SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#3 Georgia 45,
#22 Austin Peay 0
@Arkansas 55,
Eastern Illinois 20
@Missouri 51,
UT Martin 14
@Tennessee State 34, Bethune-Cookman 3
@Arkansas State 48,
Southeast Missouri 21
#3 GEORGIA 45, #22 AUSTIN PEAY 0
ATHENS, Ga. - Sometimes you run up against a bigger dog.
Austin Peay State University football team ran up against the biggest dog of all—the Georgia Bulldogs, ranked third in FBS—to open the 2018 season, and departed with some valuable lessons to take into next week's home opener against Presbyterian.
The Govs needed a good start against the Bulldogs, but Georgia is ranked third in the nation for a reason—they're a very, very good football team. The Bulldogs first two drives were 10- and 11-play marches, yielding a Rodrigo Blankenship field goal and a Jake Fromm touchdown pass to Riley Ridley. The third, off a turnover deep in Austin Peay territory, was one play—an eight-yard touchdown scamper by D'Andre Swift.
Austin Peay's third drive looked as though it would bear fruit. Javaughn Craig led the Govs on an 11-play drive down to the Georgia 21-yard line, finding DeAngelo Wilson for nine yards for one first down and using his feet to pick up two more, including an 11-yard scamper on third-and-two to keep the drive alive. However, the drive stalled just outside the red zone and junior Logan Birchfield's 37-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Halftime is not usually a cause to mention in a postgame recap, but this particular halftime was a little different. After a quick video thanking Dawg Nation for their generosity—Georgia fans had added a huge boost to the "For the Love of Landrey" initiative to help out with Landrey Eargle's medical bills—assistant coach and run game coordinator Joshua Eargle and his wife Kristen were presented with a check from the Kirby Smart Foundation. During the third quarter, the GoFundMe's goal was met; at press time, more than $135,000 had been raised.
After a busy first half, a rejuvenated Austin Peay defense began the third quarter with new life. Kordell Jackson stepped in front of a Justin Fields pass attempt and nearly came down with his first interception of the young season. However, his break up left Georgia with a third-and-seven and Austin Peay stopped Brian Herrien short of the sticks to force a three-and-out.
Georgia drove deep into Austin Peay territory late in the third quarter before an opportunistic Governor defense snuffed out another drive. Georgia's Matthew Downing failed to execute the handoff and in the scrum, Austin Peay junior Shaun Whittinghill pounced on the ball for his first career fumble recovery.
Craig led another march into Georgia territory after a targeting call on Georgia's James Cook put the Govs near midfield to start the drive. Darryl Rollins-Davis took off for 14 yards and scampered 13 yards for another first down to put the Govs into Georgia territory. However, the drive stalled and the fourth-and-three rush by Tre' Nation came up just short.
The Govs made some significant halftime adjustments, and those paid dividends in the second half. Aside from a touchdown march in the third quarter, which featured a 36-yard scamper by James Cook and ended with a 12-yard toss from Fields to Isaac Naula, the Govs were able to keep Georgia at bay for much of the half—the Govs even held the Bulldogs to 13 total yards in the fourth quarter and kept Georgia off the board in the final quarter.
For the game, Craig and sophomore Jeremiah Oatsvall combined to go 13-of-21 passing, hitting seven different receivers. Four of those targets found DeAngelo Wilson for 25 yards, both career highs. Malik Davis and Gunnar Scholato tied for the team-high with seven tackles.
ARKANSAS 55, EASTERN ILLINOIS 20
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Arkansas took advantage of four Eastern Illinois turnovers inside the Panthers own 35 in the first half as the Razorbacks put a sour note on a homecoming for EIU head coach Kim Dameron with a 55-20 win on Saturday afternoon.
Dameron played at Arkansas under head coach Lou Holtz in the early 1980’s and was coaching for the first time as a head coach against his alma mater.
EIU turned the ball over the on the opening drive and after the Panthers defense held, the Razorbacks settled for a 35-yard field goal by Connor Limpert with 12:43 to play in the first quarter.
The Panthers defense held on the next turnover but the third one proved costly as Arkansas forced a fumble in the end zone that Briston Guidry landed on to put the Razorbacks up 10-0.
EIU would miss two field goal attempts in the first half that would have cut into that Arkansas lead as they missed from 47 yards and 29 yards out.
Arkansas would built a 24-0 lead before EIU was able to get on the board when Harry Woodbery connected with Alexander Hollins on a 43-yard touchdown strike to make it 24-6 after EIU had the extra point blocked.
The Razorbacks would lead 38-6 at the half after two long touchdown passes by Ty Storey to LaMichael Pettway and Jordan Jones.
A fifth turnover on the opening drive of the second half was returned by Bumper Pool to inside the EIU 5-yard line. Storey would convert on a quarterback keeper a few plays later to put Arkansas up 45-6. Storey passed for 261 yards on the day going 12-of-17.
Woodbery and Hollins would hook up one more time in the 3rd quarter on a short touchdown pass. Hollins finished with 127 yards on nine catches. It was Hollins fifth career game with more than 100-yards receiving.
Woodbery passed for 96 yards splitting time at quarterback Johnathan Brantley. Brantley hit Hollins for 16-yard pass in the fourth quarter for the senior’s third touchdown reception of the game. Brantley passed for 134 yards. Jamal Scott came off the bench to rush for 82 yards on 12 carries in the second half.
EIU finished with 357 yards of total offense. Arkansas finished with 433 yards.
Terrell Greer had eight tackles to lead EIU on defense. Dre Greenlaw had ten tackles for the Razorbacks.
