• OVC Football Report - September 17 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Saturday, September 22
Tennessee State at Bethune-Cookman, 3:00 p.m.
*#24 Jacksonville State at #21 Eastern Kentucky, 5:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*UT Martin at Austin Peay, 6:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
*Murray State at Eastern Illinois, 6:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
This Week’s OVC Highlights/Storylines
Last Saturday’s action featured the first Conference game of the season as Tennessee State topped Austin Peay 34-14 to improve to 3-0 overall on the season (its best start since 2008)...The game was the first played on-campus at Hale Stadium since the 1998 season for the Tigers and was played in front of 14,264 fans...In other action OVC teams were 2-2 against fellow Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools, with Eastern Kentucky and Murray State winning road games and Eastern Illinois (losing by three points in double overtime) and Southeast Missouri losing on the road...OVC schools are now 9-3 this season against FCS opponents...For EKU, it was the team’s first non-conference road victory since the 2002 season, breaking a string of eight-straight losses...This week nationally-ranked EKU will host nationally-ranked Jacksonville State in the OVC openers for both teams on Saturday; the Colonels enter the week No. 21 in the Sports Network poll (23rd in the FCS Coaches Poll) while Jacksonville State is No. 24 in the FCS Coaches Poll...Those two teams were picked first and second in the OVC preseason poll and are the winningest teams in OVC play over the last decade (EKU has won 55 Conference games and JSU 54 Conference games over that time period)...In other action this week UT Martin is at Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech travels to Southeast Missouri and Murray State plays at Eastern Illinois.
adidas® OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Michael German, QB • So., 6-2, 215 • Pompano Beach, Fla. • Tennessee State
German completed 27-of-36 passes for a career-high 318 yards and three touchdowns in Tennessee State’s 34-14 victory over Austin Peay on Saturday. The 27 completions was also a career-high for the sophomore, while the three touchdown passes equaled his career-best set last season against UT Martin. German completed a 27-yard pass for a touchdown in the second quarter, a four-yard touchdown pass to begin the fourth quarter and ended the game with a 51-yard strike with 2:12 to play to account for the final margin. The game was the first played at Hale Stadium on the TSU campus since the 1998 season. German’s performance helped TSU to a 3-0 start to the season for the first time since 2008. German currently ranks 23rd nationally in passing efficiency (142.19) and 30th in total offense (236.33 yards/game).
Others Nominated: Devin Stark, Austin Peay; Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois; Matt Denham, Eastern Kentucky; Casey Brockman, Murray State; DJ McNeil, UT Martin.
DEFENSIVE
Brandon Wicks, FS • Jr., 5-11, 200 • Murray, Ky. • Murray State
Wicks totaled a team-high 10 tackles and made an interception that ended the game in Murray State’s 28-23 road victory over Missouri State on Saturday night. With the Bears driving Wicks picked off a pass at the Racers 37-yard line with 41 seconds to go to preserve the team’s first win of the season. Wicks had five solo and five assisted tackles in the game with one of those going as a tackle-for-loss.
Others Nominated: Robert Haynes, Eastern Illinois; Justin Bell, Eastern Kentucky; Blake Peiffer, Southeast Missouri; Steven Godbolt III, Tennessee State; Tra’Darius Goff, Tennessee Tech; Ben Johnson, UT Martin.
SPECIALIST
Cameron Berra, K • Jr., 5-11, 203 • St. Louis, Mo. • Eastern Illinois
Berra was perfect on Saturday afternoon, connecting on 3-of-3 field goal attempts and 6-of-6 point after attempts in Eastern Illinois’ 54-51 double overtime loss at No. 15 Illinois State. The junior scored 15 total points and hit on field goals of 44, 20 and 40 yards for the Panthers. Berra closed the first half with a career-long 44-yard field goal to give EIU a 17-14 halftime advantage. He added a 20-yard field goal as regulation time expired to force overtime and connected from 40 yards out in the second overtime period. The three field goals moved Berra into seventh place on the Eastern Illinois career field goals made list (18). The junior currently ranks second in the OVC and 40th nationally in scoring (8.33 points/game).
Others Nominated: Steven Mix, Murray State; Joe Vucic, Southeast Missouri; Jamin Godfrey, Tennessee State; Chad Zinchini, Tennessee Tech.
