Ohio Valley Conference

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Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (2-8) at Eastern Kentucky Colonels (4-5)
Sat., Nov. 8 • 12 p.m. CT • Roy Kidd Stadium (20,000)

The Matchup: Eastern Kentucky is still in the hunt for another OVC championship, but cannot afford to stumble at home against UT Martin - a team it has never lost to in 14 tries. UTM has rarely even been competitive in this series, with an 18-point loss in 1998 serving as the closest final score since the Skyhawks joined the OVC in 1991.

UTM Offense: Despite losing last week, the Skyhawks outgained SEMO, 364-333, marking the first time UTM has outgained a conference foe in several years... Sophomore quarterback Brady Wahlberg (Lynn Haven, FL) was 21-of-40 for 241 yards, a TD and an INT last week. Since returning from an injury four weeks ago, he has thrown for 1,101 yards, and he has run for 298 yards in that span. His QB rating of 120.45 would rank him third among OVC passers, but he missed four games early in the year due to injury... The Skyhawks have converted a league-low 29.2 percent of their third downs this season... UTM has three receivers ranked in the league’s top ten. Sanders Trent has 55 catches for 507 yards and four TD’s, while Orentheus Taylor (Dyersburg, TN) has 47 receptions for 478 yards and a score. Taurean Stephens (Cincinnati, OH) has 52 receptions for 456 yards and two TD’s... The Skyhawks have allowed a conference-high 29 sacks this year.

UTM Defense: UTM still leads the OVC with 23 sacks this season, but they have not had one in the last two games... UT Martin is last in the league in scoring defense, allowing 37.4 points per game... The Skyhawks have given up 216.7 yards per game on the ground, and have allowed 29 rushing TD’s... Andre Plummer (Memphis, TN) has five sacks on the year... Rayvon Sims (Memphis, TN) and Chad McMahan (Batesville, MS) each had 10 tackles last week... UTM is last in the OVC in first downs allowed, giving up 203 this season.

EKU Offense: Junior Matt Guice (Coral Springs, FL) is the OVC’s second-leading passer, completing 57.5 percent of his throws for 189 yards per game. He threw for 225 yards and three TD’s last week... EKU had two 100-plus yard rushers last week. Terry Ennis (Louisville, KY) had 123 yards on 19 carries with a TD, and C.J. Hudson (Frostproof, FL) had 113 yards on 25 carries and one score. Both are among the OVC’s top seven rushers... The Colonels have committed an OVC-worst 85 penalties this year... EKU has allowed a conference-high 30 sacks this season, including seven last week... The Colonels are at the bottom of the OVC in turnover ratio at -9... EKU’s three TD passes last week all went to tight ends. Patrick Bugg (Harrodsburg, KY) caught two of them, while Mike Woolridge (Columbus, GA) had the other.

EKU Defense: The Colonels have buckled down against the run lately, only allowing an average of 62.5 yards on the ground the last four games... Eastern allowed more than 300 yards passing for the second straight game last week... EKU has allowed opponents to score 81.6 percent of the time inside the red zone... Donell Allison (Lauderdale Lakes, FL) leads the team with 68 tackles on the year... Jerome Jones (Decatur, GA) ranks among league leaders in tackles for loss (10.5) and fumble recoveries (3)... EKU leads the OVC in punt returns, averaging 18.8 yards per return.


Tennessee State Tigers (6-3) at Southeast Missouri Indians (3-6)
Sat., Nov. 8 • 1 p.m. CT • Houck Stadium (10,000)

The Matchup: Two teams with OVC title hopes meet up when conference co-leader Tennessee State heads to Southeast Missouri on Saturday. The series is even with both teams having won six games a piece. The Indians ended a five-game winning streak in the series last year with a convincing 49-25 win. The matchup features two of the most high-powered offenses in the OVC.

TSU Offense: Tennessee State may have the unique opportunity of having a pair of players to set school career records for both rushing yardage and receiving yardage in the same game. Senior C.J. Johnson (Nashville, TN), who is already the OVC’s all-time leading receiver, enters the Southeast Missouri game just 21 yards shy of breaking the career receiving mark of 3,571 yards. He is averaging a league-high 20.4 yards per catch… Running back Charles Anthony (Orlando, FL) set the single-season TSU record last week and now has 2,780 yards in his career, just 64 shy of the record. He is the OVC’s leading rusher, averaging 130 yards per game... Quarterback Bryson Rosser (Hackensack, NJ) has thrown for six TD passes in the Tigers’ past two games and is set for his fourth start of the season this week.

