SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#15 Ole Miss 76,
UT Martin 3
@#23 Missouri 34,
Southeast Missouri 3
Mercer 28,
@Austin Peay 7
#7 Jacksonville State 23, @#8 Chattanooga 20
@Houston 52,
Tennessee Tech 24
#15 OLE MISS 76, UT MARTIN 3
OXFORD, Miss. - Opening their second consecutive season against a member of the powerful Southeastern Conference, the University of Tennessee at Martin football team knew they were in for an uphill battle in its season opener. The Skyhawks struggled out of the gates against Ole Miss before ultimately dropping the decision against the nation’s 15th ranked team 76-3.
The Skyhawks (0-1) were limited to just 290 yards while facing one of the nation’s best defenses from a year ago, including 116 yards on the ground and 174 yards through the air.
Jarod Neal took the bulk of the snaps at quarterback, completing 13-of-24 passes for 139 yards while tossing one interception. Trent Garland led the ground attack with 36 yards on eight carries while Najee Ray led the team in receiving with 64 yards.
Ole Miss (1-0) scored the most points in 80 years with their 76 points. They tallied 28 first downs on the day while notching 662 yards of total offense – including 338 yards on the ground and 324 through the air.
Using three quarterbacks in the contest, the Rebels turned to starter Chad Kelly to lead the attack after going 9-of-15 with three total touchdowns – two passing and one rushing – along with one interception. Ryan Buchanan went 4-for-6 with 58 yards and two touchdowns. DeVante Kincade also saw action, tossing 55 yards and one touchdown.
Eight players contributed to the ground attack, led by Eugene Brazley who notched 88 yards and one touchdown on six carries. Jaylen Walton notched a pair of scores while D.K Buford rounded out the scoring attack offensively.
The first half saw the Skyhawks come out with a stop on the opening drive of the contest, forcing Ole Miss to punt after a quick first down. Despite the early stop, the Rebels would rally over the following five minute stretch, scoring three consecutive touchdowns.
Ole Miss would break the scoreless tie at the 11 minute mark as running back Walton broke free for 60 yards down the left sideline before getting back on the board on the following possession with a four-yard scamper.
The Rebels found find another big play just 1:14 seconds later as Kelly connected with Markell Pack for a 56-yard touchdown through the air. The squad would get on the board once again to close out the first quarter as Buchanan found Quincy Adeboyejo for a 15-yard strike. Ole Miss would lead 27-0 after the first quarter.
The home squad would string together another pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. Buchanan would find Robert Nkemdiche for a 31-yard strike down the right sideline at the 12:35 mark. The Rebels would notch their final touchdown of the first half with three minutes left in the half as Kelly hit Cody Core for a 57-yard score. Ole Miss would take a 41-0 lead into the break.
Ole Miss would push their lead out to 55 with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter after notching a pair of touchdowns. After what looked to be a promising start to the drive following an interception by Jordan Landry on the Ole Miss 29, the Skyhawks gave the ball right back as Neal threw an interception which was returned 93 yards by Trae Elston for a touchdown.
Following a 20-yard quarterback keeper by Kelly for the team’s eighth touchdown of the contest, the Skyhawks snapped their scoreless streak with 2:26 to play in the third quarter. Beginning the drive on their own 20, Neal would connect with Najee Ray down the visiting sideline for a 64-yard pass completion. With prime field position, Jackson Redditt would boot a 29-yard field goal to bring the contest to a 55-3 margin.
Ole Miss would add three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including one 12-yard completion from Kincade to DaMarkus Lodge and a pair of rushing touchdowns from Brazley (70 yards) and D.K. Buford (20 yards) to cap the game’s scoring at 76-3.
#23 MISSOURI 34, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (0-1) opened the 2015 season with a 34-3 loss to No. 23 Missouri (1-0) Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 64,670 at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field.
Mizzou, which shutout Southeast in three quarters, scored the first 17 points of the game and never looked back.
