By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – For the first time in 34 years, the University of Tennessee at Martin football team strolled into Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium and emerged victorious as the Skyhawks dialed up a gigantic 34-31 triumph over the No. 9 ranked Jacksonville State Gamecocks today.
The win marked the first UT Martin victory in Jacksonville since 1987 and the first nonconference road win over a top-15 squad since defeating Chattanooga on Sept. 16, 2017. The win improved the Skyhawks to 3-1 on the 2021 campaign, compiling three nonconference victories in as many weeks for the first time since joining the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision ranks in 1992.
“I’m proud of our team – it’s been a long time coming,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “For us to be able to take a stand there, take the ball with about six minutes left and get a couple of first downs to put the game away, that’s where our football team is growing. I think we’re just now figuring out how good we can be – if we do the right thing and don’t beat ourselves – we’ve got a chance to beat anybody on our schedule.”
The Skyhawks had to come from behind today, trailing by as many as 14 points before nabbing their first lead of the contest with 10:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Keon Howard to Zoe Roberts connection proved to be pivotal late as those two linked up for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning touchdown scores over a 3:38 stretch.
Howard ended his day by completing 79.2 percent (19-for-24) of his pass attempts for three touchdowns. He also added 40 yards on six carries as UT Martin outgained the host Gamecocks by a 426-409 margin in yards.
Peyton Logan (game-high 67 yards) and Zak Wallace (63 rushing yards on nine rushes, one touchdown) helped the Skyhawks gain 171 yards on the ground.
Six different Skyhawks caught a pass today as Colton Dowell registered six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Roberts, a freshman from Perry, Fla., enjoyed a breakout day with four catches, 73 yards and two touchdowns on five targets.
Defensively, JaQuez Akins came away with a team-high seven tackles (five solo), 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Oshae Baker (six tackles, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery) and Takeem Young (five tackles, one forced fumble) guided a swarming UT Martin secondary against its former Ohio Valley Conference foe Jacksonville State, who had one of the biggest FCS wins of the season after knocking off Florida State on Sept. 11.
“Jacksonville State is a good team,” Simpson said. “Their quarterback (Zerrick Cooper) has probably thrown for about 10,000 yards and it seems like he’s been here forever. So for these guys to come into their house and get the win, we’ve got a resumé builder here. Now here’s the thing – we’re 0-0 in the OVC. So now let’s not go backwards, let’s keep getting better and see what we can do.”
The Gamecocks (2-2) started out with the upper hand as a strip-sack was returned 46 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes into the contest. Jacksonville State then scored on seven plays in its first offensive drive to take a 14-0 lead at the 7:39 mark of the opening quarter.
The Skyhawks marched the ball down the field on their final possession of the first quarter, capped off by a 26-yard field goal from Tyler Larco to make the score 14-3.
Jacksonville State missed a 51-yard field goal try to begin the second quarter but came back with a 33-yard kick that was true, giving the Gamecocks a 17-3 lead a little over eight minutes to go before the halftime break.
It didn’t take long for UT Martin to bounce back as the a 45-yard pass from Howard to Rodney Williams II opened the drive. Three plays later, Wallace found the endzone from 17 yards out to trim the Skyhawk deficit to 17-10 – a score that held up until halftime.
UT Martin’s defense kept Jacksonville State off the scoreboard on the first two drives of the second half, leading to another clutch boot from Larco – this time from 40 yards out. That field goal whittled the Gamecock lead to 17-13 with 4:36 to go in the third quarter.
Jacksonville State scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass but the Skyhawks answered right back with a touchdown a little over two minutes later to make the score 24-20. Dowell had three receptions in UT Martin’s six-play scoring drive, including a 14-yard catch right before the end of the quarter.
After a 60-yard Gamecock punt pinned the Skyhawks inside their own 20-yard line, Howard went 5-for-5 on the ensuing drive. Four plays went for double-digit yards before a touch pass from Howard to a streaking Roberts resulted in a four-yard score to give UT Martin its first lead of the game (27-24) with 10:34 to go.
The Skyhawk defense forced a miss on a potential game-tying field goal from 52 yards out on Jacksonville State’s next drive. Three plays later, Howard hit Roberts with a 54-yard throw that padded UT Martin’s advantage out to 34-24 with a little under seven minutes to play.
A quick Gamecock touchdown gave the Skyhawks the ball back with 5:34 remaining. UT Martin then put on a clinic in game management, keeping the ball on the ground and converting a pair of huge third downs as Jacksonville State could not stop the clock. Howard’s four-yard run on 3rd-and-3 from the Gamecock 41-yard line iced the game and resulted in a raucous celebration on the Skyhawk sideline.
UT Martin will enjoy a well-deserved bye week before opening OVC play on Saturday, Oct. 9 against Murray State at Hardy Graham Stadium. The game – which will coincide with the annual Homecoming activities across campus – is slated to kick off at 2 p.m.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information