The University of Tennessee at Martin football program takes its four-game winning streak on the road for a critical Big South-OVC Football Association matchup against No. 25 ranked Tennessee State on Saturday, Nov. 2. Action from Music City will get underway at 5 p.m. on ESPN+ live from Nissan Stadium.
The Skyhawks (5-3, 3-1 Big South-OVC) have won four consecutive games leading into the weekend after knocking off Kennesaw State, Gardner-Webb, Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois in succession. During that span, the squad is averaging 39.0 points per game while holding opponents to just 16.0 points per game for an average margin of victory of 23.0 points.
In a showdown of second-place teams in the Big South-OVC, UT Martin enters the game ranked in the top-two of the league standings in 19 statistical categories as a team and top-three in 19 individual categories. The Skyhawks currently lead the association in scoring offense, rushing offense, rushing defense, turnover margin, defensive touchdowns, third down conversion defense and turnovers lost.
The coaching matchup features UT Martin’s Jason Simpson who boasts the third most wins in OVC history through 19 seasons and Tennessee State’s Eddie George. Simpson has posted winning seasons in five of the last six seasons – including three consecutive conference championships. George is enjoying his best season at the helm of the Tigers which sits ranked No. 25 in the Stats Perform Top 25 in his fourth season.
Tennessee State (6-2, 3-1 Big South-OVC) is coming off a bye week with three consecutive wins in its bag. The Tigers boast the association’s top ranked passing defense – allowing just 169.6 yards per game – while racking up 8.3 team tackles for loss per game to lead the nation. Veteran quarterback Draylen Ellis leads the team with 1,772 yards and 13 touchdowns while Ahmad Nelson paces the defense with 54 tackles.
Saturday’s contest marks the 34th meeting between the two programs in a series which dates back to 1976. Tennessee State holds a narrow 18-15 advantage over UT Martin, but the Skyhawks have come out victorious in the last three meetings – winning by an average of 16.0 points per game.