Maty Mauk, who improved to 15-4 as a collegiate starting quarterback, threw touchdown passes on two of the Tigers first three drives. Mauk hooked up with J'Mon Moore on a 27-yard strike to cap a quick 5-play, 64-yard march in just 1:15, giving Mizzou an early lead.
After a Southeast punt, Mauk went to work again, engineering a 5-play, 54-yard drive. His second touchdown pass, a 23-yard toss to Nate Brown, extended Mizzou's lead to 14-0 with 4:49 left to play in the first quarter.
Freshman Drew Lock made his debut under center during Mizzou's first drive of the second quarter. Lock started strong, completing 4-of-5 passes for 51 yards. His 22-yard pass to Moore on 3rd-and-4 kept the drive alive that resulted in a 39-yard field goal by Andrew Baggett.
Southeast put together its only scoring drive of the game late in the first half. The Redhawks covered 76 yards in 16 plays before Ryan McCrum kicked a 35-yard field goal to make it 17-3 at the intermission.
Mizzou assembled a 10-play, 76-yard drive to start the second half, but settled for a field goal. Mauk completed a 25-yard pass to Moore to move the Tigers to the Southeast-20. Five plays later, Mauck completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Sean Culkin. The catch, however, was negated after Culkin stepped out of bounds before securing the ball in the back of the end zone. Baggett's 23-yard field goal split the uprights immediately after the penalty to stretch the Tigers lead to 20-3 with 10:55 remaining in the third quarter.
A big play on special teams allowed the Tigers to add to their lead. On 4th-and-10, linebacker Kentrell Brothers blocked quarterback Tay Bender's pooch punt. Aarion Penton scooped up the ball and ran 41 yards to the end zone, raising Mizzou's lead to 27-3 with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.
Lock threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Tyler Hunt for Mizzou's final score. That play polished off the Tigers longest march which consisted of five plays and 92 yards in less than two minutes.
Mauk completed 12-of-22 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns and Lock threw for 138 yards and a touchdown to lead Mizzou.
The Tigers outgained Southeast, 417-201, with 319 of their yards coming through the air.
Bender played well in his first career start as the Redhawks QB. He completed 12-of-22 passes for 56 yards and ran for a game-high 69 yards on 14 carries. Bender did not throw an interception, as well. Paul McRoberts, who hauled in his 100th career catch late in the first quarter, finished with four receptions for 40 yards.
In just his third career start, Chad Meredith led the Redhawks with a career-high eight tackles. Eriq Moore also recorded the fifth interception of his career when he picked off Mauk at the Southeast 6-yardline. Southeast's defense accounted for a total of three sacks and eight tackles for loss, while holding Mizzou under 100 rushing yards (98).
MERCER 28, AUSTIN PEAY 7
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University football team had opportunities in its season-opening loss to Mercer, but was unable to capitalize and found itself on the wrong side of a 28-7 result.
The Govs caught an early break when Damien Whitfield forced a fumble inside their own 40, which Demarion Allen fell on for the Govs. However, after the ensuing three-and-out, freshman Nolan Chowbay—filling in at punter for the injured Evan Toby—faked the punt and was summarily stuffed at the line of scrimmage to give Mercer strong starting field position.
The Governors defense held strong again, and Mercer's fourth-down and four pass attempt was broken up by junior Roderick Owens deep in enemy territory. The Govs would hold the Bears scoreless in the first quarter, with a Tee Mitchell 29-yard run the only true big play allowed by the Governor defense.
Mercer would score the opening salvo, with Alex Lakes crashing into the end zone from a yard out to cap an 11-play, 73-yard drive early in the second quarter.
The Govs would find their way into Mercer territory for the first time on the next drive, with senior Trey Taylor finding freshmen Juwan Davis for eight yards and Jim Irwin for nine and Otis Gerron adding a 14-yard run of hi8s own. However, the drive stalled just over midfield and the Govs would punt, with Chowbay pinning the Bears deep after getting a friendly bounce on the punt.
Austin Peay would force another turnover in the second quarter via Benedict Louis' forced fumble and would once more march into Mercer territory. The Govs would even the score thanks to a 22-yard strike from Taylor to Jared Beard and take the game into halftime tied at seven after Mercer's Jagger Lieb missed a 45-yard field goal to end Mercer's final first-half drive.
