SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 34, Austin Peay 14
@#15 Illinois State 54,
Eastern Illinois 51 (2OT)
@#4 Oregon 63,
Tennessee Tech 14
#20 Eastern Kentucky 35, @Coastal Carolina 17
@Southern Illinois 35,
Southeast Missouri 14
Murray State 28, @Missouri State 23
TENNESSEE STATE 34, AUSTIN PEAY 14
NASHVILLE - Tennessee State returned to Hale Stadium in grand fashion as they defeated Austin Peay 34-14 to open up Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday afternoon.
The crowd of 14,264 saw Austin Peay take an early 7-0 lead as quarterback Jake Ryan connected with receiver Devin Starks, who made a one-handed catch, for a 20-yard touchdown. Three plays earlier, TSU was called for a roughing the kicker penalty on an Austin Peay punt near mid-field, which extended the drive.
The Tigers would get on the scoreboard for the first time via the foot of Jamin Godfrey as he made a 43-yard field goal in the final minute of the first quarter.
TSU took their first lead of the contest when quarterback Michael German found receiver Travis James in the right corner of the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown. The scoring play was set up by a 15-yard Austin Peay personal foul penalty the play before. The Tigers led 9-7 after the missed extra point.
With 3:32 left until halftime, the Govs connection of Ryan and Stark struck again, this time from eight yards out to give Austin Peay a 14-9 halftime advantage.
Ryan finished 25-of-48 for 271 yards and two touchdowns, while Stark had nine catches to go along with a game-high 124 yards and two touchdowns.
The only score of the third quarter went to Tennessee State as Trabis Ward scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, this one coming from two yards out. German found Weldon Garlington for the 2-point conversion to give the Tigers a 17-14 lead that they would not relinquish.
On the drive, Travis James set a new career-high with his sixth catch of the game. The senior from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., finished with a career best nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown to become the first TSU player with over 100 receiving yards in a game this season.
Early in the fourth quarter, German threw a four yard touchdown pass to full back Johntae Gleaves to give TSU a 10 point advantage. For the senior, it was the 14th catch of his career and his second touchdown.
With 7:06 left in the 4th quarter, Godfrey hit his second field goal of the game, this one from 39 yards out, to extend the TSU lead to 27-14.
Steven Godbolt III intercepted a Austin Peay pass in the end zone with 4:44 remaining in the game to end a Governors drive. It was his third interception of the season and continued his streak of one interception in each game this season.
The final score of the game saw German throw a 51 yard catch and run touchdown to A.C. Leonard to make it 34-14 with 2:12 left in the game. Leonard finished with five catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.
German had a career best 27 completions in addition to a career-high 318 yards and three touchdowns. The three scores tied his career best that he set last season vs. UT Martin.
#15 ILLINOIS STATE 54, EASTERN ILLINOIS 51 (2OT)
NORMAL, Ill. - In the highest scoring game in the 101 meetings of the Mid-America Classic, Illinois State scored a touchdown on its second possession of overtime to defeat Eastern Illinois, 54-51, on Saturday afternoon at Hancock Stadium.
Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime period as Donovan Harden caught a 7-yard pass from Matt Brown on ISU’s drive. EIU answered with Taylor Duncan’s third rushing touchdown of the game to knot the score at 48-48. The score at the end of the regulation was 41-41.
EIU had possession first in the second overtime and Cameron Berra knocked home his third field goal of the game converting from 40-yards. Berra had put the game into overtime with a 20-yard kick as time expired and ended the first half with a career long 44-yarder.
Brown hit Tyrone Walker on the second play of the Redbirds second possession for the 25-yard game winner. Brown passed for 473 yards and five touchdowns as No. 15 Illinois State improved to 3-0 on the year. EIU dropped to 1-2 and will open Ohio Valley Conference play at home against Murray State with a 6:30 p.m. kick off.
EIU took a 38-28 lead with 9:07 left in the game as Jake Walker scored from 13-yards out. ISU responded with a Cameron Hunt 20-yard reception from Brown with 5:54 left and took the lead on a Harden 13-yard pass from Brown with 51 seconds left. The snap on the PAT was dropped and the conversion was no good giving ISU a 41-38 lead.
Jimmy Garoppolo then drove the Panthers down the field in 54 seconds resulting in the Berra kick as time expired. Garoppolo hit Erik Lora for one pass and put the ball at the three yard line a 23-yard strike to Chris Wright. Lora finished with his third straight 100 yard receiving day hauling in nine passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Garoppolo was 37-of-61 for career high 387 yards with two touchdown passes to Lora and three interceptions. It was Garoppolo’s sixth 300-yard game of his career and 11th best total in EIU history.
The two teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense and 186 total plays. EIU ran 106 offensive snaps.