NEWCOMER
Jaamal Berry, RB • Jr., 5-11, 200 • Miami, Fla. • Murray State
Making his Murray State debut, Berry, the transfer from Ohio State, carried the ball eight times for 41 yards and caught four passes for 44 yards including the game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter of the Racers 28-23 road win over Missouri State. More than half of Berry’s 12 touches went for first downs including his touchdown catch and run that came on a third and nine and helped capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive for the Racers.
Others Nominated: LeQuince McCall, Eastern Illinois; Deshaun Sands, Eastern Kentucky; A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State; Chad Zinchini, Tennessee Tech.
Notes From Around the Gridiron
OVC Announces Six-Game TV Deal with FOX College Sports: The OVC has announced a six-game football television package that will air on FOX College Sports (FCS) this fall. The six-game schedule will feature each of the nine OVC football-playing institutions at least once during the season and will start with a Sept. 29 contest between Eastern Kentucky and UT Martin. Other games in the package include Tennessee State at Jacksonville State (Oct. 20), Eastern Illinois at Eastern Kentucky (Oct. 27), Tennessee State at Murray State (Nov. 3), Southeast Missouri at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 10) and Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay (Nov. 17). Each game will kick off at 11 a.m. CT. Kevin Ingram, host of “The Wake Up Zone” on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while and Bob Belvin, host of “The Team” on Sports Radio 540 The Fan in Clarksville, will provide analysis. FOX College Sports (FCS) is a set of three national college sports Networks, FCS Atlantic, FCS Central and FCS Pacific, providing 72-hours of college sports programming each day. FCS showcases over 800 NCAA live events each year featuring football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and more. FCS is seen by viewers in the nation’s 25 largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta. FCS is available on most major TV providers including AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For complete TV provider information and availability log onto http://fcs.channelfinder.net/start.asp.
OVC Teams Versus FBS Foes: OVC schools will play 11 games against teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) this season. In week one of the season UT Martin topped Memphis 20-17 in the Liberty Bowl as Cody Sandlin hit a 43-yard field goal with four seconds remaining. It marked the first-ever win over an FBS team for UT Martin and the first loss for Memphis against an FCS foe in 23 years. It was the first OVC win over an FBS team since the 2010 season when Jacksonville State topped Ole Miss in double overtime. Overall OVC teams are 19-156-1 all-time against FBS foes. Below is a listing of the current OVC schools and wins over FBS schools while a member of the league. Five of the wins over FBS teams for OVC teams have been accomplished by teams no longer in the OVC (Akron, Middle Tennessee, Morehead State and Youngstown State - twice) and are not listed below.
1979 - Eastern Kentucky vs. Kent State (W, 17-14)
1979 - Eastern Kentucky vs. Cal State Fullerton (W, 33-17)
1980 - Eastern Kentucky vs. East Carolina (W, 28-16)
1980 - Murray State vs. Louisville (W, 13-9)
1984 - Austin Peay vs. Central Florida (W, 24-21)
1984 - Murray State vs. Louisville (W, 26-23)
1985 - Eastern Kentucky vs. Louisville (W, 45-21)
1987 - Austin Peay vs. Kansas State (W, 25-22)
1996 - Eastern Illinois vs. Western Michigan (W, 28-20)
1998 - Eastern Illinois vs. Northern Illinois (W, 24-10)
2002 - Southeast Missouri vs. Middle Tennessee (W, 24-14)
2004 - Eastern Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan (W, 31-28)
2010 - Jacksonville State vs. Ole Miss (W, 49-48, 2OT)
2012 - UT Martin vs. Memphis (W, 20-17)
OVC Teams in the Top 25: Eastern Kentucky remains the only OVC team to be ranked in both national Top 25 FCS polls. The Colonels are 21st in the Sports Network poll and 23rd in the FCS Coaches Poll. The only other OVC team who is ranked is Jacksonville State who appears at No. 24 in the Sports Network poll; the Gamecocks are just outside the Top 25 (26th) in the FCS Coaches Poll. Four other OVC schools are receiving votes in the Sports Network poll, including Eastern Illinois, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin.