Beard was targeted early and often, with the work he and Taylor did over the summer evident on Saturday. The sophomore from Murfreesboro had one of his best nights in a Governor uniform, posting seven catches for 85 yards.
Mercer would take the opening kickoff of the second half and march methodically down the field, with Lakes punching it in again from a yard out to put an exclamation point on the nine-play, 62-yard drive.
After a pooch punt attempt by Taylor was blocked, Mercer took over near midfield and marched on a Governors defense that spent a lot of time on the field Saturday—the Bears controlled possession with a time of possession mark. However, Lieb missed again from 45 yards out as the Govs caught another break.
The Govs defense continued to hold in the second half, and in the fourth quarter Taylor found momentum. Marching the Govs deep into Mercer territory, Taylor attempted to find Gerron on an inside screen only to have the ball carom off his hands and into the waiting arms of Lee Bennett to halt a promising Governors drive.
Emboldened by the break, Mercer marched down the field and gave themselves some breathing space on the scoreboard when John Russ hung in the pocket against a heavy Austin Peay pass rush and completed a pass to Tee Mitchell, who rumbled untouched 42 yards to make it 21-7 Bears.
Mitchell added another touchdown jaunt, from a yard out, late in the game to seal the victory for the Bears.
#7 JACKSONVILLE STATE 23, #8 CHATTANOOGA 20
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Jacksonville State got the test it wanted to kick off the 2015 season and passed with flying colors.
Facing a top 10 FCS opponent before the third-largest crowd in Finley Stadium history, the seventh-ranked Gamecocks marched 79 yards for the go-ahead score and then turned to their defense to preserve a 23-20 win over No. 8 Chattanooga in the season opener for both.
The Mocs (0-1), the reigning Southern Conference champions and an FCS playoff quarterfinalist in 2014, had taken their final lead when Montrell Pardue stripped JSU's Troymaine Pope and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown for a 20-16 lead with 8:16 remaining.
The Gamecocks responded with a drive that showcased the leadership and poise of junior quarterback Eli Jenkins and the depth of their running game.
Jacksonville State moved 79 yards in 10 plays, twice converting fourth downs in Chattanooga territory. Miles Jones leaped over the line for a 1-yard TD run and Connor Rouleau kicked the extra point to make it 23-20 with 2:41 left.
The game ended as Darius Jackson sacked UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman.
The Jenkins-led JSU offense recorded 411 total yards, with 298 on the ground. Pope rushed for a career-high 173 yards on 15 carries, while transfer Josh Clemons had 67. Rouleau hit field goals of 34, 35 and 32 yards.
Jacksonville State never led in the first half. The Gamecocks took their first lead by taking the second-half kickoff and moving 57 yards in 11 plays, with Rouleau kicking a 35-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead.
That lead didn't last long, however.
The Mocs answered with a time-consuming drive of their own to tie the score at 13-13. Henrique Ribeiro's 33-yard field goal at the 4:47 mark to finish off a 12-play, 59-yard drive that chewed up 5 minutes, 37 seconds.
HOUSTON 52, TENNESSEE TECH 24
HOUSTON (AP) - Greg Ward Jr. threw for one touchdown and ran for two more and Houston rolled over Tennessee Tech, 52-24 in the season opener for both schools on Saturday night.
Ward completed 21 of 28 pass attempts for 275 yards, firing a 29-yard strike to Kyle Postma in the third quarter to push Houston's lead to 31-10 to start the second half. He dashed 3 yards for a first-quarter score and 41-yards for another in the second quarter. Ward finished with 107 yards on 13 carries.
Jared Davis was 16 of 26 for 312 yards and two touchdowns to Brock McCoin through the air to lead Tennessee Tech, but the Golden Eagles could manage just 29 net yards on 33 carries.
McCoin finished with nine catches for 264 yards for Tennessee Tech.
Houston, meanwhile, picked up 627 total yards -- rushing for 272 yards on 44 carries.