Golden Eagles close out Tucker slate with visit from Gardner-Webb
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday marks the final home game of the 2023 football season and it’s going to be a bittersweet day for the Tennessee Tech football team. With the home finale comes Senior Day and the Golden Eagles will recognize those departing players before the start of the contest against Gardner-Webb. Kickoff Saturday is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell will have the call on 98.5 KISS FM, while Dylan Vazzano and Metz will narrate the action on ESPN+ (subscription required).
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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21 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team Stats
Gardner-Webb
| Game Statistics | Gardner-Webb | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 171 | 206 |
| Rushing Yards | 61 | 23 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of Poss. | 23:47 | 36:13 |
LIVE STATS | VIDEO | AUDIO | GAME NOTES
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday marks the final home game of the 2023 football season and it's going to be a bittersweet day for the Tennessee Tech football team.
With the home finale comes Senior Day and the Golden Eagles will recognize those departing players before the start of the contest against Gardner-Webb.
Kickoff Saturday is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell will have the call on 98.5 KISS FM, while Dylan Vazzano and Metz will narrate the action on ESPN+ (subscription required).
It's an impressive group who will be closing out their home slate on Saturday – Isaac Cross, Kail Dava, Okachi Emmanwori, Metrius Fleming, Nate Hodnett, Cameron Hudson, Antonio Hunt, Marcus Knight, Aaron Lovins, Willie Miller, Eli Orr, Devin Parker, Cole Putnam, Slayde Simmons, Devin Squires, Trevor Stephens, and Jacorrian Wrenn.
Saturday will also mark the final game of the current configuration of Tucker Stadium as the west side of the facility will be demolished after the season, leading to the construction of a new grandstand over the next few seasons.
All of that aside, there's still a game to play this weekend and plenty to focus on.
It's no secret that former Tennessee Tech offensive coordinator – and record-setting Golden Eagle quarterback – Tre Lamb will be leading Gardner-Webb into battle, the first time two Tech alumni will be locking horns as Division I head coaches. It's also been awhile since the Golden Eagles have played the Runnin' Bulldogs – 2008, to be precise, back when Lamb was a redshirt freshman on Tech's roster.
The Golden Eagles have a 2-1 record against GWU, winning both games in Cookeville.
This meeting, however, is different as the two teams face off competing as members of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association instead of non-conference foes. For the Runnin' Bulldogs (5-4 overall, 3-1 Big South-OVC), they stand half-a-game back of league leader UT Martin (4-1 Big South-OVC), along with Southeast Missouri (3-1 Big South-OVC).
If SEMO defeats UT Martin this week in their showdown at Hardy M. Graham Stadium, the Runnin' Bulldogs will need a win over the Golden Eagles to keep pace, while the Redhawks play Bryant and GWU hosts Charleston Southern in the finale. SEMO and Gardner-Webb did not play each other in the regular-season.
If the Skyhawks prevail, Gardner-Webb will need wins over Tech and CSU to tie the standings and win the tiebreaker with their victory over UTM on Oct. 29.
However, if Tech's game against the Skyhawks – a 44-41 overtime thriller this past Saturday – is any indication, it's not going to be easy.
The Golden Eagles found themselves in position of taking down the conference leader, holding a 14-point advantage in the fourth quarter before UTM and quarterback Kinkead Dent led the Skyhawks back. In the overtime session, Tech was on the verge of stalling the Martin scoring attempt as Cameron Hudson batted the ball down, but it landed in the hands of Zoe Roberts in a one-in-a-million break for the Skyhawks.
Gardner-Webb had an overtime scare last week as well as the Runnin' Bulldogs took a 14-0 lead over Bryant, only to see the lead evaporate as Bryant took a 38-24 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard interception return by Robert Crockett III. Jaylen King and Gino English rushed for touchdowns in the final four minutes – English's coming with 18 seconds remaining on the clock with Jay Billingsley's PAT tying the game.
In the overtime session, Zevi Eckhaus completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Konor Lathrop, and Bryant elected to go for two on the resulting PAT try. Eckhaus' pass was incomplete. Gardner-Webb needed just three plays to get in as English threw a one-yard short pass to A.J. Johnson for the touchdown and Billingsley's kick was true to give the Runnin' Bulldogs the win.
King ended the game with 268 yards of total offense – 160 passing with two touchdowns, and 108 rushing with two scores.
King has thrown for 714 yards and six touchdowns, supplanting Matthew Caldwell as the starter, and his dual-threat offensive ability with 315 rushing yards and five more touchdowns makes him a dangerous weapon.
Narii Gaither leads the Runnin' Bulldogs in rushing with 569 yards and two touchdowns while Jayden Brown has 461 yards and four scores on 89 carries. Gaither is also third in receiving yards with 175 on 23 catches with two touchdowns. Brown leads GWU with five TD catches. Ephraim Floyd is the team's leading receiver with 328 yards and a score on 30 catches.
Defensively, Gardner-Webb has picked off seven passes and forced six lost fumbles. William McRainey has a team-best 77 tackles with six for-loss and one sack. Brice Bass and Ty French lead the team in sacks with five and 4.5 respectively.
Turnovers could become a factor in the contest – GWU has fumbled the ball 24 times, losing 15, while having seven passes intercepted. In all, the Runnin' Bulldogs have a minus-9 turnover ratio, tied with Lindenwood for the worst turnover ratio. The Golden Eagles, who spent the first half of the season in that notorious position, have seen the turnovers ease up and are now at minus-4 on the season with UT Martin, after not allowing a takeaway last week against the Skyhawks. Tech has lost 10 fumbles and had 11 passes intercepted, while collecting seven fumbles and intercepting 10 passes.
True freshman Jordyn Potts – a FedEx Ground FCS National Freshman of the Week honorable mention this past week – threw for five touchdowns, setting a new Tech freshman record. He has 742 yards on the season with six touchdown passes, averaging 123.7 yards per game since taking over against South Carolina State.
Marcus Knight leads the team rushing with 396 yards and four touchdowns, while Brad Clark has a team-best 390 receiving yards on 33 catches. Metrius Fleming has three receiving touchdowns, while Justin Pegues has two.
Hayden Olsen – the reigning Big South-OVC Special Teams Player of the Week – kicked the second-longest field goal in the conference this season and tied for the second-longest in program history as he connected on a 54-yarder against the Skyhawks. He was also a perfect 5-for-5 on PATs to improve his career total to 85-of-85, homing in on the OVC record of 100. He has a team-best 40 points on the season.
Defensively, Aaron Swafford leads the way with 62 tackles, including 5.5 for-loss and two sacks, two fumble recoveries, two pass breakups and two QB hurries. Daniel Rickert leads the team in tackles-for-loss with 12 for 36 yards, including seven sacks for 24 yards, while also forcing two fumbles and recovering two – one for a touchdown. Tim Coutras leads the team in interceptions with four, including one for a score.
Tickets for Saturday's game are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or go online at TTUsports.com.