NCAA Stats Leaders: In the latest set of NCAA statistical leaders, Eastern Illinois quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo ranks second nationally in total passing yards (981), fourth in passing yards/game (327.0), fifth in total offense (314.67 yards/game), sixth in completions/game (28.0) and ninth in points responsible for (16.0/game). Murray State quarterback
Casey Brockman is third in completions/game (33.67), sixth in total passing yards (875) and ninth in passing yards/game (291.67). Tennessee Tech quarterback
Tre Lamb is fourth in passing efficiency (172.64) and ninth in points responsible for (16.0/game). Eastern Illinois wide receiver
Erik Lora is third in total receiving yards (378), ninth in receptions/game (9.0) and ninth in receiving yards/game (126.0). Murray State wideout
Walter Powell is eighth in receptions/game (9.33) while UT Martin receiver
Quentin Sims is seventh in total receiving yards (294). Southeast Missouri kicker
Drew Geldbach is ninth nationally in field goals (1.67/game) while the Redhawks punter
Joe Vucic is seventh in punting (44.53 yards/punt). Jacksonville State linebacker
Rashad Smith is first nationally in forced fumbles (1.0/game), while EKU’s
Brooklyn Fox and TSU’s
Steven Godbolt III are tied for second nationally in interceptions (1.0/game). Godbolt also ranks fifth in passes defended/game (2.0) while Murray State’s
Qua Huzzie is eighth in tackles-for-loss/game (2.0). In the team rankings Southeast Missouri ranks first nationally in turnovers gained (13) and interceptions thrown (0), second in passes intercepted (7) and turnover margin (+2.67) and fourth in fumbles recovered (6). Eastern Illinois ranks first nationally in fumbles recovered (7), second in turnovers gained (11), fifth in passing offense (354.67 yards/game) and 10th in scoring offense (40.33 points/game). Tennessee State is third in turnover margin (+2.0) and seventh in turnovers gained (9). Austin Peay is first nationally in fourth down conversion defense (0.0%) while UT Martin is seventh in red zone defense (54%).
Attendance Figures: Tennessee State played in front of 42,257 fans on Sept. 8 against Jackson State in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. That is the most fans to see a FCS game so far in the 2012 season. In average home attendance Jacksonville State currently ranks sixth nationally after 18,993 fans saw its game with Chattanooga on Sept. 8 while TSU is 17th nationally 14,958 in two home games.
FCS over FBS: Including UT Martin’s win against Memphis in Week 1 of the 2012 season, four Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams topped Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. Other FCS teams to win included Eastern Washington (Idaho), McNeese State (Middle Tennessee) and Youngstown State (Pitt). Week two of the season saw four more FCS schools (Illinois State over Eastern Michigan, North Dakota State over Minnesota, Northern Arizona over UNLV and Sacramento State over Colorado) win games against FBS schools, while Cal Poly made it nine teams with a win over Wyoming in Week 3.
Sgt. York Trophy Enters Sixth Season in 2012: The Sgt. York Trophy is a challenge trophy which goes to the annual winner of the quadrangular season series between the four football-playing OVC institutions in the state of Tennessee (Austin Peay, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech and UT Martin). In July 2007, the Nashville Sports Council and the OVC announced the creation of the trophy, which is only the second traveling trophy involving more than two schools nationwide (the other is the Commander in Chief’s Trophy). It is named after Sgt. Alvin C. York, a native of Pall Mall, Tenn. and a Soldier who was one of the most honored of World War I. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor after the war and returned to his home state to dedicate his life to improving education and facilitating educational opportunities for children in the state of Tennessee. The trophy goes to the team with the best record against the other schools (in case of a tie there will be co-champions and the actual trophy will be retained by the defending champion if they are involved in the tie or if the defending champion is not involved in the tie it will go to the institution that has gone the most seasons without winning the trophy). In 2007 Tennessee State and Austin Peay finished in a tie for the trophy with identical 2-1 records; both shared the award but Tennessee State went home with the hardware due to a 1-point win in the head-to-head meeting during the season (that was the tiebreaker used only for the first year of the trophy series). Tennessee State went 3-0 in Sgt. York play in 2008 to claim its second trophy. In 2009 Tennessee Tech claimed the trophy after going undefeated in Sgt. York games and a year ago UT Martin became the third-straight OVC team to go 3-0 and win the trophy in claiming its first title. Last year Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State each finished 2-1 in Sgt. York play this season to share the trophy; Tennessee State, however, took home the actual trophy by a tiebreaker, since they had gone longer without possessing the trophy (TSU last won in 2008 while TTU won in 2009). The trophy is presented at the Pepsi Celebration of Champions hosted by the Nashville Sports Council in the spring.
