Saturday, November 12
Nashville, Tenn.
4 p.m.
UT Martin
at
Tennessee State
UT MARTIN FOOTBALL TO SQUARE OFF AT TENNESSEE STATE FOR SGT. YORK TROPHY
11/7/2022 1:15:00 PM | Football
**Jason Simpson's Weekly Press Conference is below**
The University of Tennessee at Martin football team returns to Ohio Valley Conference play for the first time in over a month when traveling to Music City for a matchup against league rival Tennessee State on Saturday, Nov. 12. Kickoff from Nissan Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. with the game also being streamed on ESPN+.
The Skyhawks (5-4, 3-0 OVC) return to league play for the first time since Oct. 8 after squaring off against three consecutive non-conference opponents. Currently sitting perched atop the OVC standings with a 3-0 record, UT Martin has taken care of business as the squad continues its quest to win back-to-back conference championships. In the team's previous three contests, the Skyhawks have recorded an average margin of victory of 25.3 points per game in wins over Lindenwood, Tennessee Tech and Murray State.
This contest also serves as the determining game in the annual Sgt. York Trophy series. Both UT Martin and Tennessee State have 1-0 marks in the annual season series with wins over Tennessee Tech in the rearview mirror. A win for the Skyhawks will mark the fifth consecutive year in which the team has won or at least shared the traveling trophy and 10th time overall. Since the inception of the rivalry, UT Martin boasts a 34-13 all-time record in the series – the best mark of the three Tennessee OVC schools.
UT Martin saw its nine-game home winning streak come to a halt last week after falling to ASUN preseason favorite Kennesaw State by a final score of 44-27. The Skyhawks suffered from turnovers in the contest while the Owls rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to score 28 unanswered points and secure the road win.
Linebacker Rob Hicks put on a show against KSU by setting a new program Division I record with 26 tackles in the contest to earn OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors. His performance marked the highest single-player output in the NCAA this season (any level) and ranks as the second-most tackles in OVC history. Joining in on the action was Daylan Dotson who recorded a career-high 14 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Tennessee State (3-6, 2-2 OVC) has dropped its last two contests to league foes Murray State and Southeast Missouri. In those two games, the Tigers have scored just three points in the last eight quarters after averaging 36.0 points per game in the team's three victories in the middle of the season. The squad is led offensively by Preseason All-OVC honoree Draylen Ellis who has 1,596 yards of total offense and 11 touchdowns (eight passing, three rushing) while the running back tandem of Jalen Rouse (524 yards, two touchdowns) and Devon Starling (483 yards, one touchdown) have combined for over 1,000 rushing yards. On defense, Jahsun Bryant has a team-high 63 tackles while Tadarrius Patterson paces the squad with 8.0 tackles for loss.
Saturday's contest marks the 33rd meeting between the two programs with Tennessee State holding an 18-13 advantage. Over the past several years, the home team has won every matchup dating back to the Skyhawks last win on the road in 2014.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while fans locally can tune into WCMT 1410 AM/100.5 FM to hear John Hatler (play-by-play) and Julius McNair (analyst) call the action. Those links – in addition to live stats – can be found at the top of the page.
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The University of Tennessee at Martin football team returns to Ohio Valley Conference play for the first time in over a month when traveling to Music City for a matchup against league rival Tennessee State on Saturday, Nov. 12. Kickoff from Nissan Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. with the game also being streamed on ESPN+.
The Skyhawks (5-4, 3-0 OVC) return to league play for the first time since Oct. 8 after squaring off against three consecutive non-conference opponents. Currently sitting perched atop the OVC standings with a 3-0 record, UT Martin has taken care of business as the squad continues its quest to win back-to-back conference championships. In the team's previous three contests, the Skyhawks have recorded an average margin of victory of 25.3 points per game in wins over Lindenwood, Tennessee Tech and Murray State.
This contest also serves as the determining game in the annual Sgt. York Trophy series. Both UT Martin and Tennessee State have 1-0 marks in the annual season series with wins over Tennessee Tech in the rearview mirror. A win for the Skyhawks will mark the fifth consecutive year in which the team has won or at least shared the traveling trophy and 10th time overall. Since the inception of the rivalry, UT Martin boasts a 34-13 all-time record in the series – the best mark of the three Tennessee OVC schools.
UT Martin saw its nine-game home winning streak come to a halt last week after falling to ASUN preseason favorite Kennesaw State by a final score of 44-27. The Skyhawks suffered from turnovers in the contest while the Owls rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to score 28 unanswered points and secure the road win.
Linebacker Rob Hicks put on a show against KSU by setting a new program Division I record with 26 tackles in the contest to earn OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors. His performance marked the highest single-player output in the NCAA this season (any level) and ranks as the second-most tackles in OVC history. Joining in on the action was Daylan Dotson who recorded a career-high 14 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Tennessee State (3-6, 2-2 OVC) has dropped its last two contests to league foes Murray State and Southeast Missouri. In those two games, the Tigers have scored just three points in the last eight quarters after averaging 36.0 points per game in the team's three victories in the middle of the season. The squad is led offensively by Preseason All-OVC honoree Draylen Ellis who has 1,596 yards of total offense and 11 touchdowns (eight passing, three rushing) while the running back tandem of Jalen Rouse (524 yards, two touchdowns) and Devon Starling (483 yards, one touchdown) have combined for over 1,000 rushing yards. On defense, Jahsun Bryant has a team-high 63 tackles while Tadarrius Patterson paces the squad with 8.0 tackles for loss.
Saturday's contest marks the 33rd meeting between the two programs with Tennessee State holding an 18-13 advantage. Over the past several years, the home team has won every matchup dating back to the Skyhawks last win on the road in 2014.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while fans locally can tune into WCMT 1410 AM/100.5 FM to hear John Hatler (play-by-play) and Julius McNair (analyst) call the action. Those links – in addition to live stats – can be found at the top of the page.
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