EIU rushed for 122 yards while holding the Redbirds ground game to 60 yards. Duncan carried the load for EIU with 96 yards on 24 carries. He had two first half rushing touchdowns. Chavar Watkins was the Panthers top target on the day with 12 receptions for 97 yards.
The Panthers defense was led by Robert Haynes with 12 tackles and an interception. LeQuince McCall and D.J. Bland each had ten tackles. Mike Zimmer led ISU’s defense with 15 tackles. Colton Underwood had 13 tackles and three sacks.
#4 OREGON 63, TENNESSEE TECH 14
EUGENE, Ore. - For a few fleeting moments, the Tennessee Tech football team was on top of the world.
However, the Oregon pass rush combined with the Ducks' blazing team speed brought the Golden Eagles back down to earth, and the fourth-ranked FBS team in the country thrilled another sellout home crowd with a 63-14 victory Saturday in Autzen Stadium.
Tech surged to a sudden 7-0 lead on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Tre Lamb to Da'Rick Rogers, but an unrelenting Duck pass rush sacked Lamb five times in the first half and limited the explosive Tech offense to 45 total yards by the break.
The so-called "quack attack" was led by redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota, accounting for 308 yards through the air to go along with four touchdowns. The young gun complete 21 passes out of 28 attempts. Sophomore running back De'Anthony Thomas accumulated 135 total yards on the day, including two scores.
Despite suffering their first loss of the season, the Golden Eagles (2-1) will fly home with a trunk full of highlights in their matchup with one of the nation's premier programs.
On top of scoring the first points of the game, the Tech defense and special teams also made some big plays of their own.
Sophomore Tra'Darius Goff led the special teams' highlights of the game, blocking a second quarter field goal attempt by the Ducks. It marked the second career block for Goff, who also gathered up nine tackles in the game to lead the Golden Eagles.
Another special teams play made noise in the game, when senior linebacker Kedrick Towles recovered an Oregon fumble on the first punt of the game for the Golden Eagles. The recovery led to the first scoring drive for Tech and gave the Golden Eagles momentum early in the contest.
Joining the highlight plays of the game for the Golden Eagles was the first career interception by senior defensive back Taylor Hennigan. The pick ended a Duck drive that looked sure to result in points for Oregon.
Senior linebacker Howard Griffin added a takeaway of his own, intercepting Mariota in the second quarter. The interception marked the first of his career and marked a rare mistake by the red-shirt freshman on the day.
The 57,091 fans made their presence felt during the game as the deafening crowd marked the fifth largest the Golden Eagles have played in front of in program history.
Sophomore running back and local Cookeville talent Stephen Bush matched a career-best game with exact numbers, rushing for 63 yards on 14 carries for the second straight week.
The Tech rushing game eclipsed the century mark on the day, the third straight week for the offense. The Golden Eagles finished with 114 yards on the ground.
#20 EASTERN KENTUCKY 35, COASTAL CAROLINA 17
CONWAY, S.C. - The Eastern Kentucky University football team wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a convincing 35-17 victory over host Coastal Carolina Saturday night. This was the first ever meeting between the OVC and Big South teams.
Senior running back Matt Denham tallied two touchdowns, including his first collegiate scoring catch. Denham reached 100 yards rushing (121) for the second straight game. Meanwhile, senior quarterback T.J. Pryor ran for a score and found fellow senior Tyrone Goard for a 77-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Eastern never trailed and jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its opening drive. Sophomore Jared McClain, who played the first three series at quarterback, found Denham behind the defense for a 32-yard touchdown pass three minutes into the contest.
After Coastal Carolina responded with a touchdown drive on its first possession, EKU took the lead for good in the second quarter. The Colonels moved 76 yards methodically down the field and capped the drive with a Pryor one-yard sneak on 4th-and-goal.
The Chanticleers tried a bit of trickery later in the quarter, but to no avail. Lining up for a 44-yard field goal attempt, Coastal Carolina instead attempted a pass which came up inches shy of the first down. Eastern Kentucky capitalized two plays later when Pryor hit Goard for the 77-yard touchdown strike to stretch the lead to 21-7.
In the third quarter, Coastal slashed the lead to 21-14 thanks to a Matt Hazel five-yard touchdown catch on 3rd-and-goal.
However, the Colonels immediately struck back with another grueling drive, this time 13 plays for 73 yards. Pryor had a key third down run for 21 yards to move the ball into the red zone. Denham followed with a six-yard touchdown run to put Eastern back up by two touchdowns.
Eastern Kentucky then put the game away midway through the fourth quarter when junior Deshaun Sands found pay dirt with a one-yard run. The Colonel defense was particularly stout in the final period, coming away with a fumble recovery and forcing a turnover on downs.
