By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With a new direction under head coach Dewayne Alexander, the Tennessee Tech football team will have a challenging slate to match as the Golden Eagles enter the 2018 campaign.
"It's going to be a fun schedule, but it's going to be a difficult one," Alexander said. "It's great to have Chattanooga on the schedule again. Any time that we can play an in-state game against a non-conference opponent, it's great for us. It's great for the fans. These are teams that are in close proximity. Chattanooga makes a lot of sense for us to play, because it's basically a two-hour drive, it's an FCS rivalry that's close – and we're going to look for more of those in the future.
"The way the FCS playoff system is now, playing FCS opponents from other conferences and having success is going to help you down the stretch. We're excited about this schedule – it should be exciting."
Tech opens the season on Thursday, Aug. 30, at Chattanooga, a team that the Golden Eagles have a long history against with 39 meetings between 1938 and 2014. The Mocs have won the last three meetings (30-23 in overtime in 2005, 31-7 in 2006 and 38-17 in 2014), and hold a 10-29 advantage over Tech in the all-time series.
"Coach (Tom) Arth is a great guy," Alexander said. "He's done a great job and is on the right track. It's a great opportunity to open up there."
Chattanooga finished 3-8 last season, 3-5 in the Southern Conference. Two of those losses were against Ohio Valley Conference competition as the Mocs fell to Jacksonville State 27-13 in the season opener, then 21-7 to UT Martin.
The Golden Eagles will then open their home slate on Thursday, Sept. 6, as Tech hosts Kennesaw State. Last season's 27-14 loss to the Owls on their home field was the first meeting between the two programs.
KSU reached the quarterfinals of the 2017 Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, falling 34-27 to Sam Houston State, after the Owls knocked off Jacksonville State (17-7) and Samford (28-17) in the first two rounds. Kennesaw State finished 2017 with a 12-2 record, its lone regular-season loss coming in the season opener at Samford.
"They had a tremendous season last year," Alexander said. "I know Tech played a highly competitive game with Kennesaw State last season and they went on to have a couple of playoff wins. That's a great opportunity to have them come here for a Thursday night home opener, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them ranked when they get here in the top 20, if not higher."
Tech plays its annual foray into the Football Bowl Subdivision on Saturday, Sept. 15, as the Golden Eagles head to Logan, Utah, to take on Utah State out of the Mountain West Conference. The Aggies finished 6-7 last season, falling 26-20 in overtime to New Mexico State in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl.
"Those games are always fun," Alexander said. "I've tracked their team a little bit and I know they've had some staff changes on coordinators, so we won't know too much about them. We'll just have to take a look at a couple of game tapes on them before we play them. Our guys love those games. Traveling by plane is something we don't do a lot, as is getting to go play somewhere that's unique and different and interesting."
The Golden Eagles are 0-32 against FBS competition, dating back to the Division I-A/I-AA split in 1978. Tech is 0-2 against the Mountain West, dropping a 42-0 contest to Air Force in 2001, then a 62-7 loss to then-No. 4 TCU (tied with Oregon in 2012 for the highest ranked opponent the Golden Eagles have faced) in 2010.
"We'll find out a lot about ourselves early on," Alexander said. "It's kind of nice to have your non-conference games loaded onto the front of the schedule, because you really get a chance to learn a lot about your team before you get into conference play. There may be some positional adjustments and things we need to do before we get into the OVC schedule."
Tech then opens OVC play with a daunting challenge on Sept. 22 as the Golden Eagles travel to defending league champion Jacksonville State. Tech is 6-15 all-time against the Gamecocks and have lost the last six meetings since winning back-to-back contests in 2010 and 2011. JSU defeated Tech 34-7 in Cookeville this past season. The Gamecocks went undefeated in the OVC with an 8-0 mark, 10-2 overall.
"Jacksonville State is outstanding," Alexander said. "Right now, they are the bar. They're on top of the mountain, so you're starting right out against the best right out of the gate."
The Golden Eagles will then host back-to-back league games on Sept. 29 and Oct. 6 as Tech entertains Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri. Tech is 6-18 against EIU and 14-11 against SEMO. The Golden Eagles fell 24-23 against the Panthers in Charleston, Ill., and 31-3 against the Redhawks in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The Panthers were 5-3 in the OVC last season, 6-5 overall, while the Redhawks were 3-5 in the league, 3-8 overall.
Following the open date on Oct. 13, Tech returns to action to take on Tennessee State at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans. That will be the Golden Eagles' first game in the stadium since the 2010 season – back when offensive coordinator Tre Lamb was the starting quarterback for Tech. The Golden Eagles – 13-18 against the Tigers all-time – earned their lone win of the 2017 campaign against State with a 30-26 victory. TSU finished 2-5 in conference play, 6-5 overall.
Tech hits the road again the following week as the Golden Eagles travel to Clarksville to take on Austin Peay. The Governors made huge strides under second-year head coach Will Healy, the 2017 Eddie Robinson Award winner, last season. APSU broke a four-year skid against Tech with a 35-28 win in Cookeville, but the Golden Eagles maintain a 32-19 advantage in the all-time series.
The Governors finished second in the OVC with a 7-1 record, 8-4 overall.
"I've talked to Ryan Ivey, the athletic director at Austin Peay, and Will Healy is someone I've got a ton of respect for," Alexander said. "I've known him ever since he was a high school player in Chattanooga. I know a lot of the guys on that staff very, very well. He's done a tremendous job creating a lot of excitement for their program in Clarksville and I know they're only going to improve.
"In talking with them, we need that game to become a rivalry. It would be good for both programs, I really think, if you could get the Tennessee Tech-Austin Peay game to have a lot of meaning, and the only way that game can have a lot of meaning is that both teams are playing well and have good records. The Sergeant York Trophy games against Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and UT Martin need to be meaningful games, where there's a lot on the line besides the York Trophy with OVC and playoff implications involved in those games. I think it helps football. It helps all of our programs and it helps the exposure of the OVC."
Back in Tucker Stadium on Nov. 3, Tech hosts Murray State. The Racers beat Tech 31-21 on the road last season in the 83rd meeting in the series – the longest-running series in the Golden Eagles' upcoming 97th season of football. Tech holds a 45-37-1 record in the series. The Racers finished 2-5 in 2017 in OVC play, 3-8 overall.
The Golden Eagles hit the road for the final time in the regular season on Nov. 10 as Tech travels to UT Martin. Tech lost 24-0 last season to the Skyhawks in the 2017 finale. The Golden Eagles have lost the last five meetings to UTM and saw the series get closer with Tech holding on to a 19-15-1 record. The Skyhawks were 4-4 in league play, 6-5 overall.
Tech closes out the 2018 regular season with a visit from Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels escaped with a 24-21 win in Richmond last season to take a 20-54 lead in the series. EKU went 3-5 in OVC play, 4-7 overall.
Game times and special events will be announced at a later date.
To order season tickets for the 2018 season, call the Tennessee Tech ticket office at (931) 372-3940, visit the office in the Hooper Eblen Center or go online at TTUsports.com.
