Saturday, November 18
Birmingham, Ala.
Noon
UT Martin
at
Samford
NO. 13 UT MARTIN FOOTBALL LOOKS TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON STRONG AT SAMFORD
11/14/2023 8:00:00 AM | Football
The No. 13 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team will hit the road for the regular season finale when traveling to former Ohio Valley Conference foe Samford on Saturday, Nov. 18. Kickoff from Seibert Stadium is scheduled for noon and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Skyhawks (8-2, 5-1 Big South-OVC) are coming off a historic victory over Southeast Missouri by a final score of 41-14 to secure the program's third consecutive conference championship with at least a share of the inaugural Big South-OVC Football Association title. UT Martin became just the sixth program in OVC history to win three straight championships and the first since Jacksonville State who won five in a row from 2014-18. Â
UT Martin is looking for one final strong showing to solidify the team's playoff résumé. While Gardner-Webb can secure the association's automatic playoff bid with a win against Charleston Southern, the Skyhawks have built a strong regular season portfolio for an at-large bid. In addition to the team's five conference victories, the squad has knocked off three different conferences on the way to a 3-0 FCS non-conference record heading into the weekend – defeating schools from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Southland Conference and United Athletic Conference.
On the field, Saturday's matchup features old foes. The game itself marks the 21st meeting between the two former OVC rivals in a series which dates back to 1958. While Samford holds a 15-4-1 advantage in the all-time series, the Skyhawks have won the last three meetings coming in 2006, 2007 and 2021. Both sidelines also feature familiarity as UT Martin's Jason Simpson and Samford's Chris Hatcher have gone head-to-head in six previous meetings between stops at Murray State and Samford. As head coaches, Simpson holds the upper hand in the series with a 5-1 head-to-head record.
The Skyhawk defense is looking to build upon a dominant performance against Southeast Missouri in which the team limited the visiting Redhawks to just five rushing yards (0.3 yards per carry) and 162 yards of total offense. It marked the lowest rushing total by a Skyhawk NCAA opponent since 2011 and fewest total yards since 2017. UT Martin heads into the contest boasting the nation's second-ranked rushing defense (83.6 yards per game).
Offensively, the Skyhawks look to be finding their stride by averaging 39.7 points per game in the last three contests. UT Martin currently ranks seventh nationally in rushing offense (225.8 ypg), 12th in total offense (341.6 ypg) and 16th in scoring offense (33.2 ppg).
Samford (5-5, 4-4 SOCON) has received votes in the national polls for eight weeks over the course of the season while boasting one of the nation's top offense. The Bulldogs have eclipsed 440 yards of total offense in six contests this season while boasting the eighth ranked passing offense (293.0 ypg) and 19th ranked total offense (422.6 ypg). Quarterback Michael Hiers ranks third nationally with 2,851 passing yards while tossing 17 touchdowns to primary target Chandler Smith (794 yards and four touchdowns). Defensively, Noah Martin leads the pack with 98 total tackles – including 13.0 tackles for loss.
The game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ while fans locally can tune into the Skyhawk Sports Network to hear Davis Gregory (play-by-play) and Julius McNair (analyst) call the action. Games are broadcast on WCMT "Talk and News You Can Use!" with simulcasts on 1410 AM, 100.5 FM, 92.7 FM, 96.1 FM, 99.7 FM and 103.3 FM. Those links – in addition to live stats – can be found at the top of the page.
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The Skyhawks (8-2, 5-1 Big South-OVC) are coming off a historic victory over Southeast Missouri by a final score of 41-14 to secure the program's third consecutive conference championship with at least a share of the inaugural Big South-OVC Football Association title. UT Martin became just the sixth program in OVC history to win three straight championships and the first since Jacksonville State who won five in a row from 2014-18. Â
UT Martin is looking for one final strong showing to solidify the team's playoff résumé. While Gardner-Webb can secure the association's automatic playoff bid with a win against Charleston Southern, the Skyhawks have built a strong regular season portfolio for an at-large bid. In addition to the team's five conference victories, the squad has knocked off three different conferences on the way to a 3-0 FCS non-conference record heading into the weekend – defeating schools from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Southland Conference and United Athletic Conference.
On the field, Saturday's matchup features old foes. The game itself marks the 21st meeting between the two former OVC rivals in a series which dates back to 1958. While Samford holds a 15-4-1 advantage in the all-time series, the Skyhawks have won the last three meetings coming in 2006, 2007 and 2021. Both sidelines also feature familiarity as UT Martin's Jason Simpson and Samford's Chris Hatcher have gone head-to-head in six previous meetings between stops at Murray State and Samford. As head coaches, Simpson holds the upper hand in the series with a 5-1 head-to-head record.
The Skyhawk defense is looking to build upon a dominant performance against Southeast Missouri in which the team limited the visiting Redhawks to just five rushing yards (0.3 yards per carry) and 162 yards of total offense. It marked the lowest rushing total by a Skyhawk NCAA opponent since 2011 and fewest total yards since 2017. UT Martin heads into the contest boasting the nation's second-ranked rushing defense (83.6 yards per game).
Offensively, the Skyhawks look to be finding their stride by averaging 39.7 points per game in the last three contests. UT Martin currently ranks seventh nationally in rushing offense (225.8 ypg), 12th in total offense (341.6 ypg) and 16th in scoring offense (33.2 ppg).
Samford (5-5, 4-4 SOCON) has received votes in the national polls for eight weeks over the course of the season while boasting one of the nation's top offense. The Bulldogs have eclipsed 440 yards of total offense in six contests this season while boasting the eighth ranked passing offense (293.0 ypg) and 19th ranked total offense (422.6 ypg). Quarterback Michael Hiers ranks third nationally with 2,851 passing yards while tossing 17 touchdowns to primary target Chandler Smith (794 yards and four touchdowns). Defensively, Noah Martin leads the pack with 98 total tackles – including 13.0 tackles for loss.
The game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ while fans locally can tune into the Skyhawk Sports Network to hear Davis Gregory (play-by-play) and Julius McNair (analyst) call the action. Games are broadcast on WCMT "Talk and News You Can Use!" with simulcasts on 1410 AM, 100.5 FM, 92.7 FM, 96.1 FM, 99.7 FM and 103.3 FM. Those links – in addition to live stats – can be found at the top of the page.
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