Football

Football Previews - Week 8


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It will be a full slate of games on Saturday with four Association games and a non-conference contest. In a battle of Conference unbeatens, nationally-ranked Tennessee Tech will travel to Lindenwood, while the third undefeated team, Gardner-Webb, hosts UT Martin. Eastern Illinois will travel to Southeast Missouri while Charleston Southern plays at Western Illinois. At Tennessee State it will be Homecoming, as the Big Blue hosts fellow HBCU Howard.

Saturday, October 18
UT Martin at Gardner-Webb, 1:30pm ET (ESPN+)
#8/8 Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood, 1:00pm CT (ESPN+)
Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri, 2:00pm CT (ESPN+)
Charleston Southern at Western Illinois, 3:00pm CT (ESPN+)
Howard at Tennessee State, 4:30pm CT (ESPN+)
 




UT Martin (2-5, 2-1) at Gardner-Webb (4-2, 2-0)
Saturday, October 18 - 1:30pm ET
All-Time Series: Series tied 3-3
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/4hcKQDT
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3LbWin3

Noteworthy: The Skyhawks are looking to avoid back-to-back road losses in Association games for the first time ... UTM last defeated Gardner-Webb in 2024 (W, 35-17 at home) ... UTM is 15-1 against conference foes at home since 2020 ... In their 32-31 win over Western Illinois last week, the Skyhawks rallied from a double-digit deficit for the first time since Sept. 14, 2024 against North Alabama. Martin trailed WIU, 31-20 with 1:10 left in the third quarter before JASE BAUER scored two, 2-yard TD runs in the fourth quarter to lead the comeback win. RB JOHN GENTRY became the first Skyhawk running back to surpass 100 rushing yards in a game this season with 104 against the Leathernecks ... The Skyhawks blocked their national-leading fifth kick of the season last Saturday, which was a 48-yard field goal attempt for the potential game-winner.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs are looking to start 3-0 in Association games for the first time, and last opened 3-0 in conference games in 2022 (5-0 in Big South) ... GWU last defeated UTM in 2023 (W, 38-34 at home) ... The Runnin’ Bulldogs have won four-straight FCS games for the first time since winning five-straight contests to close out the 2023 regular-season ... Gardner-Webb has won four of its last five home games ... GWU’s 4-2 start is its best since 2013 (also opened 4-2) ... QB NATE HAMPTON has thrown a TD pass in every contest this season, and is averaging a league-best 15.00 yards per completion (83 for 1,245 yards).

 




#8/8 Tennessee Tech (6-0, 3-0) at Lindenwood (3-3, 2-0)
Saturday, October 18 - 1:00pm CT
All-Time Series: TTU leads 2-1
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/46TxEjR
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3BtZfYV

Noteworthy: The Golden Eagles are looking to start 4-0 in Association games for the first time ... Tech won last year’s meeting with Lindenwood, 52-10 at home on Nov. 2 ... Tennessee Tech is 6-0 for the third time in program history (1952, 1977, 2025), and its best start since 1977 (8-0) ... TTU’s 11-straight wins is the longest winning streak in program history ... The Golden Eagles are 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2011 ... Through six games in 2025, Tech has rushed for 22 touchdowns and thrown for 16, has outscored the opposition 310 to 73, and has limited foes to 51.2 net rushing yards per game (307 total) ... Dating back to last season, TTU has held its last 10 opponents to less than 100 net rushing yards -- an Association consecutive record.

The Lions are looking to start 3-0 in Association games for the first time, and last opened 3-0 in conference games in 2021 (7-0 in GLVC) ... Lindenwood is seeking its sixth consecutive home victory on Saturday ... The Lions are 3-3 for the first time since 2023, are 2-0 in conference games for the first time since 2021, and have won five-straight home games ... Lindenwood has its first three-game FCS win streak since winning three-straight during the 2022 campaign (defeated Central Arkansas, Eastern Illinois and Murray State from Oct. 8-22) ... Lindenwood is averaging 31.67 points in its three wins, compared to 8.7 points in its three losses (13 total points in two FBS defeats).

 





Eastern Illinois (3-3, 2-1) at Southeast Missouri (2-4, 1-1)
Saturday, October 18 - 2:00pm CT
All-Time Series: EIU leads 18-14
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/3KNltMR
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4q9BnkI

Noteworthy: The Panthers are seeking to win three of their first four Association games for the first time ... EIU last defeated SEMO in 2017 (W, 19-16 at home) ... QB COLE LaCRUE leads the Panthers with six rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the overall OVC-Big South lead ... EIU did not have a player score multiple TDs in a game for the first time last week, as Eastern Illinois was held to a season-low 10 points in its loss to Gardner-Webb ... The Panthers rank 10th nationally in 4th Down Conversion Defense with a 33.3 percentage allowed.

The Redhawks carry a five-game Association home winning streak into Saturday’s contest ... Southeast Missouri has won the last seven meetings with EIU, and has not lost at home in the series since 2014 ... The Redhawk defense allowed its fewest points (12) and yardage (282) in last week’s win over Tennessee State ... RB BRANDON EPTON JR. posted the squad’s first multi-touchdown effort of the season in the TSU victory with rushing scores of 36 and 2 yards ... SEMO ranks fifth in FCS in net punting with its 42.59 average.


 




Charleston Southern (1-6, 0-3) at Western Illinois (1-6, 0-3)
Saturday, October 18 - 3:00pm CT
All-Time Series: WIU leads 1-0
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/3KU13la
Live Stats: : https://bit.ly/3Pyfr2i

Noteworthy: The Buccaneers are looking to snap a 13-game losing streak in Association games ... CSU is seeking its first road win since Sept. 7, 2024 (won at Furman) ... The Buccaneer defense held Tennessee Tech to its fewest points and second-fewest offensive yards of the season last week ... RB KeMARION BALDWIN has rushed for 338 yards in his last three games ... CSU ranks 16th in the nation in kickoff return defense (16.23 average return yards allowed).

The Leathernecks are looking to avoid starting 0-4 in Association games for the first time ... The program’s 31-20 triumph over Charleston Southern last season was WIU’s first-ever OVC-Big South conference game (Oct. 5, 2024) ... QB CASON CARSWELL has thrown for more than 300 yards in his last two appearances, and is 71-of-100 (=71.00 percent) passing for 788 yards and six touchdowns in his last three games ... The Leathernecks are tops in the Association and rank 16th in all of FCS in 4th Down Conversion percentage at 66.7.

 



Howard (3-3) at Tennessee State (1-5)
Saturday, October 18 - 4:30pm CT
All-Time Series: TSU leads 2-0
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/48w3Mv5
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3b4F8CT

Noteworthy: The Tigers are meeting Howard for the second-straight year and third time overall. TSU won last season’s match-up in DC, 27-14, and claimed the first-ever meeting in 2001 (W, 45-0 at home) ... RB ZACK SIMMONS-BROWN led the Tigers in rushing in last week’s setback at SEMO, the first time this season RB KENDRIC RHYMES was not TSU’s leading rusher in a game. Simmons-Brown scored Tennessee State’s lone touchdown on a 50-yard run early in the fourth quarter ... KAIKI BAKER is 11th in the nation with 5.67 solo tackles per game.