NCAA Division I Playoff Information: This season marks the third of the expanded 20-team playoff field. Two years ago the field was expanded from 16 to 20 teams, marking the first expansion since the field grew from 12 to 16 teams in 1997. The eight lowest-rated teams will play in first round games while the 12-highest rated teams will receive a bye into the second round. For the third-straight year the championship game will be played in Frisco, Texas at FC Dallas Stadium. The Southland Conference will serve as the host of the championship, which will be held on Saturday, January 5. The playoff field will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 18. It was announced in August 2012 that the field would once again expand, this time to 24 teams beginning in the 2013 season. With the expansion will come an automatic bid for the Pioneer League, giving the playoffs 11 automatic bids and 13 at-large selections.
Murray State’s Brockman, EKU’s Denham on Walter Payton Award Watch List: Murray State senior quarterback
Casey Brockman and Eastern Kentucky senior running back
Matt Denham are two of the 20 players on the initial 2012 Walter Payton Award Watch List as determined by the Sports Network. The Walter Payton Award was established in 1987 and is presented annually to the most outstanding college football player on the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The Watch List can undergo revision during the season. Ballots will be sent to a panel of about 175 sports information/media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season on Nov. 19. The top three vote-getters will be invited to The Sports Network FCS Awards Presentation. The only former OVC player to win the award is former Eastern Illinois quarterback Tony Romo who took home the honor in 2002.
Southeast Missouri’s Peiffer on Buck Buchanan Watch List: Southeast Missouri State senior linebacker
Blake Peiffer is one of 20 players on the initial Buck Buchanan Award Watch List as determined by the Sports Network. The Buck Buchanan Award was established in 1995 and is given to the top defensive player at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The Watch List can undergo revision during the season. Ballots will be sent to a panel of about 175 sports information/media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season on Nov. 19. The winner will be announced at the annual Sports Network FCS Awards Presentation. An OVC player has never won the Buck Buchanan Award.
Smith Named National Defensive All-Star of the Week (Sept. 10): Jacksonville State junior linebacker
Rashad Smith was named the National Defensive All-Star of the Week by the College Sporting News following his performance against Chattanooga on Sept. 8. Smith had a career-high 15 tackles (11 solo stops) in the team’s 27-24 victory over the Mocs. He also forced a fumble that teammate Pierre Warren recovered and returned 75 yards for a touchdown.
Huzzie Named National Linebacker of the Week From College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) For Week No. 2: Murray State junior
Qua Huzzie was named the National Linebacker of the Week from the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) after registering nine tackles, four tackles-for-loss and his first career interception against nationally-ranked Central Arkansas. In addition to Huzzie seven 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.
Garoppolo Named National All-Star By College Sporting News (Sept. 3): Eastern Illinois junior quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo was named a National All-Star by College Sporting News after his performance in Week 1 of the season against Southern Illinois. Garoppolo completed 32-of-49 passes for a career-high 369 yards and five touchdowns in the 49-28 victory.
Garoppolo and Fox Earn National Player of the Week Honors From College Sports Journal (Sept. 5): Eastern Illinois quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo and Eastern Kentucky defensive back
Brooklyn Fox earned National Player of the Week honors from College Sports Journal for their performances in Week 1 of the season. Garoppolo completed 32-of-49 passes for a career-high 369 yards and five touchdowns in the 49-28 victory while Fox intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in a loss to FBS Purdue.
