UT Martin travels to South Carolina this weekend to try to extend their five-game win streak against 1-8 Charleston Southern at 1 p.m.
The Skyhawks are coming off of a massive 28-21 win over Tennessee State that bumped them up to being ranked for the second time this season. The Skyhawks come in at #19 and #22 in the Stats Perform Top 25 Poll and the AFCA Top 25 Poll respectively.
The Charleston Southern Buccaneers are coming in on a seven-game losing streak after a 17-14 loss to Gardner-Webb this past week. For reference, UT Martin beat Gardner-Webb 35-17. That does not mean this is a guaranteed win for the Skyhawks, but it is a good comparison to look at.
The Buccaneers currently rank dead last in the Big-South OVC in offense to go along with their third best defense in the conference.
The Buccaneers’ ninth ranked passing attack is led by sophomore QB Kaleb Jackson who took over the helm from Sr. Rob McCoy Jr. Jackson has started two games so far, averaging 170.5 yards per game on a 48% completion percentage, accumulating three total touchdowns for the Buccaneers. The young QB will have a tough time facing a greedy Skyhawk defense that leads the conference in turnover margin.
The young signal caller has two favorite targets through his two starts as both Jr. Chris Rhone and So. Noah Jennings has led the team in receiving yards in that span. Rhone leads the team through the air with 482 yards and three touchdowns, followed by Jennings with 382 yards and three touchdowns of his own.
On the ground, the Buccaneers boast the fifth best rushing attack in the Big-South OVC and have two strong but young backs with So. Autavius Ison and Fr. Tyson Greenwade.
Ison has missed two games for the Buccaneers but averages the second most yards per game, behind Skyhawk RB Patrick Smith, for Big-South OVC running backs with 96 yards per game while adding four touchdowns.
In his place, Greenwade has fared well, averaging five yards per carry behind Ison throughout the season and scoring a touchdown in each of his two starts this season.
Despite the 8-1 record, the Buccaneers have playmakers all over the defensive side of the field.
Sr. defensive lineman Darrius Bell leads the Buccaneers with four sacks, which is tied for fourth in the conference, while also accumulating 38 tackles.
Leading tackler So. Steve Zayachkowsky has been a leader for the defense with 56 total tackles and a sack to go along with a forced fumble.
In the back end of the defense, the Buccaneers have gotten strong performances from Sr. Safety Trayson Fowler. Fowler has totaled five passes defended to go along with an interception and 42 tackles.
For the Skyhawks, they should look to get back to the run with Patrick Smith after two straight games with less than a hundred yards for the conference rushing leader. QB Kinkead Dent needs to continue avoiding turnovers and it could not hurt for him to continue his own rushing touchdown streak.
On defense, the Skyhawks need their star linebacker core to continue to make plays. Chris Hunter Jr. picked off two passes while Jaylon Sharpe and Tevin Shipp both were affecting the QB frequently.
The Skyhawks do not have much of a history with their now conference opponents. The two have only met twice since their first meeting in 1994. The Skyhawks will look to stay undefeated historically against the Buccaneers and extend their win streak to six.
