SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#1 Jacksonville State 48, Tennessee State 13
@#23 Indiana State 29,
Southeast Missouri 28
@Vanderbilt 47,
Austin Peay 7
@Tennessee Tech 29, Mercer 22
@Western Michigan 52,
Murray State 20
#5 Illinois State 34
, @Eastern Illinois 31 (OT)
#1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 48, TENNESSEE STATE 13
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Defense set the tone early as No. 1-ranked Jacksonville State started its pursuit of a second straight Ohio Valley Conference championship.
The Gamecocks held previously unbeaten Tennessee State to 18 first-half yards and cruised to 48-13 victory before a record Burgess-Snow Field crowd of 23,413 in the OVC opener for both.
JSU piled up a season-high 576 total yards, 349 on the ground. JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins and backup Christian LeMay combined for 227 through the air and the offense tied a school record with 32 first downs.
Jacksonville State (2-1, 1-0) piled up 323 yards en route to a 21-0 halftime lead.
It took a full quarter for the Gamecocks' offense to begin clicking. Jenkins got Jacksonville State on the scoreboard first, tossing a 21-yard scoring pass to Markis Merrill with 14:47 left in the second quarter, Merrill's first reception of 2015.
Jenkins threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Josh Barge six minutes later for a 14-0 JSU lead.
Tennessee State's lone scoring opportunity in the first two quarters came when Ezra Robinson picked off a pass attempt by Jenkins and returned it 83 yards to end zone. But the Tigers (2-1, 0-1) were flagged for a pair of 15-yard penalties during the interception return, nullifying a touchdown.
Ra'Shad Green intercepted TSU quarterback Ronald Butler on the ensuing possession. The Gamecocks got into the end zone three plays later, with Miles Jones running the last two yards for a touchdown.
Connor Rouleau's third extra point extend Jacksonville State's lead to 21-0.
Jenkins accounted for 185 total yards (116 passing, 69 rushing) in the first half while JSU's defense was limiting the Tigers to 18 yards on 26 offensive plays.
Rouleau's 34-yard field goal to open the third quarter extended JSU's lead to 24-0. But Tennessee State - which rallied from a two-score deficit in the fourth quarter of its season opener against Alabama State - got an 84-yard touchdown pass from Butler to Patrick Smith and a 23-yarder to Isiah Jeffries-Freeman to draw to within 24-13 with 5:57 to go in the third.
The 84-yard was the longest play allowed by a JSU defense since 2008.
The visitors' rally was short-lived, however. The Gamecocks scored two touchdowns in a 42-second span, another 2-yard run by Jones and a 1-yard run by Josh Clemons, to extend their lead to 38-13 entering the final period.
Jacksonville State later tacked on a 22-yard field goal by redshirt freshman Cade Stinnett of Enterprise, the son of former Gamecock kicker Slade Stinnett (1989-92), who ranks fourth in school history with 287 career points.
JSU's final score came via a 17-yard TD run by junior back Jarren Johnson. Stinnett's extra point made it 48-13 with 53 seconds left.
#23 INDIANA STATE 29, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 28
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - A 21-point fourth quarter comeback fell short when Southeast Missouri (1-2) missed a two-point conversion with no time on the clock Saturday in a heartbreaking 29-28 loss to #23 Indiana State (2-1).
True freshman and nearby Jackson native Dante Vandeven, who relieved starting quarterback Tay Bender late in the third quarter, threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Paul McRoberts that narrowed ISU's lead to 29-28 as time expired.
McRoberts moved to the inside of his defender and jumped up to get the ball before lunging across the goal line. Southeast elected to go for the win, but Vandeven's pass sailed out of McRoberts' reach, allowing the Sycamores to escape.
Vandeven kept the Redhawks final drive alive by completing an 11-yard pass to Darrius Darden-Box on a 4th and 9 before throwing his first career touchdown following three-straight Southeast timeouts.
A poised Vandeven marshaled three scoring drives in the last 9:29 of the game when Southeast trailed, 21-7.
Tremane McCullough's 18-yard touchdown run capped a 10-play, 57-yard march that pulled the Redhawks within a touchdown at the 9:29 mark.
