Click here to view/download TTU game notes vs
Oregon (PDF)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech football team will face its
first road challenge of the 2012 season Saturday, and what a test
it will be. The Golden Eagles not only have to travel across
the country to the west coast, they will also meet one of the
nation's most successful FBS teams in the fourth-ranked Oregon
Ducks.
Kickoff in Autzen Stadium (54,000) is set for 12 noon PDT (2 p.m.
CDT), and the Ducks are expecting their 85th consecutive sellout
dating back to 1999.
Oregon's No. 4 spot in the poll matches the highest-ranked
opponent in Tech history -- the Golden Eagles visited No. 4 TCU in
the 2010 season.
Both teams have fared well in the first two weeks of the season
and bring 2-0 records into the game. And, both have shown explosive
offenses which typically take less than two minutes per scoring
drive.
The Golden Eagles currently rank first in the Ohio Valley
Conference and seventh nationally (FCS) in total offense and are
forst in the league and 20th nationally in total defense.
Quarterback Tre Lamb ranks
first in the OVC passing, total offense and passing efficiency, and
is among national leaders in all three. He is second in the country
in passing efficiency, fifth in passing and eighth in total
offense. Senior runningback Adam Urbano
is first in the league and second in the nation in rushing and
leads the league while ranking 11th nationally in all-purpose
yards.
On defense, Tech boasts four of the top eight tacklers in the
conference, led by senior linebacker Howard
Griffin and sophomore safety Austin
Tallant.
On special teams, newcomer Chad Zinchini is
first in the OVC in punting.
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-0, 0-0 OVC)
at #4 Oregon Ducks (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
Saturday, Sept. 15 • 2:00 p.m. CT
Autzen Stadium (54,000) • Eugene, Ore.
TV:
.....................................................................................Pac-12
Network
Live Stats:
.......................................................................http://bit.ly/zNov8
Series Record:
........................................................................
First meeting
Last Meeting:
.......................................................................................
n/a
Watson Brown at Tennessee Tech:
.............................................27-31 (6 yrs.)
Watson Brown Overall:
................................................. ..121-182-1 (28
yrs.)
Chip Kelly at Oregon:
................................................................36-6
(4 yrs.)
Chip Kelly Overall:
.............................................................................
same
Tennessee Tech Last Week: .................................W,
42-14 vs. North Greenville
Oregon Last Week:
.................................................W, 42-25 vs.
Fresno State
GAME NOTES: After starting the season 2-0 for the
first time since 1989, Tennessee Tech will play its first game away
from Tucker Stadium on Saturday when they visit the fourth-ranked
team in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Oregon Ducks. It
is the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The game is the
first non-Thursday game of the season for Tennessee Tech.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: After a home win over FCS foe
Hampton to start the 2012 season, Tennessee Tech followed it with a
42-14 win over Division II North Greenville last Thursday night. It
marks just the fourth time in the past 32 years that the Golden
Eagles have started the season 2-0. Senior running back Adam Urbano
was potent once again, carrying the ball 14 times for 122 yards
(8.7 yards/game) and two touchdowns. It marked his second 100-yard
game of the season and Urbano now ranks second nationally in
rushing (140.0 yards/game) and 11th in all-purpose yards (151.5
yards/ game). Senior quarterback Tre Lamb was solid again,
completing 18-of-26 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Lamb
now has 4,045 career passing yards, making him only one of fi ve
players in TTU history with 4,000 or more passing yards. After two
starts Lamb ranks second nationally in passing efficiency (187.36)
and eighth in total offense (317.0 yards/game). One of Lamb's
favorite targets as been his former high school teammate Da'Rick Rogers,
who joined the team after transferring from Tennessee prior to the
season. Against North Greenville Rogers caught five passes for 88
yards and a touchdown. Despite limited practice time with the team
Rogers has caught
eight passes for 163 yards (20.4 yards/catch) in two weeks. Will
Johnson led the Tech defense with a career-best 13 tackles
while Austin Tallant added 11 stops and William Dillard
and Cory
Webber each recorded their fi rst career interceptions. Junior
punter Chad Zinchini averaged 44.2 yards/punt.
SCOUTING OREGON: Oregon opened the 2012 season with a
57-34 victory over Arkansas State (a game that saw the Ducks score
50 points in the first half) and followed that with 42-25 victory
over Fresno State this past Saturday. In that game senior running
back Kenjon Barner ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns in
leading No. 4 Oregon to the victory. De'Anthony Thomas added 102
yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks tallied 366 total yards on
the ground. Thomas also caught a team-high four passes for 26
yards. Through two games Thomas is averaging 16.6 yards/rush and
tops the team with 81 receiving yards (10.1 yards/catch). Redshirt
freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota was 19-of-27 for 166 yards and
a score. Oregon has gotten off to quick starts this season,
outscoring opponents 43-3 in the first quarter and 85-16 total in
the first half.