By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The tale of the historical 2021 University of Tennessee at Martin football season gained at least another chapter today as the Skyhawks came out on top of a hard-fought 32-21 victory at Missouri State in the first round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Ranked No. 13 after securing the program’s second Ohio Valley Conference championship, UT Martin (10-2) showed grit and determination in defeating the 10th ranked Missouri State squad – one of six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams in the 24-team postseason field.
The highly acclaimed Skyhawk defense forced six turnovers – including a D’Carrious Stephens interception with 1:03 remaining that sealed the win. Oshae Baker and John Ford also recorded picks while David DuBose (two sacks), Austin Pickett (1.5 tackles for loss) and Shawn Shamburger (team-best seven tackles) made plays all over the field throughout the game.
Meanwhile, the duo of quarterback Dresser Winn (272 passing yards in his first start since Oct. 20, 2018) and wide receiver Donnell Williams (seven receptions for a career-best 178 yards – the seventh-best single-game performance in school history) guided UT Martin offensively. They connected for the eventual game-winning 37-yard touchdown score with 3:36 to go.
Today’s win was the 100th in the career of Skyhawk head coach Jason Simpson and the first playoff victory in the program’s FCS Era (since 1992). It marked UT Martin’s first postseason triumph since Nov. 14, 1988 – a span of 12,067 days.
“To go into a playoff game against a nationally ranked team that got a home game, these guys competed,” said Simpson, the 2021 OVC Coach of the Year. “So I was proud of them no matter how the game turned out. They took it upon themselves to keep competing and we were very fortunate to make one more play. As the head coach here for 16 years, we’ve had some good teams but this team has something special about them. This win was good for our program and good for our league – it’s our turn to carry the torch and fight for respect for the OVC.”
In a game that featured nine lead changes, the Skyhawks got on the scoreboard first thanks to a 33-yard field goal from Tyler Larco at the 4:15 mark of the first quarter.
After UT Martin held the Bears (8-4) to minus-2 combined yards on their first two offensive drives, Missouri State used a big rush to set up its first score – a four-yard touchdown pass that made the score 7-3 with 2:17 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Skyhawks answered right back, forcing their first turnover of the game on a muffed punt fumble recovered by Brock Powers at the Bear 5-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal from the 6, Winn lobbed a pass to the left corner of the endzone for Zoe Roberts, who leaped up for a contested catch. It was the team-high fifth touchdown grab of the season for Roberts as UT Martin went ahead 9-7 following a blocked PAT attempt.
Both teams traded punts before Missouri State reclaimed the lead (14-9) after a 10-play drive that ended with 7:14 to go in the second quarter.
The next turnover of the game came on the Bears’ next possession as Jay Rogers stripped the Missouri State ballcarrier and Stephens fell on the loose ball to give the Skyhawks possession at their own 39-yard line. Winn hit Williams for a 35-yard conversion on 3rd-and-9 to set up Peyton Logan, who became the 10th player in school history (first since 2014) to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a season today. The All-OVC first teamer scored on a 14-yard scamper over left end to tilt the score back in UT Martin’s favor at 16-14.
The Bears fumbled on the ensuing kickoff return, allowing the Skyhawks to extend their lead out to 19-14 following a 26-yard boot from Larco with 55 seconds left in the half.
Two plays later, Baker snagged his team-high fourth interception but Missouri State got the ball back and successfully converted a 47-yard field goal right before time expired to trim UT Martin’s lead to 19-17 at the half.
The offense stalled on both sides for a majority of the third quarter as the Bears struck first with a four-yard touchdown pass at the 5:48 mark.
The Skyhawks moved the ball with plenty of efficiency on their next drive, marching 88 yards on six plays to go back on top by a 26-24 margin. Winn found Williams for a beautiful 47-yard pass before Zak Wallace found paydirt from 14 yards out two plays later. It was Wallace’s 15th rushing touchdown of the season as the All-OVC first team tailback took over sole possession of the league lead in that category.
Another lead change was in store as the Bears claimed a 31-26 lead following a 29-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds to go in the third quarter. However, UT Martin flexed its muscle defensively from there on out – shutting out Missouri State the rest of the way to allow the Skyhawks to win the contest.
Larco pinned Missouri State at its own 2-yard line on UT Martin’s opening drive of the fourth quarter and boomed a 52-yard punt on the Skyhawks’ next possession.
Ford jumped a route down the middle of the field for an interception as he equaled Baker for the team lead with his fourth pick of the 2021 campaign. On the next play, Winn dropped back and delivered a perfect spiral to Williams, who came down with the catch amongst heavy traffic for a 37-yard touchdown. Leading 32-21, UT Martin went for a two-point conversion but was unsuccessful – giving the Bears the ball back with 3:36 remaining.
The Skyhawk defense held on the next drive, stopping Missouri State on a 4th-and-1 from the UT Martin 49-yard line. The Skyhawks forced the Bears to burn all of their timeouts following three straight rushing plays before a Larco punt gave Missouri State possession at its own 20-yard line with 1:45 to go.
The Bears gained 34 yards on two plays, moving just outside field goal range before a potential game-winning field goal but UT Martin’s ball-hawking defense prevailed once again. A pass over the middle was caught but the ball was jarred loose on a big hit from Baker. The ball popped in the air and right into the hands of a waiting Stephens as the graduate linebacker from Union City, Tenn. secured possession with both hands to start the celebration following back-to-back kneeldowns from Winn.
The Skyhawks advance to the NCAA FCS second round on Saturday, Dec. 4 when they make the 1,650-mile trek to face No. 8 Montana State. Kickoff from Bozeman, Mont. is set for 3 p.m. CST.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information