seven passes of the game, including an 84-yard touchdown strike to Cameron Bailey. He finished the game 8-of-13 for 232 yards and two touchdowns. In OVC history Pryor now ranks eighth all-time in total offense (7,506). Pryor leads the OVC and ranks third nationally in passing efficiency (171.13). Senior running back Matt Denham carried the ball 20 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns; he has rushed for 100 or more yards in 13 of his last 15 games. Denham currently ranks 10th nationally in rushing (124.86 yards/game). Defensive back Justin Bell picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown. It marked his second interception of the season and sixth of his career. As a team Eastern Kentucky ranks sixth in passing efficiency (154.53), seventh in 3rd down conversion percentage (51.11%), eighth in time of possession (33:27) and passes intercepted (10) nationally. EKU is ranked No. 23 in this week’s Sports Network Top 25, while coming in at No. 24 in the FCS Coaches poll.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: After starting the season 2-0, Tennessee Tech has dropped four games in a row, including three-straight OVC contests. The Golden Eagles had a bye week last week, and hope that week can help the team get healthy, as numerous injuries have hurt the team’s depth. In the squad’s last game the Golden Eagles led Jacksonville State 28-23 late in the fourth quarter but could not hold onto the lead and lost 37-28. Junior Doug Page made the most of injuries in the backfield, as he scored his first two collegiate touchdowns. Bud Golden added 45 yards to lead the TTU attack. Junior Da’Rick Rogers caught five passes for 78 yards before having to leave the game with an injury in the third quarter. LaDarrius Vanlier, who was named National Specialist of the Week two weeks ago, had 120 all-purpose yards including two catches for 25 yards and 95 yards on kickoff returns. Sophomore Austin Tallant recorded a career-high 17 tackles for the defense and also broke up a pass attempt.