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Saturday's action includes the Prairie State rivalry between Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois, Lindenwood playing at Gardner-Webb, UT Martin travels to Charleston Southern and Tennessee State hosts Southeast Missouri.
Saturday, November 7
*Lindenwood at Gardner-Webb, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UT Martin at Charleston Southern, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Eastern Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southeast Missouri at Tennessee State, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood Lions (4-4, 3-1 OVC) at Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (3-6, 2-2 OVC)
Saturday, November 7 • 12:30 p.m. CT
Spangler Stadium (8,500) • Boiling Springs, N.C.
Video (ESPN+):
https://bit.ly/4BC22w9
Live Stats:
https://bit.ly/4izF4gH
Series Record: Gardner-Webb leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Gardner-Webb won 48-20 (10/25/25)
Noteworthy: Lindenwood makes its second-ever trip to Boiling Springs in what is the third all-time meeting between the Lions and the Runnin' Bulldogs. Gardner-Webb has won both of the first two meetings … Lindenwood won its third-straight game overall and improved to 3-1 in OVC play in blanking Tennessee State last week. The Lions held TSU to just 187 yards of offense in netting its first shutout since 2024 … Lindenwood enters the week tied for first place with three OVC games to go … Gardner-Webb had its third game of the season in limiting an opponent to less than 200 yards of total offense, in winning 34-10 at SEMO. GWU allowed only 187 yards of total offense and did not surrender an offensive touchdown … In place of injured starter Cole Pennington, freshman Lan Farmer passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in his second career start.
UT Martin Skyhawks (3-6, 2-2 OVC) at Charleston Southern Buccaneers (4-5, 1-3 OVC)
Saturday, November 7 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Buccaneer Field (4,000) • Charleston, S.C.
Video (ESPN+):
https://bit.ly/3W7beZt
Live Stats:
https://bit.ly/4yj3OjM
Series Record: UT Martin leads 4-0
Last Meeting: UT Martin won 17-14 (11/15/25)
Noteworthy: Charleston Southern is in search of its first-ever win over UT Martin as the teams meet for the fifth time on Saturday. Last year's contest (a 17-14 decision) was the closest margin in the all-time series. The two teams have combined for nine defensive touchdowns this year … Last week versus Eastern Illinois, UT Martin rushed for a season-high 236 yards on 32 carries (7.4 ypc). Freshman Jaydon Peete rushed for 99 yards while Chris Franklin added 67 yards and two touchdowns … The Skyhawks rank second in the OVC and 17th nationally in net punting (40.0) … Charleston Southern scored three defensive touchdowns but came up a touchdown short again Western Illinois last week … Linebacker Steve Zayachkowsky tied his season-high with 17 tackles and now leads the OVC and ranks sixth nationally in tackles/game (10.7).
Western Illinois Leathernecks (5-4, 3-1 OVC) at Eastern Illinois Panthers (3-6, 2-2 OVC)
Saturday, November 7 • 2:00 p.m. CT
O'Brien Field (10,000) • Charleston, Ill.
Video (ESPN+):
https://bit.ly/4BAttXc
Live Stats:
https://bit.ly/2oWwWzR
Series Record: Western Illinois leads 42-26-4
Last Meeting: Eastern Illinois won 42-23 (9/27/25)
Noteworthy: Prairie State rivals meet for the 73rd time on Saturday in Charleston. After not playing from 2017-23, EIU has won the last two meetings since WIU joined the OVC … Western Illinois picked up its first road win of the season in exciting fashion last week, scoring the winning TD with 15 seconds left to beat Charleston Southern 42-35. The Leathernecks had 567 yards of total offense in the victory … WIU is off to a 3-1 start in Conference play for the first time since 2015. They are the only team to rank in the Top 6 nationally in both total offense (6th) and total defense (5th) … EIU is still in search of its first home win of the season but won its third road game of the year last week, topping UT Martin, its first win over the Skyhawks since 2018. The Panthers had 552 yards of total offense in the victory … EIU leads the OVC and ranks sixth nationally in turnover margin (+1.0/game). The Panthers have 16 takeaways in nine games in 2026.
Southeast Missouri Redhawks (5-4, 3-1 OVC) at Tennessee State Tigers (2-7, 0-4 OVC)
Saturday, November 7 • 2:30 p.m. CT
Nissan Stadium (69,143) • Nashville, Tenn.
Video (ESPN+):
https://bit.ly/4ktmr0h
Live Stats:
https://bit.ly/3b4F8CT
Series Record: Southeast Missouri leads 17-15
Last Meeting: Southeast Missouri won 28-12 (10/11/25)
Noteworthy: The 33rd all-time matchup between the schools takes place on Saturday. The teams have split the last two meetings although SEMO has won six of the last seven in the series … SEMO begins a two-game road trip tied with for first place in the OVC, although they control their destiny having defeated the other two teams already this season … The Redhawks had three interceptions in last week's loss to Gardner-Webb, including KJ McRae returning a pick 50 yards for a touchdown … Tennessee State will play the next two games at home before closing out the 2026 season on the road. The Tigers are looking for its first OVC win since November 23, 2024 (28-21 vs. SEMO) … Cam Bulluck had seven catches last week against Lindenwood to move to 49 catches for 679 yards on the season. He has seven touchdown catches, which leads the OVC.