After ISU punted, Southeast went to work at its own 34. Vandeven ran six yards to pick up a big first down on a 3rd and 6 before McCullough gained 28 yards on three carries.
Moments after Lewis Washington hit paydirt on a 1-yard run, Vandeven converted a two-point conversion with a pass to Darden-Box, giving the Redhawks a 22-21 lead.
ISU countered when Matt Adam completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Gary Owens on 4th and 3. Adam threw for 69 yards on a perfect 4-of-4 passes and rushed for another six yards on two carries during a 6-play, 75-yard drive that regained a 29-22 lead for ISU with 41 seconds.
Southeast mounted its late ferocious comeback after ISU clearly had the momentum.
The Sycamores scored three times in a third quarter, where Southeast threw two interceptions in the end zone.
After a personal foul penalty tacked 15 yards onto the end of a 5-yard completion from Bender to McRoberts, Southeast had a first down at ISU's 16-yard line. On the next play, All-Missouri Valley Football Conference cornerback Travis Starks picked off Bender and ran 100 yards to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:15 left to play. For Bender, it was his first interception of the season. Southeast then punted and ISU took over on downs at its own 15.
Adam threw for 43 yards and ran for 16 to set up Marlon Fleming's 13-yard touchdown run that gave the Sycamores their first (14-7) at the 5:34 mark. Vandeven moved Southeast to the ISU 33-yard line on his first drive under center. Seven plays in, Marcus Gray picked off Vandeven in the end zone. ISU covered 80 yards in eight plays after the turnover and stretched its lead to 21-7 on a 9-yard run by Owens, concluding the third quarter.
Southeast used a dominating defensive effort to hold ISU scoreless in the first half. The Redhawks held the Sycamores to 143 total yards, including just 73 on the ground.
Both teams were scoreless until Bender broke the drought late in the first quarter. He faked a handoff and ran 80 yards up the middle for a touchdown, grabbing Southeast a 7-0 advantage with 2:23 left to play. Bender's TD run was the longest by a Redhawk quarterback, surpassing Matt Scheible's 71-yard rush vs. Eastern Illinois on Oct. 1, 2011. The run also tied Southeast's third-longest rushing play in school history.
Southeast, which forced ISU to punt on each of its last seven possessions in the first half, remained ahead, 7-0, at intermission. It was the first time the Redhawks shutout an opponent in the first half since Nov. 15, 2014 (vs. Austin Peay).
The Redhawks racked up a season-high 465 yards of total offense and averaged just under six yards (5.8) per play. Vandeven completed 12-of-17 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 28 yards on four attempts. McRoberts caught a game-high seven passes for 100 yards, posting the fifth 100-yard receiving game of his career.
Meanwhile, McCullough added a game-high 114 yards on 18 carries with an average of 6.3 yards per touch. McCullough gave the Redhawks a big lift after starting tailback DeMichael Jackson left the game with a sprained right knee. Jackson ran the ball twice in the third quarter before spending the rest of the contest on the sidelines.
Adam threw for 252 yards (20-of-29) and one touchdown, and Owens scored a pair of TDs to lead ISU. Tonyan made five catches for 85 yards, as well.
ISU won the turnover battle by a +2 margin.
Defensively, Roper Garrett paved the way for Southeast with 11 tackles, his second-straight double-digit effort. The Redhawks added a season-high five sacks, all of which came in the first half.
VANDERBILT 47, AUSTIN PEAY 7
NASHVILLE - Minus his starting tailback and two offensive linemen, head coach Kirby Cannon knew ball movement could be a concern in Austin Peay State University football's final non-conference outing against Vanderbilt.
Those concerns bore out for the Govs on Saturday, with Austin Peay unable to find any cracks in the Vanderbilt defense in a 47-7 loss. The Govs were able to amass just 144 yards total offense, and did not crack the century mark until midway through the third quarter.
The defense kept the Governors in it early on. On Vanderbilt's first possession, the Commodores drove down inside the Austin Peay five-yard line, but the Govs were able to stonewall their hosts, with Corey Teague coming up with a key fourth-down stop to give the ball back to Austin Peay.
