• ESPN3 Information and FAQ | Direct Link to Eastern Kentucky/Jacksonville State Game
This week the OVC Football "Game of the Week" series on ESPN3 features Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville State. The game is slated to kick-off at 1:00 p.m. CT on Saturday.
This contest is the eighth of an eight-game package that will air on ESPN3 this season.
The games are being produced by Tupelo Raycom, a Raycom Media company that brings together Tupelo-Honey (founded 1996) and WebStream Sports (2006). With offices in New York, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Nashville and Los Angeles the company develops new programming and delivers live events, music specials and branded features for broadcast, digital and in-venue entertainment.
Kevin Ingram, host of "The Wake Up Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while Bob Belvin, on-air talent and contributor at ESPN Clarksville, will provide analysis. The duo has worked together each of the past seven years in the league's TV package.
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the ESPN App. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
GAME PREVIEW
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (6-5, 4-3 OVC)
at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (6-5, 3-4 OVC)
Saturday, November 23 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium (24,000) • Jacksonville, Ala.
TV:...................................................................... ESPN3
Live Stats:.........................................
http://bit.ly/33RNubr
Series Record:..................... Jacksonville State leads 10-6
Last Meeting:........... Jacksonville State won 56-7 (10/6/18)
Mark Elder at Eastern Kentucky:................... 20-24 (4 yrs.)
Mark Elder Overall:.................................................. same
John Grass at Jacksonville State:................. 58-17 (6 yrs.)
John Grass Overall:................................................. same
Eastern Kentucky Last Week: W, 22-10 vs. Tennessee Tech
Jacksonville State Last Week:..................................... Idle
GAME NOTES: Eastern Kentucky travels to Jacksonville State for a matchup of 6-5 teams on Saturday. The Colonels are looking for its second-straight winning season while the Gamecocks are looking to extend its streak of winning seasons to 17. The teams are meeting for the 17th time with JSU having won the past six meetings. A year ago Jacksonville State exploded for 637 yards of total offense while limiting Eastern Kentucky to 147 yards. Backup quarterback Zion Webb passed for three touchdowns and ran for a team-high 100 yards and another score for JSU in the win. Austin Scott passed for 89 yards and a touchdown for EKU. Since 2003 (when Jacksonville State joined the OVC) the two most successful OVC teams in terms of Conference winning percentage
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: Eastern Kentucky ended a two-game skid (both of which came by seven points) with a 22-10 home victory over Tennessee Tech. The Colonels defense, which ranks first in the OVC in scoring defense (21.9 points/game) and second in total defense (319.3 yards/game), clamped down on the Golden Eagles, allowing only two net rushing yards thanks in part of seven sacks of TTU quarterback Bailey Fisher. EKU held the Golden Eagles, who had been averaging 31 points a game, to just 10 points (a first quarter touchdown setup by a fumble and a third quarter 52-yard touchdown). Senior Corey Glass had a team-high seven tackles and a sack. On the season he ranks second nationally in fumbles recovered/game (3). Taquan Evans had three of the Colonels three sacks. On the offensive side of the ball the Colonels rushed for 228 more yards than the Golden Eagles did as Daryl McCleskey Jr. finished with 106 yards and a touchdown. McCleskey leads the OVC and ranks 10th nationally in rushing (1,128 yards) and 17th in rushing yards/carry (5.94). Alonzo Booth added his 13th touchdown of the season, which ranks him 15th nationally. Kicker Samuel Hayworth connected on three field goals (22, 36, 29) in the win; he is now 13-of-16 in field goals on the season.
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: Although Jacksonville State will not be able to extend its streak of OVC Championships to six-straight, the Gamecocks have plenty to play for the last week of the season. JSU has had 16-straight winning seasons, the longest active streak in the FCS. JSU enters this week having lost two in a row and three of its last four games, including two weeks ago at Tennessee Tech. Quarterback Zerrick Cooper needs just 72 passing yards to move into the OVC single-season Top 10; last year he had the seventh-most passing yards in a season (3,416). Cooper also has a chance to move into the OVC single-season Top 10's in passing touchdowns, pass completions and total offense. Cooper has the top two passing touchdown marks in school history (32 in 2018 and 25 this season). Cooper also has 10 300-yard passing games for his career, the most in school history. Senior wide receiver Josh Pearson enters his final career game with 30 career touchdown receptions, which ranks seventh in OVC history (five away from the all-time record). Pearson's 13 touchdowns this season is tied for the 10th-most in OVC history. Pearson caught two touchdowns in the team's last game. Zach Woodard had 11 tackles in the team's game at Tennessee Tech; he leads the Gamecocks with 85 tackles on the season.