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Week six is the first of the yera that features a full slate of Association games. Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb meet in the North-South BBQ Bowl, Western Illinois will travel to nationally-ranked Tennessee Tech, Lindenwood hosts UT Martin and Tennessee State plays at Eastern Illinois.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
Western Illinois at #9/11 Tennessee Tech, 12:00pm CT (ESPN+)
Charleston Southern at Gardner-Webb, 1:30pm ET (ESPN+)
UT Martin at Lindenwood, 1:00pm CT (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois, 2:00pm CT (ESPN+)
Open Date: Southeast Missouri
Western Illinois (1-4, 0-1) at #9/11 Tennessee Tech (4-0, 1-0)
Saturday, October 4
All-Time Series: WIU leads 2-1
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/4pQ6EJh
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4gXEMPC
Noteworthy: The Leathernecks are looking to avoid starting 0-1 in Association games for the first time ... WIU won last year’s meeting with TTU, 37-21 at home on Oct. 19, which was also Tech’s last conference loss ... TE
ALEX WILLIAMS tallied both the Leathernecks’ touchdowns last week against Eastern Illinois with receiving grabs of 8 and 6 yards. WR
TRISTIN DUNCAN posted the Association’s first 10-reception game this season with 10 catches (78 yards).
ANTONIO CHADHA converted all three of his field goal attempts, with a long of 49.
The Golden Eagles are looking to start 2-0 in Association games for the second consecutive year ... Tech’s lone victory over WIU was in 2019 (W, 38-24 in Macomb) ... Tennessee Tech is 4-0 for the sixth time in program history, and its best start since 1977 (8-0) ... TTU’s nine-straight wins also ties the longest winning streak in program history ... The Golden Eagles recorded 12 tackles-for-loss last week at Tennessee State, tied for the fourth-most in a single-game in Association history. RB
QUINTELL QUINN rushed for a game-high 107 yards on just seven carries, while
Q’DARYIUS JENNINGS added 71 yards on just six attempts. ... Through four games in 2025, Tech has rushed for 16 touchdowns and thrown for 10, has outscored the opposition 217 to 39, and has limited foes to 55.8 net rushing yards per game (233 total) ... Dating back to last season, TTU has held its last eight opponents to less than 300 yards of offense AND below 100 net rushing yards -- both Association consecutive records.
Charleston Southern (1-4, 0-1) at Gardner-Webb (2-2, 0-0)
Saturday, October 4
All-Time Series: GWU leads 13-9
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/46LK9wq
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4mPnmG6
Noteworthy: The Buccaneers are looking to snap an 11-game losing streak in Association games ... CSU last defeated Gardner-Webb in 2021 (W, 32-24 in 2OT) ... The Bucs snapped their 14-game losing streak last week with a 31-24 home victory over South Carolina State in front of the third-largest crowd in school history (6,211). RB
KE’MARION BALDWIN scored on a 10-yard rush with 1:03 remaining to break the 24-24 tie, and send CSU to its first-ever win over SCSU. The win also helped the Bucs avoid a program-tying 15th consecutive loss. Baldwin finished with 122 rushing yards and two scores, and Charleston Southern had its first 30-point game since Nov. 4, 2023 (35 vs. Tennessee State) ... The win was the Bucs’ first non-conference victory since Sept. 7, 2024 (W, 24-20 over nationally-ranked Furman) ... This week, Charleston Southern goes for its first winning streak since 2023 (two-straight wins from Sept. 30-Oct. 14).
The Runnin’ Bulldogs are looking to start 1-0 in Association games for the first time, and last opened 1-0 in conference games in 2022 (Big South) ... GWU has won the last three meetings with Charleston Southern ... The Runnin’ Bulldogs enter the week seeking their first three-game FCS win streak since winning five-straight FCS contests to close out the 2023 regular-season ... Gardner-Webb has won three of its last four home games ... GWU is looking to record three wins through the first five games of a season for the first time since opening the 2021 season at 3-2 ... Gardner-Webb’s 122 points this season are the program’s most through the first four games since 2021, when the Runnin’ Bulldogs scored 143 in their ?rst four contests.
UT Martin (1-4, 1-0) at Lindenwood (2-3, 1-0)
Saturday, October 4
All-Time Series: UTM leads 2-0
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/3WgisqG
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3BtZfYV
Noteworthy: The Skyhawks are looking to start 2-0 in Association games for the first time since 2023 (3-0) ... Both of UTM’s wins over Lindenwood were home victories (56-26 in 2022; 33-26 in OT in 2024) ... QB
JASE BAUER and WR
BRYCE BAILEY were the main contributors in the Skyhawks’ 34-10 Association-opening win over Southeast Missouri. Bauer was responsible for all four UTM touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) and became the first Skyhawk quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards since Hall of Famer
BRADY WAHLBERG on Oct. 15, 2005. Bauer was 15-of-22 passing for 225 yards along with 107 rushing yards, and connected twice with Bailey for scoring strikes of 75 and 21 yards. Bailey finished with seven catches for 135 yards on the day ... The Skyhawks have scored 30-plus points in 10 of its last 12 Association games ... UTM is 14-1 against conference foes at home since 2020.
The Lions are looking to start 2-0 in Association games for the first time, as well as win back-to-back league games for the first time in their Division I era ... Lindenwood is seeking its fifth consecutive home victory on Saturday ... Lindenwood played its second and final FBS opponent of the season last week, and suffered its first shut-out since the 2017 season (lost 19-0 to Northwest Missouri State on Oct. 21) ... The Lions are seeking their 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).
Tennessee State (1-3, 0-1) at Eastern Illinois (2-2, 1-0)
Saturday, October 4
All-Time Series: EIU leads 16-12
Live Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/42iIhtJ
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2oWwWzR
Noteworthy: The Tigers are looking to avoid starting 0-2 in Association games for the first time ... Tennessee State won last year’s meeting with EIU (W, 41-17), and has won four of the last five match-ups ... RB
KENDRIC RHYMES was the Tigers’ leading rusher for the fourth-straight game with his 31 yards in last week’s Association-opening loss to Tennessee Tech. He also had 53 receiving yards to finish with 84 all-purpose yards. QB
JONATHAN PALMER was 13-of-25 passing for 127 yards, while
BYRON McNAIR was 8-of-14 passing for 114.
FREDDY PEREZ made field goals of 30 and 23 yards to get TSU on the scoreboard before the team recorded a late safety for the final margin.
The Panthers are looking to start 2-0 in Association games for the first time, and last opened 2-0 in conference games in 2017 (4-0 in OVC) ... EIU last defeated Tennessee State in 2023 (W, 30-17 at home) ... The Panthers’ 31-23 win over Western Illinois last week was the program’s first victory in Macomb in 35 years (October 1990). EIU scored all four touchdowns on the ground and finished with 239 rushing yards, the program’s mosh rushing yards in a contest since Sept. 23, 2023 (311 vs. McNeese) ...
JACARRE FLEMING gained a team-high 111 yards on just nine carries ( =12.3 yards per rush) with two scores, while
CHARLES KELLOM had 74 rushing yards (10 carries) and
JAY PEARSON added 59 yards (11 carries) ... This week, Eastern Illinois goes for its first winning streak since winning the final four contests of the 2023 season.
OPEN DATE