Five OVC Players Earns Honors From College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) For Week No. 1; Garoppolo Named National Performer of the Week: Eastern Illinois quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo was named the National Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) after throwing for 369 yards and five touchdowns in EIU’s win over Southern Illinois. Garoppolo was also named one of the organization’s National Quarterbacks of the Week, sharing the honor with Tennessee Tech’s
Tre Lamb, who threw for 339 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Hampton. Eastern Illinois wide receiver
Erik Lora was named National Wide Receiver of the Week after catching 13 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Among the other wideouts sharing the award is Jacksonville State’s
Alan Bonner who had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown against No. 10 Arkansas. Eastern Kentucky defensive back
Brooklyn Fox was named National Defensive Back of the Week after picking off two passes and recovering a fumble in the Colonels game at Purdue. In addition to this group seven other OVC players earned honorable mention honors for the week.
A Look at the Coaches: Eight of the nine head coaches from last season return to their schools in the Ohio Valley Conference this season. The only newcomer is Eastern Illinois head coach Dino Babers, who took over for Bob Spoo who retired following a 25-year career at the school. Babers was most recently the special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach at Baylor. Jacksonville State’s
Jack Crowe is the longest tenured coach in the league (in his 13th season at JSU). Two OVC coaches, Austin Peay’s
Rick Christophel and Tennessee State’s
Rod Reed, are currently coaching at their alma maters.
Preseason Forecasts: For the 12th time in the last 25 years (and first time since 2009), Eastern Kentucky was picked as the preseason favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference football race. The Colonels picked up 12 of the 18 possible first-place votes (124 points) while second-place Jacksonville State received the other six first-place votes (117). The poll was rounded out by Murray State (85 points), Tennessee Tech (83), Tennessee State (69), UT Martin (67), Southeast Missouri (44), Eastern Illinois (42) and Austin Peay (17). Is being picked first in the preseason poll necessarily a good thing? In the past 34 years of preseason polls (all that were available), the preseason predicted champion has only gone on to win the OVC Championship 13 times (38.2%). After eight years of not picking the champion right (2003-2010), last season the preseason poll and actual champion (be it by a three-way tie) were the same.
Murray State’s Brockman, Southeast Missouri’s Peiffer Headline Preseason All-OVC Team: Murray State senior quarterback
Casey Brockman was named 2012 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Southeast Missouri State senior linebacker
Blake Peiffer was tabbed OVC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in a vote of by the league’s head football coaches and sports information directors. Eastern Kentucky led the way with 10 selections on the preseason team while Murray State, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech had three picks apiece. Returning players who were first-team All-OVC selections last season (13 in total) were automatic selections to the preseason team this year. The squad also included nine players who were second-team selections in 2011. Of the 26 total selections, 18 were seniors, six were juniors and two were sophomores.
NFL Connections: As of September 14, there are 14 former Ohio Valley Conference players are on NFL rosters (9 active players, 4 practice squad players and 1 on IR). Those players include former Eastern Illinois standout Tony Romo, a three-time Pro Bowl pick, Cortland Finnegan (Samford), who has been a Pro Bowl defensive back selection and Tennessee State’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was a starter for the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, has been a Pro Bowl selection and is now in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Seven of the nine current OVC football schools have at least one player in the NFL with Eastern Kentucky and Southeast Missouri leading the way with two active players apiece.
I-AA No More: Although some people may accidentally still refer to it as I-AA football, the term that represents the level of Division I football in which the Ohio Valley Conference competes has been retired. Beginning with the 2006 National Championship game, the term Football Championship Subdivision (or FCS) is to be used. FCS is the only Division I football rank to host a NCAA-sponsored national championship (one of 89 championships the NCAA sponsors). The division formerly known as I-A was changed to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and those teams compete for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national championship. Teams who play at the FCS level can offer a maximum of 63 scholarships (FBS teams can offer 85) and compete in a 20-team playoff at the end of the season to determine the national champion.
OVC Digital Network: The OVC launched the OVC Digital Network (OVCDN) in August 2012. The OVCDN is the exclusive home for live web streamed athletic contests involving OVC schools. This marks the seventh year the OVC has streamed live events, but first time the events will be offered free of charge and in an HD format and will feature improved quality thanks to an investment in new equipment conference-wide. Fans will also find it easier to log onto
OVCDigitalNetwork.com and access the streams and can do so without any registration. The events will be available on any computer, tablet or smart phone without needing any special downloads or apps thanks new streaming technology.