By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – As the Tennessee Tech football team continued to prepare for the 2020-21 campaign, the Ohio Valley Conference took the next step in resuming the sport as it announced the spring 2021 schedule.
In all, the Golden Eagles will host three OVC contests and hit the road for four more. Start times will be announced at a later date. As with all events during the COVID-19 pandemic, all dates and times are subject to change. Teams will play in accordance with local regulations, NCAA medical guidelines and supporting OVC standards.
The schedule is set as a round-robin format with all eight teams that elected to play a spring schedule. Teams will have the opportunity to schedule a non-conference foe in the spring.
Tech will open its OVC slate at home on Sunday, Feb. 21, as the Golden Eagles host defending league champ Austin Peay. The Governors played three games this fall, falling 24-17 to fellow Football Championship Subdivision foe Central Arkansas, before taking on two Football Bowl Subdivision opponents in Pittsburgh (L, 55-0) and Cincinnati (L, 55-20).
Quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall threw for 479 yards in three games, while C.J. Evans Jr. rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Kordell Jackson and Jack McDonald led the Govs with 18 tackles each, McDonald also picking off a pass.
The Golden Eagles will hit the road for the first time on Sunday, Feb. 28, as they head to Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium to take on Jacksonville State. Tech defeated the Gamecocks 37-27 in the annual Homecoming game to earn its first win over JSU since 2011. The Golden Eagles will be looking for their first back-to-back wins over JSU since 2010-2011.
The Gamecocks have four scheduled games this fall. Last week, JSU had a 21-7 lead over Florida State, before the Seminoles rallied back for a 41-24 victory. Jacksonville State faces Mercer this week, then travels to North Alabama and Florida International in the upcoming weeks to wrap up its fall competition.
Following a bye week on the weekend of March 6-7 for the OVC Basketball Tournament in Evansville, Ind., Tech returns home with a visit from Murray State on Sunday, March 14. The Golden Eagles beat the Racers 17-7 last season at Roy Stewart Stadium.
Tech then gets back-to-back road games with return visits to Eastern Illinois (Sunday, March 21) and Southeast Missouri (Sunday, March 28). The Golden Eagles were on the road to both schools last season and return this year as the OVC schedule is reset. Tech beat EIU 40-29 as Bailey Fisher threw a school-record five touchdown passes, but fell to SEMO 43-37 in double overtime to close out a three-game road trip in 2019.
The Golden Eagles' lone Saturday game of the 2020-21 slate comes during Easter weekend on April 3 as Tech hosts Tennessee State for the second consecutive season. The Tigers rallied back from a 27-7 deficit to top the Golden Eagles 37-27 in the 2019 finale, the last game either team has played.
Tech closes out the spring slate's regular season with a trip to Hardy M. Graham Stadium to take on UT Martin. The Skyhawks topped Tech 55-14 last season.
Eastern Kentucky elected to play a nine-game slate in the fall and opted out of spring competition.
The NCAA will announce the selections for a revised 16-team FCS playoff field on Sunday, April 18. The field will include 11 automatic qualifiers and five at-large teams. The FCS Playoffs will begin the weekend of April 24 with the FCS National Championship to be held May 14, 15 or 16 in Frisco, Texas.