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
Thursday, October 8
*Tennessee Tech at #17 Eastern Kentucky, 6:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Saturday, October 10
*Southeast Missouri at Eastern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN3)
*Tennessee State at UT Martin, 2:30 p.m. (American Sports Network)
*Austin Peay at Murray State, 3:00 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-3, 1-1 OVC)
at #17 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (2-2, 1-0 OVC)
Thursday, October 8 • 6:00 p.m. CT
Roy Kidd Stadium (20,000) • Richmond, Ky.
TV:................................................... OVC Digital Network
Live Stats:........
http://www.sidearmstats.com/eku/football/
Series Record:.................... Eastern Kentucky leads 52-19
Last Meeting:........... Tennessee Tech won 39-31 (10/18/14)
Watson Brown at Tennessee Tech:................ 40-56 (9 yrs.)
Watson Brown Overall:........................ 134-207-1 (31 yrs.)
Dean Hood at Eastern Kentucky:.................. 51-35 (8 yrs.)
Dean Hood Overall:................................................. same
Tennessee Tech Last Week:............. L, 31-17 vs. UT Martin
Eastern Kentucky Last Week:..... L, 34-27 at Kentucky (OT)
GAME NOTES: Tennessee Tech will pay a visit to Roy Kidd Stadium on Thursday night in a key OVC matchup against Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels have won 11 of the last 14 meetings with the Golden Eagles although last year TTU handed EKU its first loss of the season and one of only two losses during Conference play by winning 39-31 in Cookeville. That wild game saw the Golden Eagles score 29 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 31-10 deficit to pull out the victory. TTU’s Marty Jones was named National Defensive Player of the Week after tying the OVC single-game record with four interceptions, two of which came in the final 1:07 of the game. Jones also had 12 tackles and ran in a two-point conversion on a bad snap. Quarterback Darian Stone was named OVC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 225 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 66 yards while Ladarius Vanlier added 140 yards and a touchdown on the ground to go along with 45 receiving yards and a 79-yard punt return for a score. Dy’Shawn Mobley led EKU with 163 rushing yards and a touchdown.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech saw its two-game winning streak come to an end with a 31-17 home loss to Tennessee Tech on Saturday. The Golden Eagles were within four points midway through the fourth quarter before the Skyhawks scored the final 10 points of the game. UTM put a lot of pressure on the Tech offense, sacking quarterback Jared Davis eight times and intercepting him once. Overall Tennessee Tech was limited to a season-low 199 yards of total offense. Senior Ladarius Vanlier led the offensive attack with 118 yards on nine carries (13.1 ypc); not included in those totals was a 67-yard run that was negated by a holding penalty. Brock McCoin caught a pair of touchdown passes to increase his season total to four; he ranks fifth nationally in receptions/game (8.4) and sixth in total receiving yards (549). Senior linebacker Tra’Darius Goff made 18 tackles against the Skyhawks; he ranks first in the OVC and fourth nationally in tackles/game (13.4). As a team the Golden Eagles rank first nationally in fumbles recovered (11).
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: Eastern Kentucky led FBS foe Kentucky 27-13 with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter before the Wildcats scored two late touchdowns to force overtime and win the game in the extra period. That marked the second overtime loss to a SEC team this season for the OVC. The Colonels dominated the run game, out-gaining the Wildcats 180 to 55 on the ground. Freshman Ethan Thomas led the way with 84 yards while All-American Dy’Shawn Mobley, in his first real action this year due to an injury, added 74 yards and a score against his former team. Quarterback Bennie Coney rushed for 30 yards and a score and completed 19-of-32 passes for 183 yards and two additional touchdowns. Senior Stanley Absanon was named OVC Specialist of the Week after averaging 25.4 yards on five kickoff returns including setting up a score with a 42-yarder to open the second half. He also had a 19-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter to set up a score and intercepted a pass in the first quarter that led directly to an EKU touchdown. Absanon finished the game with 163 all-purpose yards. Noah Spence added 1.5 sacks, three tackles and a quarterback hurry; he ranks sixth nationally in sacks/game (1.13) and 10th in forced fumbles/game (0.50). EKU is seventh nationally in turnover margin (+1.50/game). EKU remains at No. 17 in the STATS Top 25 poll and No. 20 in the FCS Coaches poll.
Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (2-3, 1-0 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois Panthers (1-3, 1-0 OVC)
Saturday, Oct. 10 • 1:00 p.m. CT
O’Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Ill.
TV:...................................................................... ESPN3
Live Stats:.........
http://www.sidearmstats.com/eiu/football/
Series Record:.......................... Eastern Illinois leads 16-6
Last Meeting:............. Eastern Illinois won 52-13 (10/18/14)
Tom Matukewicz at Southeast Missouri:.......... 7-10 (2 yrs.)
Tom Matukewicz Overall:................................ 8-10 (3 yrs.)
Kim Dameron at Eastern Illinois:.................... 6-10 (2 yrs.)
Kim Dameron Overall:.............................................. same
Southeast Missouri Last Week:.. W, 27-10 vs. Murray State
Eastern Illinois Last Week:............ W, 40-16 at Austin Peay
GAME NOTES: Southeast Missouri will travel to Eastern Illinois on Saturday for the OVC Football Game of the Week on ESPN3. The game pits two teams who are off to identical 1-0 starts in Conference play. It will mark the 23rd all-time meeting between the two schools. The all-time series has seen Eastern Illinois in charge as of late, winning nine of the past 11 games with Southeast only claiming back-to-back victories in 2010 and 2011. Last season Eastern Illinois racked up 548 yards of total offense, pulling away from a 14-13 advantage in the second quarter to score the final 38 points of the game. It marked the second-straight meeting that EIU had scored 50 or more points against the Redhawks. Jalen Whitlow threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 75 yards and three additional scores for the Panthers. Shepard Little added 103 yards on the ground and Adam Drake caught seven passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Southeast Missouri was led by Kyle Snyder who passed for 210 yards and a touchdown.
SCOUTING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: After a disappointing loss to Division II Shorter University last week, Southeast Missouri rebounded for a 27-10 victory over rival Murray State to begin OVC play 1-0. It was just the 11th all-time win in 50 games against MSU, although two of those have come in the past three years. It also marked the second-straight year Southeast has started OVC play win a win, the first time that has happened in program history. The Redhawks defense allowed 540 yards of total offense but limited the Racers to just one touchdown, holding MSU to 2-for-5 in red zone opportunities for the game. Chad Meredith was named OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after a career-high 10 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and three quarterback hurries. Offensively Tremane McCullough, who was inserted into the lineup when DeMichael Jackson went out with a season-ending injury against Indiana State three weeks ago, continued his great play by carrying the ball 27 times for 220 yards (8.1 ypc) and a touchdown. He was the first Southeast player to break the 200-yard barrier since 2012 and earned National All-Star of the Week honors from the College Sporting News for his efforts. McCullough currently ranks sixth nationally in rushing yards/carry (7.68) and 10th in total rushing yards (522). Paul McRoberts caught eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns, and had a circus catch that ended up on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. Southeast Missouri is currently ranked 10th nationally in turnovers gained (11).
SCOUTING EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois snapped a five-game losing streak dating back to last season with a 40-16 victory at Austin Peay. Quarterback Jalen Whitlow passed for 266 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 40 yards in leading his team to the victory. Shepard Little had his best outing of the season in carrying the ball 19 times for 96 yards (5.1 ypc) and a touchdown; he also caught a pair of passes for 59 yards. Junior newcomer Devin Church, who ranks seventh nationally in all-purpose yards (171.75/game), had 81 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns and caught two passes for 26 yards and a touchdown. Junior offensive lineman Scott Taylor picked up a fumble and ran the ball in 12 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He was the first EIU offensive lineman to score a touchdown since the 2004 season (when Jonathan Rueter fell on a loose ball in the end zone). Defensively Jourdan Wickliffe led the team with nine tackles while Seth McDonald added seven stops. McDonald currently ranks 10th nationally in tackles/game (11.5). As a team EIU is first nationally in blocked kicks (4) and punts (3), eighth in tackles-for-loss (8.5/game) and ninth in both passing defense (146.5 yards/game) and pass efficiency defense (110.12).
