COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech heads to Martin, Tenn., for a Thursday night contest in search of the team's first road win of the year as well as a win in the battle for the 2014 Sgt. York Trophy. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. between the Golden Eagles (2-3/1-1 OVC) and Skyhawks (1-5/0-3 OVC).

Expect a close battle -- five of the last seven meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less. Tech is hoping to continue to ride the crest of last week's thrilling overtime victory against Murray State, 30-27. UTM, meanwhile, is hoping to shake off a difficult outing at No. 8 Jacksonville State in which the Skyhawks were defeated, 38-14, to remain winless in league play.

Fans who cannot attend in person can listen to the game on the Golden Eagle Sports Network with Roger Ealey and Buddy Pearson in the press box and Dylan Vazzano reporting from the sidelines. The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. on 98.5 KISS FM.

The weather forecast is not looking too kind for football fans hoping to follow the Golden Eagles Thursday night to Martin, Tenn. The high temp   for Thursday is expected to be 84 degrees, dropping to 64 degrees late Thursday overnight. The chance of rain is 50 percent during the day climbing to 80 percent at night. Umbrellas and ponchos will be the attire of the night. Bring an extra set of clothes and change into something dry for the drive back home -- and don't get caught speeding when you drive home. They've been known to hand out a few speeding tickets in that region!

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-3, 1-1 OVC)
at UT Martin Skyhawks (1-5, 0-2 OVC)
Thursday, Oct. 9 • 6:30 p.m. CT
Hardy M. Graham Stadium (7,500) • Martin, Tenn.

GAME NOTES: Tennessee Tech will travel to UT Martin for the final Thursday night game on the OVC schedule this season. The game is part of the Sgt. York Trophy series which is contested between the four OVC football-playing schools from that state of Tennessee. The teams have played competitive games over the last five years with the average margin of victory being just five points. Last year’s 11-point UTM victory was the largest by either team since 2008; in that contest the Skyhawks scored 21 points in the second quarter to grab a 28-3 halftime advantage and not look back. DJ McNeil rushed for 168 yard and a touchdown while Jarod Neal completed 21-of-29 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. Jared Davis tossed two touchdowns for the Golden Eagles while Cody Matthews finished the game with seven catches for 130 yards and a score.
 
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech evened its OVC record at 1-1 on the season with a come-from-behind 30-27 victory over Murray State in overtime. The game was back-and-forth the entire way with the two teams tied at 3, 10, 17, 24 and 27. MSU pulled ahead 27-24 with 1:29 to play in the fourth quarter before Tech engineered an 8-play, 38-yard drive that was capped by a 41-yard field goal from redshirt freshman John Arnold to force overtime. That final drive of regulation included a 17-yard completion on 4th-and-8 and a fumble recovery after quarterback Jared Davis fumbled. After Murray State failed on its field goal attempt to start overtime, Tech drove to the Racer three-yard line before Arnold capped the game with a 20-yard field goal to earn OVC Specialist of the Week honors. Arnold connected on three total field goals in the game and is 4-of-5 in field goals and 11-of-11 in extra point attempts this season. Redshirt freshman linebacker Trey Thompson earned OVC Newcomer of the Week honors after registering 15 total tackles in the win. Ladarius Vanlier returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, his second career kickoff return for a score; Vanlier currently ranks sixth nationally in kickoff returns (31.6 yards/return) and seventh in punt returns (14.5 yards/return). Vanlier finished the game with 185 all-purpose yards and is now 10th in TTU history with 2,901 career all-purpose yards. As a team Tech ranks ninth nationally in fewest penalties/game (4.6) and 16th in tackles-for-loss (8.7/game).
 
SCOUTING UT MARTIN: UT Martin lost its third-straight game on Saturday, falling at No. 8 Jacksonville State by a 38-14 margin. The Skyhawks have now played two nationally-ranked FCS teams, a FCS squad that is now ranked and a FBS opponent so far this season. The team fell behind 21-0 to Jax State and could never get an offensive attack going, registering only 216 yards of total offense for the day (its lowest out in 51 games dating back to the 2010 season). Trent Garland scored the team’s only offensive touchdown of the day, scoring from two yards out in the fourth quarter; he had a team-high 39 rushing yards for the game. Dylan Favre got his first start of the season at quarterback and completed 6-of-20 passes for 25 yards; Jarod Neal entered the game later and completed 6-of-13 passes for 63 yards. All-American linebacker Tony Bell (who is 1 of 2 OVC players on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List) scooped up a fumble at the JSU and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter; he finished the game with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack and a quarterback hurry. Bell currently ranks fourth nationally in fumbles recovered (2) and 27th in tackles-for-loss/game (1.6). Punter James Satterfield punted 11 times for a UTM single-game record 487 yards (44.3 yards/punt) with a long of 56 yards.  

For more, please view the complete game notes (click here)