OVC Football Previews - Week 1

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Week 1 of the 2026 football season features eight games, including a pair of Thursday night contests, and four games against FBS foes. There are just two home games on the slate with Western Illinois hosting last year's FCS runner-up Illinois State, and UT Martin hosting first-year startup program Chicago State.

Thursday, September 3
Lindenwood at Stony Brook, 6:00 p.m. (FloCollege)
Eastern Illinois at Minnesota, 7:00 p.m. (Peacock)

Saturday, September 5
Southeast Missouri at Iowa State, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Gardner-Webb at Wofford, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee State at #3/3 Georgia, 2:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Chicago State at UT Martin, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Charleston Southern at Georgia Southern, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
#4/4 Illinois State at Western Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Lindenwood Lions (1-0) at Stony Brook Seawolves (0-1)
Thursday, September 3 • 6:00 p.m. CT
LaValle Stadium (12,300) • Stony Brook, N.Y.
Video (FloCollege): https://bit.ly/3SEc9Pr
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4xuXsh0
Series Record: Lindenwood leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Lindenwood won 30-27 (9/20/25)

Noteworthy: Lindenwood and Stony Brook meet for the second-straight season. A year ago the Lions led 27-3 at halftime and withstood a late rally to win 30-27 ... Lindenwood scored 20 points in its Conference opening win over Charleston Southern last Thursday. The 20 points was the fewest for the team in a victory since the 2015 season ... New quarterback Pops Battle tallied 202 yards of total offense and became the first Lindenwood QB to win his first career start during 2016 ... Isaac Edwards had an 85-yard interception return for a score against CSU. It was the second-longest return in the FCS in Week 0 ... Stony Brook opened the season with a 41-34 loss to Delaware State. The Seawolves fell behind 31-13 in the third quarter before eventually tying the game at 34 early in the fourth quarter.

Eastern Illinois Panthers (1-0) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-0)
Thursday, September 3 • 7:00 p.m. CT
Huntington Bank Stadium (50,805) • Minneapolis, Minn.
Video (Peacock): https://bit.ly/4cfJFSX
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3SADcva
Series Record: Minnesota leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Minnesota won 42-20 (8/28/14)

Noteworthy: Eastern Illinois plays its second-straight Thursday night game, this time challenging FBS foe Minnesota. The Panthers are in search of its first win over a FBS team since 2016 when they beat Miami (Ohio) ... RB Charles Kellom rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns in last week's win at Murray State; it was the fourth-most rushing yards nationally during the week. He had an 88-yard touchdown run, the longest by a FCS player during the week ... The EIU defense had eight tackles for loss and a sack against Murray State. Ja'Wuan Nickson led the team with 10 tackles, including two TFL's ... This marks the 143rd season of football for Minnesota, who has won three of its last four season openers. This year marks the 10th for the program under PJ Fleck, who ranks fourth in program history in wins (66).

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (1-0) at Iowa State Cyclones (0-0)
Saturday, September 5 • 12:00 p.m. CT
Jack Trice Stadium (61,500) • Ames, Iowa
Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/3T5AVIx
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4gZxQmk
Series Record: Iowa State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Iowa State won 42-10 (9/3/22)

Noteworthy: For the second time in five years, Southeast Missouri will face Iowa State on the gridiron. The Redhawks are in search of its first win over a FBS team since 2002 (Middle Tennessee) ... SEMO opened the season with a 23-21 win at Indiana State, the second time in three years the team has won its opener. Kicker Justin Keller was a difference-maker, scoring 11 points, including hitting field goals from 42, 43 and 45 yards (the game-winner in the fourth quarter) ... In his first start for the Redhawks, quarterback Braylen Ragland completed 26-of-36 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown without a turnover ... DJ Delmore earned OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors after netting 13 tackles against ISU. The 13 tackles were the eighth-most nationally in Week 0 ... Iowa State is coming off an 8-4 season in 2025. The Cyclones are coached by Jimmy Rogers, who enters his first season with the team after a year at Washington State. He won the FCS National Championship as South Dakota State's coach in 2023.

Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (0-1) at Wofford Terriers (1-0)
Saturday, September 5 • 12:30 p.m. CT
Gibbs Stadium (13,000) • Spartanburg, S.C.
Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/3Sgirov
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4x6sBGE
Series Record: Wofford leads 21-8
Last Meeting: Wofford won 21-20 (8/29/24)

Noteworthy: For the 30th time, the two teams separated by just 42 miles will meet on the gridiron. Wofford has a large advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1972. The Terriers have won five in a row (GWU's last win was in 2014), including by a lone point two years ago ... Gardner-Webb fell short at nationally-ranked Austin Peay last Thursday. to open the season. QB Cole Pennington threw for 312 yards and a touchdown in the game ... GWU committed only two penalties in its season-opener, the second-fewest of any FCS team in Week 0 ... Tre Yanez had 13 tackles (6 solo) in the season opener. The 13 tackles are tied for the most by an OVC player so far this season ... Wofford scored the first 21 points of the game on its way to a 42-14 win over The Citadel to open the season.