Tennessee State Tigers (3-1, 0-1 OVC)
at UT Martin Skyhawks (2-2, 1-1 OVC)
Saturday, October 10 • 2:30 p.m. CT
Hardy M. Graham Stadium (7,500) • Martin, Tenn.
TV:........................................... American Sports Network
Live Stats:
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=96031
Series Record:....................... Tennessee State leads 15-9
Last Meeting:..................... UT Martin won 21-16 (10/18/14)
Rod Reed at Tennessee State:...................... 35-28 (6 yrs.)
Rod Reed Overall:................................................... same
Jason Simpson at UT Martin:...................... 60-47 (10 yrs.)
Jason Simpson Overall:........................................... same
Tennessee State Last Week:....................................... Idle
UT Martin Last Week:............. W, 31-17 at Tennessee Tech
GAME NOTES: UT Martin will host Tennessee State in its annual Homecoming game on Saturday. The game is a part of the Sgt. York Trophy series which is contested between the four OVC football-playing schools in the state of Tennessee. Since the series began in 2007, Tennessee State has claimed or shared five Sgt. York crowns while UT Martin has three, including the 2014 title. UT Martin already has a win over Tennessee Tech and would put itself in good position to retain the trophy with a victory. UT Martin has won six of the last nine in the series with Tennessee State including last year’s meeting by a 21-16 margin. In that contest the Skyhawks led 7-3 at halftime and then scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to pull away. TSU would trim the margin to five points, but UTM ran 10 plays to run out the clock and end the game. Keith Jones had a 42-yard interception return for a score for UTM while Reuben Duckworth rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown. Michael German passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns for Tennessee State. Both teams enter this week receiving votes in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE: In its last action, two weeks ago prior to the open date, Tennessee State went to Florida A&M and pulled out a 30-14 victory to register its third victory of the season. The game between the two HBCU rivals was tied at 14 in the third quarter before TSU registered a safety late in the period and then added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away. Redshirt sophomore Patrick Smith, seeing his first action with TSU this season, had another big game in catching eight passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns; in four games this year Smith has 19 catches for 412 yards (14th nationally) and five touchdowns (seventh nationally). He caught those touchdowns from backup quarterback Ronald Butler who completed 17-of-30 passes for 238 yards and three scores. Butler was playing in place of redshirt freshman O’Shay Ackerman-Carter who was injured in the Jacksonville State game. Telvin Hooks added 81 yards on the ground as TSU out-gained FAMU by a 407 to 184 margin. As a team Tennessee State is sixth nationally in fewest fumbles lost (1) and 13th in time of possession (33:40).
SCOUTING UT MARTIN: UT Martin evened its record on the season with a 31-17 road win over Tennessee Tech. The Skyhawks led early but saw the game tied at 14 after the first quarter and were up 21-17 midway through the third quarter before scoring the final 10 points of the game. Senior quarterback Jarod Neal passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns to increase his season total to 14 touchdowns, which ranks third nationally and equals his total from all of last season. Neal now ranks eighth in UTM history for total offense (4,785) and passing touchdowns (46). Rod Wright caught nine passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns; he now ranks seventh nationally in receiving touchdowns (5). William Tanner also added a pair of receiving scores while the UTM rushing attack netted 228 yards on the ground. The Skyhawk defense was stout, limiting TTU to 199 yards of total offense, its lowest output of the season. UT Martin had 13.0 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks (the most by a FCS team this year) in the game with Damani Taylor leading the way with five tackles and 2.5 sacks (for a loss of 17 yards). The UTM offense line has done a good job of protecting this season as the team currently ranks third nationally in sacks allowed (0.25/game) and eighth in tackles-for-loss allowed (3.75). The victory was the 60th at UTM for head coach Jason Simpson, moving him into a tie for ninth place on the OVC’s career chart.