After allowing only a 40-yard field goal by Vanderbilt's Tommy Openshaw in the first quarter, the Govs caught an early break in the second when Juwan Davis recovered a muffed punt on the Vanderbilt 17-yard line. With new life, senior Trey Taylor hit junior Rashaan Coleman on a short slant route, with Coleman taking it in from 14 yards out to give Austin Peay its first lead against an FBS opponent since the Govs defeated Kansas State in 1987.
Vanderbilt answered by marching down field with an eight-play, 78-yard drive. The Commodores provided a healthy dose of Ralph Webb on that drive, with the sophomore getting the ball on the drive's final four plays, punctuating the journey with a three-yard touchdown run. The Commodores would tack on another Openshaw field goal later in the half and take a 13-7 lead.
Austin Peay punted with just over two minutes left in the first half, and Vanderbilt's Johnny McCrary led a quick-strike drive that took just just 1:07 off the clock but concluded in a nine-yard McCrary-to-Webb hook-up for six. Vanderbilt's two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Commodores took a 19-7 lead into the locker room.
Austin Peay's defense did yeoman's work in the first half, but spent far too much time on the field. Vanderbilt controlled the clock with nearly 18 minutes worth of first-half possession, totaling 268 yards offense on 37 plays.
Vanderbilt continued to work quickly on the second-half's opening drive, marching 75 yards on six plays, with Webb finding the end zone yet again, this time on a two-yard rush, to extend the Commodores' lead to 26-7.
While Webb did most of the scoring, Trent Sherfield was the player who gave Austin Peay the most trouble at Dudley Field. The sophomore posted 16 catches for a Vanderbilt-record 240 yards, including a 26-yard third-quarter touchdown reception. It was the first individual 200-yard receiving performance the Govs allowed an opponent since 2001.
McCrary scored on a 16-yard rush on the third quarter's final play, and Dallas Rivers capped Vanderbilt's scoring with a four-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
TENNESSEE TECH 29, MERCER 22
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Junior Krys Cates caught his second touchdown pass of the night with 1:47 to play, then grabbed the two-point conversion to help lift Tennessee Tech (1-2) to a 29-22 non-conference victory over Mercer (2-1) Saturday night in front of 9,028 fans in Tech’s Tucker Stadium home opener.
Cates caught seven passes for a career-high 197 yards and two touchdowns and junior quarterback Jared Davis passes for 301 yards, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another to spur the offense.
Mercer hung around and hung around, adding a few points at a time with three field goals after falling behind early, and the Bears eventually found a way to pull ahead 22-21 with a one-yard touchdown run by John Russ with 2:52 to play in the third quarter.
The Golden Eagle offense, which had faltered on its previous four possessions and had to punt, got things going in the final seven minutes after the Bears had missed on a 39-yard field goal try to extend the lead.
Davis found freshman Austin Hicks for 16 yards, handed to Ladarius Vanlier for a seven-yard gain, and then rushed for 10. After another 13-yard completion to Hicks, Davis hit Jordan Smith on the sideline two plays later and he broke a tackle to go 16 yards to the Mercer 20.
Radir Annoor carried it 11 yards to the eight, where Davis hit Cates on third down to the touchdown. After sustaining a five-yard penalty, Tech went for two from the eight and Cates made a leaping grab over the defender in the corner of the end zone for the seven-point lead.
The Bears moved 34 yards to midfield in the 1:47, but the Tech defense rose to the occasion and forced two incomplete passes and got a stop on third down after a two-yard gain. On fourth-and eight, senior Jordan Patrick’s pressure caused a final pass attempt to misfire and the Golden Eagles got their first check in the win column.
Davis was 18-for-26 for 301 yards passing, his second 300-yard game in three games this season. In addition to Cates, Smith had four catches for 39 yards and Hicks caught three for 44.
Tech’s leading receiver, Brock McCoin, left the game early with an injury after making two catches.
Tee Mitchell led Mercer with 130 rushing yards on 19 carries, while Russ had 58 yards rushing on 12 carries. Russ was 19-for-36 for 155 yards with one touchdown.
