COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech hosts Southeast Missouri Saturday for the university's 84th annual Homecoming game, a 1:34 p.m. contest in Tucker Stadium that will be aired by ESPN3. Both teams are battling to finish in the top half of the Ohio Valley Conference standings, and Saturday's meeting will have a major impact on the outcome of that quest for both the Golden Eagles and Redhawks.

The forecast is for Saturday's Homecoming Parade and football game calls for NO CHANCE of rain. That's great news. The temperature is expected to hit 56 some time during the game, with partly cloudy skies. All-in-all things are shaping up nicely for an enjoyable day Saturday, so come early to attend the parade, then head over to the 98.5 Kiss FM Tailgate Park and prep for the game. ENJOY!

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (4-5, 2-3 OVC)
at Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (3-6, 2-4 OVC)
Saturday, Nov. 8 • 1:34 p.m. CT
Tucker Stadium (16,500) • Cookeville, Tenn.

The Golden Eagles are 3-6 overall and 2-4 within the league following losses to Jacksonville State (49-3) and Eastern Illinois (41-10). The Golden Eagles have three games remaining in 2014, with the next two at home, so the team's goal has now become a .500 mark by finishing the year on a three-game win streak. SEMO, meanwhile, has dropped three in a row after getting off to a strong start under first-year head coach Tom Matukewicz. The Redhawks are 4-5 overall and 2-3 in OVC play. After a narrow loss to Kansas and an upset of FCS No. 4 Sosutheastern Louisiana, the Redhawks had the nation's attention and a spot in the Top 25.

THE SERIES — Tennessee Tech holds a 13-9 advantage in the all-time series against Southeast Missouri, with five Golden Eagle victories in the last seven contests. Tech has also won the last three games againt SEMO in Tucker Stadium. The last time Southeast Missouri won in Cookeville came in the 2003 season. The teams didn't meet in the 2007 following Tech's dramatic, fourth-quarter, come-from-behind 2006 victory under interim head coach Doug Malone and the record-setting passing of quarterback Lee Sweeney. Since Watson Brown took over the head coaching duties, Tech is 4-2 against SEMO.

The 98.5 Kiss FM Tailgate Park opens Saturday at 10:30 a.m., with the Golden Eagle Walk scheduled for 11:15 a.m. Tickets to both the game and the Friday night Hall of Fame Dinner) are available online (TTUsports.com), or through the Athletic Ticket Office in Eblen Center by visiting or calling (931) 372-3940.

GAME NOTES:  Both teams will be looking to end losing streaks on Saturday as Southeast Missouri travels to Tennessee Tech for the OVC Game of the Week on ESPN3. The two teams have split the last four meetings, alternating victories each season. A year ago Tennessee Tech picked up a 41-16 victory at Houck Stadium. In that game the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 28-3 halftime advantage behind Darian Stone who finished the game with 135 passing yards while also rushing for a game-high 162 yards and three touchdowns. Stephen Bush added 76 rushing yards and two rushing scores for Tech. Southeast Missouri was led by 104 yards on the ground from DeMichael Jackson.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: Southeast Missouri has lost three games in a row but is coming off an open date that has allowed its team to rest and get healthy. In its last game two weeks ago the Redhawks pulled within five points late but eventually lost 33-21 at No. 18 Eastern Kentucky. Southeast is now 2-2 against nationally-ranked FCS opponents this season. Senior quarterback Kyle Snyder rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns while passing for 245 yards and another touchdown. Snyder is second in the OVC with 15 passing touchdowns while ranking 14th nationally in points responsible for (15.6 points/game). DeMichael Jackson added 99 rushing yards against the Colonels while Peter Lloyd had nine catches for 104 yards. Freshman linebacker Hunter Bledsoe had a season-high with 11 tackles in the game, his second-straight contest with double-digit tackles. Travis Sanders added a career-high three sacks to go along with five total tackles; he was the first Redhawks player to record three sacks in a game since 2004 (Matt Bohnert). As a team Southeast ranks eighth nationally in sacks allowed/game (0.89) and fourth down conversion percentage (68.8%).
 
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech suffered its second-straight loss on Saturday, falling at home to a surging Eastern Illinois team by a 41-10 margin. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak at home dating back to last season.  The Golden Eagles have been outscored 90-13 over the last two games. Ladarius Vanlier finished the game with 61 rushing yards and a touchdown and also added 85 kickoff returns and one receiving yard to finish with 147 all-purpose yards; he currently ranks third in the OVC in all-purpose yards (119.89/game). Nationally Vanlier ranks fourth in punt returns (17.1 yards/return) and 34th in kickoff returns (23.9 yards/return). Jay Rudwall finished the game with 10 tackles and also nabbed his first interception of the season. Trey Thompson and Austin Tallant led the way with 11 tackles a piece while Marty Jones added 10 stops. Jones ranks 31st nationally in tackles/game (9.4) and now ranks eighth in TTU history for total tackles (328). As a team Tennessee Tech is second nationally in fumbles recovered (13) and sixth in fewest yards penalized/game (40.33)
  
Click here to read more in the TTU vs. EIU game notes (PDF)