MISSOURI 51, UT MARTIN 14
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football battled but ultimately could not outmatch the explosive offense that Southeastern Conference opponent Missouri put on exhibition in the season opener at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, falling 51-14.
The Skyhawks (0-1) managed 277 yards of total offense against a stingy SEC foe while notching 14 first downs and a pair of touchdowns. Meanwhile the highly-touted Missouri offense proved up to its billing with 558 yards – including 394 yards through the air.
Sophomore quarterback Dresser Winn got the start in his first matchup against a FBS foe and completed 15-of-24 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. His best play came on a 51-yard completion down the right sideline, finding explosive dual-threat target LaDarius Galloway who scampered untouched towards the endzone.
Galloway paced the running back core with seven carries for 31 yards. Preseason All-OVC sophomore Peyton Logan tallied four carries for 18 yards while junior Jaimiee Bowe saw his first game action since 2016 and tallied a touchdown.
Defensively, senior standout Kevin Prather, Jr. paced the squad with nine tackles – including 2.0 tackles for loss. Preseason All-OVC honoree James Gilleylen was close behind with eight tackles and a game-high three tackles for loss. The duo of Andrew Horton-Martindale and Korbin Harmon were also present in the backfield, notching a tackle for loss each.
Missouri (1-0) pick up a win in the season-opener behind preseason Heisman candidate Drew Lock. The senior quarterback lived up to the hype, completing 19-of-25 pass attempts for 289 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Emanuel Hall led the team with four receptions for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The receiving duo of Johnathan Johnson and Kam Scott also tallied touchdown receptions while Larry Roundtree and Damar Crockett notched touchdown scampers on the ground.
TENNESSEE STATE 34, BETHUNE-COOKMAN 3
NASHVILLE - Powered by 525 yards of total offense and an impressive defensive performance, the Tennessee State football team earned a 34-3 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Friday night at Nissan Stadium in the 20th annual John Merritt Classic.
Chris Rowland, who was voted offensive MVP, finished with 154 yards on seven receptions. He added 64 yards on four punt returns and one rush for eight yards for 226 all purpose yards.
Micheal Hughes and DeMarco Corbin had rushing touchdowns, while DeVon Johnson had a touchdtown catch.
DaJour Nesbeth added the exclamation mark with a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown with just over five minutes to play in the game for a 34-3 lead. LaQuarius Cook picked up an interception earlier in the game for the defense. Blair Edwards won defensive MVP after registering seven tackles, one sack and one pass breakup.
Freshman kicker Antonio Zita hit two field goals on the night in his collegiate debut.
ARKANSAS STATE 48, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 21
JONESBORO, Ark. - Southeast Missouri (0-1) opened the season with a 48-21 loss to Football Bowl Subdivision and Sun Belt Conference member Arkansas State (1-0) Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium.
SEMO twice tied ASU in the contest, but the Red Wolves used 27 third-quarter points to put the game out of reach.
Justice Hansen completed 26-of-36 passes for 423 yards and six touchdowns to lead a ASU offense that piled up 685 total yards. Hansen's six touchdown passes were a school record.
ASU struck first with 9:05 in the first quarter when Hansen hooked up with Jonathan Adams for 26 yards on the first of his three touchdown passes in the first half.
A 35-yard interception return by redshirt-sophomore Marcus Lucas gave SEMO the ball near midfield at its own 45-yard line. Immediately after a timeout, Daniel Santacaterina completed a 52-yard pass to Kristian Wilkerson as the Redhawks moved to the ASU 3.
Two plays later, Santacaterina threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M transfer Kobe Bryer. Bryer stretched the ball over the goal line inside the pylon along the far sideline to tie the game at 7-7 with 10:34 left in the second quarter.
ASU pulled ahead again, this time on a 15-yard pass from Hansen to Justin McInnis, with 8:47 on the clock. The touchdown capped a 5-play, 63-yard drive as the Red Wolves took a 14-7 advantage.
Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year Marquis Terry ripped off a 67-yard touchdown run on the second play of the Redhawks ensuing drive. Terry's eighth career rushing touchdown knotted the game at 14-14 with 8:02 remaining.
A 36-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Kendrick Edwards finished off ASU's longest drive of the first half. The Red Wolves covered 84 yards on 10 plays to regain a 21-14 lead at the half.
With two minutes left before half, Santacaterina ran through an open lane and was hit hard by Demari Edwards when he slid to the turf for a first down. Edwards was ejected for targeting and Santacaterina was carted off the field on a stretcher. Santacaterina was evaluated at a local hospital for precautionary reasons and later returned to the Redhawks sideline.
ASU quickly put the game out of reach when it scored three of its four third-quarter touchdowns in less than a minute.
Hansen tossed a 57-yard touchdown pass to Javonis Isaac on the third play of the second half as that score came in 59 seconds. He then threw a 67-yard TD to Marcel Murray in 12 seconds. Logan Bonner's 54-yard touchdown pass to Omar Bayless was the other quick strike in 10 seconds that extended ASU's lead to 48-14.
Anthony Cooper ended the scoring late in the game when he rushed 14 yards for his first career touchdown with 37 seconds left.
Terry ran for 77 yards on nine carries, while Santacaterina threw for 89 yards on 10-of-13 passes in his first start as SEMO's quarterback. Cooper had 74 passing yards on 8-of-15 attempts. Wilkerson paved the way with 56 receiving yards as one of six different Redhawk receivers with a catch.
Defensively, SEMO forced two turnovers. Lucas and Omardrick Douglas each had an interception. Preseason All-OVC linebacker Zach Hall finished with a career-high 22 tackles. Hall's 22 tackles tied for third-most in a game in school history.