Senior linebacker Tra’Darius Goff led the Tech defense, matching his career-high with 16 tackles. Jay Rudwall, another senior linebacker, added 13 tackles while Patrick finished with 10 tackles and a quarterback hurry. Stephen Bush had nine stops.
Mercer had 87 plays in the contest and 416 yards of offense, holding the ball for more than 34 minutes. Tech finished with 357 yards on 56 plays.
Tech took the opening drive and moved 75 yards in two plays, with Davis hitting Cates for a 74-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Mercer scored on an eight-yard pass from Russ to Avery Ward, but Mike Cain blocked the PAT for a 7-6 Tech lead.
Tech added two touchdowns, the first on a seven-yard run by Davis followed by a one-yard dive by Dorian Carter for his first career touchdown to make it 21-6.
Mercer kicker Jagger Lieb converted field goals of 24, 26 and 19 yards to bring the Bears to within 21-15 in the third quarter, before the visitors took the lead on an 11-play, 63-yard touchdown drive.
WESTERN MICHIGAN 52, MURRAY STATE 20
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - Zach Terrell passed for 355 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday night to lead Western Michigan to a 52-20 win over Murray State.
Terrell completed 25 of 30 passes as Western Michigan (1-2) piled up 628 total yards, its most since a win over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 8, 2012. Daniel Braverman had a career-high 14 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns. His 40 receptions this season lead the nation. Corey Davis added 139 yards receiving and a pair of scores while Jarvion Franklin rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.
Western Michigan scored 35 straight points -- the last of which came on a 10-yard interception return for a touchdown by Darius Phillips -- to open up a 45-6 lead with 9:21 to play.
KD Humphries completed 25 of 41 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown for Murray State (1-2).
#5 ILLINOIS STATE 34, EASTERN ILLINOIS 31 (OT)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - A true Mid-America Classic as Eastern Illinois and Illinois State played overtime for just the third time in the 104th edition of the rivalry game. The fifth ranked Redbirds took advantage of a missed Panthers field goal with 11 seconds remaining in regulation before eventually winning the game 34-31 in the first overtime.
EIU fell to 0-3 on the season while ISU improved to2-1.
EIU found the end zone first as the Panthers scored their first touchdown of the season with Jalen Whitlow hitting Anthony Taylor for a 23-yard pass at the 10:59 mark of the first half. That score seemed to give EIU some momentum as they led 14-10 after the first quarter break. Devin Church put the Panthers up with a 5-yard run just inside the pylon with two seconds left in the half.
Between the first and second quarters EIU honored former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan on a night that also inducted former EIU head coach Bob Spoo into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame at the half.
ISU’s first quarter scores came from Sean Slattery on a 50-yard field goal and Marshaun Coprich with a 5-yard run.
Slattery would prove to the be the hero for ISU as he knocked down a 32-yard field goal in the first overtime. Slattery had missed two long field goals earlier in the contest.
EIU’s defense made a stop in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and following an ISU punt Whitlow and Church marched the Panthers inside the 20-yard line for a field goal attempt. Nick Bruno’s attempt was just right as the sophomore was 1-for-2 on the day on field goals.
ISU built its lead to 24-14 in the second quarter with Tre Roberson rushing in from three yards out and then hitting Mike Clements for a 40-yard strike down the middle of the field.
The Redbirds tried to add to the lead in the final minutes of the first half but Seth McDonald picked off a Roberson pass and scored from 20-yards out. McDonald led EIU with 12 tackles, his third straight double figure tackle game. Anthony Goodman added 12 tackles.
EIU scored ten points in the fourth quarter with Whitlow’s five yard touchdown with 1:48 to play knotting the score at 31-31. EIU’s defense then forced a three-and-out to give the Panthers a shot at the upset.
Church became the first EIU back over the 100 yard mark this season with 109 yards and one score. Isaiah Nelson caught five passes for 62 yards. Whitlow finished 16-of-28 for 165 yards.
Coprich ended the game with 178 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Anthony Warrum had five catches for 96 yards. ISU’s defense was led by Alec Kocour with 14 tackles.