Coming off of a tough homecoming to Jacksonville State, UTM will continue their stretch of Ohio Valley Conference games when they travel to Cookeville to take on Tennessee Tech.
The Golden Eagles (3-3, 0-2 OVC) come into the game after suffering an 11-point loss to Murray State. However, with UTM (3-2, 1-1 OVC) coming off of their own double-digit loss, it’s safe to say that both teams will be trying to rebound and crawl their way back up the OVC ladder.
Through the first three weeks of the season, UTM shook up the FCS by defeating ranked teams Chattanooga and Central Arkansas. Then, they played Southeast Missouri. Despite coming out of the game with a win, the team displayed some of the same issues that people were expecting out of them before the season started. Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, some of those issues carried over to the Jacksonville State game.
Against the Redhawks, UTM threw a pick and had three fumbles; luckily, they only lost one. Against the Gamecocks, the Skyhawks put the ball on the ground two more times, losing one, and tossed another interception. In a ball-control offense like UTM’s, it’s often hard to come back from turnovers. The main reason that they overcame them against SEMO was the running back DJ McNeil.
At SEMO, McNeil had a career-high 156 yards, but he only ran for 66 against Jacksonville State. On the flip side, quarterback Dylan Favre threw the ball 36 times against the Gamecocks, a season-high.
Tennessee Tech brings in the sixth best scoring offense in the OVC, averaging 29.3 points per game, and the sixth best scoring defense that is allowing 32.5 points per game.
For UTM to get back on track, DJ McNeil has to be more involved in the offense than he was against Jacksonville State. Through the first four games of the season, McNeil averaged 24.5 touches a game and 124 yards per game; against the Gamecocks, he totaled 16 touches for 78 yards. Granted, a lot of that had to do with UTM playing from behind, but we learned early in the year that the formula for a Skyhawk victory was to rely on their fourth ranked rushing offense and their third ranked total defense.
On the bright side for UTM, the Golden Eagles have allowed 172.7 rushing yards per game so far this season. So assuming he gets the carries he needs, McNeil should have no problems finding holes. This game, like almost every game the Skyhawks have played this season, will ultimately come down to the quarterback position.
Favre will have to find the magic that helped him unofficially claim the starting job and lead the team to a 3-1 start and a No. 22 ranking in the Sports Network FCS Poll.
A strong showing against Tennessee Tech should solidify his role as the starting quarterback, but the Skyhawks can’t afford to return from Cookeville 1-2 in the conference when they take on Tennessee State.