TSU Defense: The Tigers continue to lead the OVC in total defense, surrendering only 289.6 yards per game... James Dumervil (Miami, FL) has recorded double figure tackles in each of the past four games after having 10 total tackles through the first four contests... Defensive end Paul Thomas (Orange, TX) is the conference leader with 15 tackles for loss and 7.5 quarterback sacks... Senior cornerback Deon Giddens (Nashville, TN) is tied for the OVC lead with four pass interceptions this season... TSU has yielded a league-low 132 first downs to opponents.

SEMO Offense: After averaging 401.7 yards of total offense and 34 points in their previous three contests, Southeast was held to under 360 yards and 25 points for the second straight week... Quarterback Andrew Goodenough (Corvallis, OR) started in place of Jack Tomco (Anchorage, AK), and he completed 19-of-29 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown in the win over UTM ... The Indians are third in the league in pass offense, with 240.4 yards per game through the air... Southeast is eighth in the OVC in rushing, averaging only 104.7 yards per game... Jamel Oliver (Altamonte, FL) had 53 yards rushing and a TD last week, marking the second straight game in which he has scored... Southeast is the OVC’s top team on third down, converting 39.7 percent of the time... Junior tight end Ray Goodson has 27 receptions for 244 yards in SEMO’s last four games.

SEMO Defense: Southeast’s defense ranks third in total defense (339.6 ypg) and pass defense (179.9 ypg)... The Indians only have 12 sacks this season, but they had four last week against UTM... Ryan Roth (Naperville, IL) has five of the team’s sacks... The Indians have forced a conference-best 14 fumbles this season, including three by Ricky Farmer (Ft. Myers, FL)... David Simonhoff (Coral Gables, FL) has the league’s best punting average at 42.1 yards per kick... O.J. Turner (Cape Girardeau, MO) leads the team with 73 tackles. He had 10 stops, including two for losses, and a sack last week.


Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5-3) at Samford Bulldogs (6-3)
Sat., Nov. 8 • 1 p.m. CT • Seibert Stadium (6,700)

The Matchup: A traditional in-state rivalry carries added meaning this time around, as conference co-leader Jacksonville State plays at Samford in a game that will go a long way toward determining the OVC championship. Both schools are aiming for the league title in their first season of play in the conference.

JSU Offense: JSU is the league’s top rushing offense, and it has exploded for more than 250 yards on the ground in each of the last four games. The Gamecocks had 292 yards rushing in the win over Tennessee Tech two weeks ago... Senior Kory Chapman (Batesville, MS) had 175 yards and a TD against Tech. He has gained 729 yards in the last four games, and he is second in the conference in rushing, averaging 121 yards per game... Quarterback Maurice Mullins (Camilla, GA) had 202 total yards in the game against TTU, completing 10-of-24 passes for 136 yards and a TD, and he had 66 yards and a score on the ground... Mullins attempted 24 passes in the last game, marking the most throws JSU has had in five contests. The Gamecocks had thrown only 63 passes in the four previous games... JSU is last in the OVC in pass offense, averaging only 116.8 yards per game in the air... Jax State leads the conference with a +14 in turnover margin, having only turned the ball over nine times.

JSU Defense: For the second straight game, JSU’s defense held a potent rushing offense in check against Tech. After allowing Charles Anthony, the OVC’s leading rusher, only 30 yards in the win over TSU, Jax State limited TTU to just 102 yards on the ground... Jax State is second in scoring defense (20 ppg)... The Gamecocks are allowing an OVC-worst 257.1 yards per game through the air... Senior punter Richie Rhodes (Alexander City, AL), a two-time All-American, is averaging 40.8 yards per punt, and had a 63-yarder two weeks ago.