Sophomore defensive back Brandon Stanley led the EKU defense with nine tackles and one pass-break up. Senior defensive back Justin Bell added five stops, two forced fumbles and three pass break-ups. Senior defensive back Brooklyn Fox stopped a Coastal first quarter drive with an interception at the EKU 18-yard line.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 35, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 14
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Kory Faulkner threw for a career-high 384 yards and three touchdowns to lead Southern Illinois (1-2) to a 35-14 win over Southeast Missouri (1-2) Saturday night in front of 9,612 at Saluki Stadium.
SIU registered a hefty 565-186 advantage in total offense. The Salukis also ran 84 plays to Southeast's 52 and possessed the ball 33:06.
SIU wasted no time getting on the board, scoring twice in the first 5:15 of the game. The Salukis marched 76 yards in six plays on the game's opening drive. Mika'il McCall capped things off with a 32-yard run to give the Salukis a 7-0 lead with 12:33 left to play in the first quarter.
After Southeast was forced to punt on its first possession, SIU added another quick touchdown, this time on a 39-yard pass from Faulkner to David Lewis. Lewis' TD pushed the Salukis lead to 14-0 at the 9:45 mark. SIU held a stifling 212-4 advantage in total offense and ran 16 more plays than Southeast during the first quarter alone.
The Salukis then took over on downs at its own 1-yardline before going 99 yards in 13 plays to push their lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter. Faulkner hit MyCole Pruitt on a 14-yard pass along the far sideline, capping the drive which consumed 5:29.
Southeast trailed 21-0 at halftime. The Redhawks made it into SIU territory once, went three-and-out on five of six drives, had only one first down and gained just 30 total yards in the first half.
Defensively, the Redhawks forced two turnovers in the game's opening 30 minutes. Branden Spann recorded his first career interception and fumble recovery, accounting for both takeaways. Southeast has forced multiple turnovers in five-straight games dating back to last season.
After a scoreless third quarter, Joe Malolo recovered a fumble at the Redhawks 44-yardline. Southeast responded by putting together its best drive of the night which covered 56 yards in 11 plays. A pair of 12-yard passes from Scott Lathrop to D.J. Foster keyed the march which ended on a 1-yard touchdown by Lewis Washington that narrowed the gap to 21-7 with 14:15 left in the fourth quarter.
SIU answered right back on its next possesson, which began at its own 26. Ten plays into that drive, Faulkner completed a 35-yard pass to Pruitt, giving the Salukis a first down at the Southeast-4. McCall later crossed the goal line on a 1-yard plunge to give SIU a 28-7 lead with 8:17 on the clock. LaSteven McKinney caught a Faulkner screen pass and dashed 43 yards to push SIU's lead to 35-7 at the 5:00 mark.
Southeast posted its fourth takeaway of the game when true freshman David Coley recovered A.J. Hill's fumble at the SIU-22. On the very next play, fellow true freshmen Blake Jackson and Paul McRoberts hooked up on a 22-yard touchdown pass to cut the Salukis lead to 35-14 with 2:43 left.
A native of Ste. Genevieve, Mo., Faulkner completed 26-of-40 passes to lead the SIU offense. Pruitt also caught nine passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. Levi Terrell rushed for 67 yards on 13 carries, while Lathrop threw for 50 yards on 7-of-13 passes to lead Southeast. Foster added four receptions for 44 yards, as well. Blake Peiffer turned in a game-high 18 tackles, his first double-digit tackle performance of the season. Southeast's defense now has 13 takeaways in three games this season.
Joe Vucic punted a career-high nine times for 408 yards, averaging 45.3 yards per punt. Vucic had a 53-yard punt and pinned the Salukis inside their 5-yardline on two occasions.
MURRAY STATE 28, MISSOURI STATE 23
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman became the school's all-time leader in career completions, and the Racers scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead into halftime against Missouri State.
After a first quarter that was filled with punts, the Racers used a 12-play drive for the first points of the game. Brockman and Powell connected three times for 26 yards, and Berry picked up a first down with a 13-yard run as he bounced outside. Duane Brady followed with a nine-yard run down to the three and followed it up two plays later with a three-yard touchdown run.
The Bears attempted a fake punt in their own territory, but HB Beauford made the stop a yard shy of the first-down marker to give the ball to the Racers on the Bears 29-yard line.
Brockman started the drive with a six-yard pass to Walter Powell before a short gain from Brady. Jaamal Berry picked up the first down with a tough three-yard run. MUR faced another third down and Brockman pump faked, before hitting Nevar Griffin for a 16-yard touchdown.
The Bears took advantage of a pair of defensive penalties to score on a two-yard run from Vernon Scott.
Brockman finished the half 22-for-32 for 145 yards and a touchdown. Powell had seven catches for 53 yards. Berry carried the ball six times for 30 yards, and added two catches for 23 yards.