Tennessee State Tigers (0-1) at #3/3 Georgia Bulldogs (0-0)
Saturday, September 5 • 2:00 p.m. CT
Sanford Stadium (93,033) • Athens, Ga.
Video (SEC+): https://bit.ly/3V1EDn1
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3PtakRj
Series Record: First meeting

Noteworthy: Tennessee State is playing its first FBS opponents since the 2023 season. All-time the Tigers are 5-11 against FBS team with its last victory coming over Georgia State in 2017 ... The Tigers came up just short in the John Merritt Classic against rival Jackson State, failing to convert on a field goal attempt in the final minutes ... New quarterback Daylin Lee passed for 265 yards and a touchdown and ran for 40 yards and another score against JSU ... Perennial power Georgia enters the season ranked No. 3 nationally. The Bulldogs have lost just three regular season games over the past five seasons and are looking to win their third-straight SEC Title ... Georgia has a streak of 84-straight sellouts at Sanford Stadium which seats 93,033. TSU played in front of a FCS season-best 32,467 fans on Saturday at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville.

Chicago State Cougars (0-1) at UT Martin Skyhawks (0-1)
Saturday, September 5 • 6:00 p.m. CT
Hardy M. Graham Stadium (7,500) • Martin, Tenn.
Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/4x01BZg
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4xShykX
Series Record: First meeting

Noteworthy: UT Martin hosts its second-straight home game, welcoming Chicago State on Saturday. Chicago State played its first-ever football game last week, falling 44-28 to Roosevelt University ... 20 players made their UTM debut last week as the Skyhawks came up short (36-24) to Central Arkansas, as the Bears outscored them 17-7 after halftime ... Running back Tommy Ansley posted his first multi-touchdown rushing performance of his Skyhawk career with a pair of rushing touchdowns and finishing with 61 yards on the ground ... Safety Trey Cotton had a 55-yard interception return for a score, the first pick-six for UTM since 2024 ... Chris Wilson blocked a pair of PAT attempts to tie the UTM single-season record.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers (0-1) at Georgia Southern Eagles (0-0)
Saturday, September 5 • 6:00 p.m. CT
Paulson Stadium (25,000) • Statesboro, Ga.
Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/4xmkHtq
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/4ye4xTb
Series Record: First meeting

Noteworthy: Charleston Southern plays the first of two FBS opponents on the season on Saturday night. The team is looking for its first-ever win against a FBS team (0-28) ... The Bucs fell behind 17-3 in its season opener with Lindenwood but pulled within three late in the game before being unable to get a final possession in the 20-17 loss ... In his first start with CSU, Lek Powell passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the fourth quarter ... LB Steve Zayachkowsky, who is on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List, tallied a team-best 10 tackles. He had 109 tackles (and six double-digit tackle games) a season ago ... Georgia Southern has won 17 of its last 19 home openers and are 7-3 in season openers under head coach Clay Helton.

#4/4 Illinois State Redbirds (1-0) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-0)
Saturday, September 5 • 6:00 p.m. CT
Hanson Field (16,368) • Macomb, Ill.
Video (ESPN+): https://bit.ly/4y3I1Mp
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3Pyfr2i
Series Record: Series tied 52-52-3
Last Meeting: Illinois State won 51-34 (9/14/24)

Noteworthy: Western Illinois won its season-opener for the first time since 2017, besting Northwestern College (Iowa) 65-14 behind 539 yards of total offense ... The 65 points were the fifth-most scored by a FCS team during Week 0 and were the most scored by WIU since October 30, 2010 when they beat Illinois State 65-38 ... Newcomer Kennedy McGill tallied 292 yards of total offense (194 passing, 98 rushing) and five touchdowns (2 passing, 3 rushing) in the win ... The Leathernecks defense limited NC to just 164 yards of total offense. WIU had a defensive score (a fumble return by LeBron Morgan) while Jake Kruger picked off a pair of passes ... Illinois State, last year's FCS runner-up, opened the season with a 76-0 victory over St. Francis (Ill.). It marked the second-most points in program history and was the first shutout by ISU since 2023.

OVC Football Previews - Week 1

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