Austin Peay Governors (0-5, 0-2 OVC)
at Murray State Racers (1-4, 0-2 OVC)
Saturday, October 10 • 3:00 p.m. CT
Roy Stewart Stadium (16,800) • Murray, Ky.
TV:................................................... OVC Digital Network
Live Stats:
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=91972
Series Record:........................... Murray State leads 34-14
Last Meeting:................. Austin Peay won 20-13 (10/18/14)
Kirby Cannon at Austin Peay:.................... 36-114 (14 yrs.)
Kirby Cannon Overall:.................................... 1-28 (3 yrs.)
Mitch Stewart at Murray State:............................ 1-4 (1 yr.)
Mitch Stewart Overall:.............................................. same
Austin Peay Last Week:........... L, 40-16 vs. Eastern Illinois
Murray State Last Week:..... L, 27-10 at Southeast Missouri
GAME NOTES: Rivals Austin Peay and Murray State will meet on Saturday afternoon in Murray for the Racers annual Homecoming game. It will mark the 49th all-time meeting in the series. A season ago Austin Peay ended a six-game losing streak in the series with a 20-13 victory (its only victory over the past two-plus seasons). In that game Austin Peay led 7-3 at halftime before after falling behind early in the third quarter; after that point Jared Beard caught a pair of touchdowns to put APSU ahead 20-10. MSU added a field goal with five minutes remaining and got the ball back before a fumble ended its chances at the comeback. Otis Gerron rushed for 131 yards for Austin Peay while the Govs quarterback Mickey Macius completed 18-of-22 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns, all of which went to Beard. KD Humphries passed for 235 yards for Murray State while Pokey Harris caught four passes for 30 yards and carried the ball 13 times for 88 yards and a score. Overall MSU has won 20 of the last 23 games in the series. Austin Peay is looking to snap a 34-game road losing streak dating back to the 2010 season.
SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY: Austin Peay suffered a home loss to Eastern Illinois on Saturday to fall to 0-5 on the season. The Governors were within 10 points with 4:48 to play in the second quarter only to see the Panthers score two touchdowns before halftime to put the game out of reach. APSU did manage a season-high 309 yards of total offense behind 268 yards on the ground. Redshirt freshman Kendall Morris had his second-straight solid game, carrying the ball 25 times for 141 yards (5.6 ypc) and a touchdown. He had a 74-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, marking the longest play from scrimmage for the team this season. Quarterback Trey Taylor added 55 yards and a touchdown on the ground while also passing for 41 yards. Nicholis Matiere-Bey recorded the team’s first sack of the season and added 2.5 tackles-for-loss for the game. Kyran Moore added three tackles and an interception while Damien Whitfield led the team with nine tackles.
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: Murray State enters the week ranked ninth in the nation in total offense (480.8 yards/game), which is 253.6 yards more per game than Austin Peay is currently averaging. The Racers had 540 yards against Southeast Missouri last week but managed only 10 points on the scoreboard as they were 2-for-5 in the red zone and only 3-of-15 on third down. KD Humphries, who is first nationally in total passing yards (1,824) and completions/game (32.2), completed 37-of-59 passes for 368 yards but did not throw a touchdown for the first time since the Austin Peay game a season ago, snapping a streak of nine-straight games. For the first time in nine games dating back to last year the team had a 100-yard rusher as Roman Clay carried the ball 16 times for 148 yards (9.2 ypc) and a touchdown. Jeremy Harness hauled in 12 passes for 117 yards; he ranks third nationally in receiving yards (607) and fourth in receptions/game (9.0). Harness set a new school record with his fifth consecutive game of 100-plus receiving yards. Defensively Bishop Woods had six tackles including 2.0 for loss.