Eastern Kentucky Colonels (2-3, 1-0 OVC)
at UT Martin Skyhawks (2-4, 2-2 OVC)
Saturday, Oct. 16 • 2:00 p.m. CT
Graham Stadium (7,500) • Martin, Tenn.
TV: OVCSports.TV
Live Stats: http://www.utmsports.com/livestats/football/xlive.htm
Series Record: Eastern Kentucky leads 20-0
Last Meeting: Eastern Kentucky won 31-25 (10/17/09)
Dean Hood at Eastern Kentucky: 15-13 (3 yrs.)
Dean Hood Overall: same
Jason Simpson at UT Martin: 28-24 (5 yrs.)
Jason Simpson Overall: same
Eastern Kentucky Last Week:W, 35-7 vs. Eastern Illinois
UT Martin Last Week: L, 30-20 vs. #3 Jacksonville State
GAME NOTES: Eastern Kentucky and UT Martin will meet for the 21st time on the gridiron on Saturday. The first 20 meetings have all gone in favor of the Colonels who have never lost to the Skyhawks. Despite never having lost to UTM, the last three years have all been close, with EKU winning by a combined 11 points, including blocking a potential game-winning field goal at the end of the game in 2008 (a 33-31 victory that gave EKU the OVC Championship).
Last year’s game saw the two teams combine for 29 points in the fourth quarter, as UTM tried to overcome a 21-6 third quarter deficit. T.J. Pryor passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns while C.J. Walker rushed for 84 yards and a score. UTM’s Cade Thompson passed for 334 yards and three scores, but had four interceptions and was sacked twice.
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY: Eastern Kentucky ran its winning streak to two games with a convincing 35-7 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday night at Roy Kidd Stadium. It marked fourth-straight victory for the Colonels over the Panthers dating back to the 2007 season. EKU ran for a season-high 287 yards, held EIU to 29 rushing yards and forced the Panthers into a season-high six turnovers in the contest. Over the past two weeks Eastern Kentucky has out-rushed its opponents 573-74.
Quarterback T.J. Pryor completed nine passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, but carried the ball 11 times for 78 years (7.1 yards/carry) and three touchdowns. Kyle Lumpkin added 73 yards rushing while Matt Denham had 60, including a run of 51 yards. Defensively Andrew Soucy had four tackles, including 2.5 tackles-for-loss and Shawn Shupperd was in on 1.5 sacks. With the victory the Colonels improved to 45-18 all-time in OVC openers and are now 296-114-7 all-time in OVC contests. The program needs four more Conference wins to become the first OVC team to reach that milestone.
SCOUTING UT MARTIN: UT Martin played the third-ranked team in the country tough on Saturday, out-gaining JSU 427-267 in total offense, but eventually lost 30-20 to Jacksonville State. The Skyhawks fell behind 30-6 early in the third quarter before scoring two touchdowns to trim the margin to 10 points; a final drive ended near mid-field when the team turned the ball over on downs. It was the first time that JSU had topped UT Martin in Martin since the 2004 season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Derek Carr had his second 300-yard passing game of the season as he completed 31-of-50 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns.
Carr connected with Bryant Milligan for a 42-yard score and Daniel Chamberlain for a six-yard touchdown. Senior Josh Bey had his second-straight 12-tackle game, netting nine solo stops and adding a sack. Bey has 286 tackles in his UTM career. Sophomore Cody Sandlin made a career-long field goal of 42 yards in the game; he leads the Skyhawks in scoring this season.