SAM Offense: Samford is the highest scoring team in the OVC, averaging 33.4 points per game... Receiver Efrem Hill (Atlanta, GA) is the conference’s leading receiver, having caught 66 passes for 1,039 yards and 12 TD’s. He is just two receiving TD’s shy of tying the conference record... QB Ray Nelson (Mobile, AL) has thrown for an OVC-high 2,120 yards, 19 TD’s and only six INT’s. He leads the league in total offense, averaging 265.3 yards per game... Senior RB Fred Gilliam (Vicksburg, MS) leads the team in rushing, averaging 49 yards per game... The Bulldogs have allowed a league-low nine sacks... Kicker Ty Neil (Vestavia Hills, AL) leads the OVC in points by kicking (67)... The Bulldogs have scored an OVC-best 83.8 percent of the time they have had the ball in the red zone... The Bulldogs have been penalized only 50 times for an OVC-low 389 yards.

SAM Defense: SU is second in the league in turnover margin at +11. The Bulldogs have forced 23 turnovers in their first nine games... Seven different Bulldog defenders have picked off passes this year, and four have picked off more than one... Steve Wisdom (Tuscumbia, AL) is third in the OVC with six sacks this season... Defensive back/return specialist Cortland Finnegan (Milton, FL) is tops in the OVC with 9.6 stops per game. He also has three INT’s on the season and an OVC-high 10 passes defended. He is also averaging a conference-best 27.2 yards per kickoff return.


Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-6) at Eastern Illinois Panthers (3-6)
Sat., Nov. 8 • 1:30 p.m. CT • O’Brien Stadium (10,000)

The Matchup: Eastern Illinois hosts Tennessee Tech in a matchup of teams that are both out of the conference race for this season. EIU still has a shot at finishing the season above .500 in league play, while Tennessee Tech is simply trying to avoid last place in the OVC. Tech will try to end EIU’s three-game winning streak in the series.

TTU Offense: The Golden Eagles balanced their offense in last week’s loss to Samford, throwing for 207 yards and running for 210... TTU is second in the conference in rushing offense (171.2 ypg)... Joey Bailey got his second consecutive start last week, completing nine-of-23 passes for 146 yards and an INT... Running backs Jason Ballard (Franklin, TN) and Derek White (Sharpsburg, GA) make up the most productive backfield combo in the league. Ballard is third in the OVC with an average of 81.6 yards rushing per game, while White is sixth with 62.5 yards per game... Punter Chris Cummings (Brentwood, TN) is second in the OVC in punting average at 41.2 yards per kick... TTU has slipped to sixth in the OVC in pass offense after leading that category earlier in the year.

TTU Defense: Tech’s defense gave up 479 yards of offense in a loss to Samford last week… Tech is currently -6 in turnover ratio, and is allowing 31.5 points per game... The Golden Eagles are averaging a conference-low 18.1 yards per kickoff return... Brandon Shelby (Stone Mountain, GA) has 49 tackles, a sack, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and four pass breakups on the year... Daniel Wentzel (Ellenwood, GA) leads the team and is seventh in the OVC with 63 tackles.

EIU Offense: The Panthers are averaging only 15 points per game - a full 20 points per game lower than they averaged last season... After gaining 548 yards on the ground in the previous two contests, EIU had only 112 last week... Freshman Vincent Webb (St. Louis, MO), who had a career day in a 206-yard effort against UTM two weeks ago, gained only 15 yards on eight carries last week... EIU continues to struggle passing the ball, ranking next-to-last among OVC teams in pass offense... The Panthers rank last in the OVC in total offense after nine games, averaging only 284.4 yards per game... Senior running back Andre Raymond (Hialeah, FL) was held to only 21 yards last week... Andrew Harris was 16-of-27 for 161 yards, a TD and an INT last week. He also finished as the team’s leading rusher, with 52 yards.

EIU Defense: The Panthers have held opponents to just 53 points in the last three games... Senior Fred Miller (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), who is second in the OVC in tackles with 8.7 per game, is questionable for the rest of the season with an inury... Senior Nick Ricks (Deerfield Beach, FL) is fourth in the OVC with an average of 8.3 stops per game. He also has two sacks... Senior linebacker Jake Maurer (Metamora, IL) had eight tackles and two stops for loss in last week’s loss to TSU... EIU is last in the conference with only eight sacks this season.