COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle football team will journey to Alabama Saturday, looking to knock off a second consecutive ranked opponent when they visit No. 7 Jacksonville State for a 3 p.m. Ohio Valley Conference contest. The game is Homecoming for the Gamecocks (5-1/3-0 OVC), who won five games in a row before taking time off last Saturday with an open date on their schedule.

The Golden Eagles (3-4/2-2 OVC), meanwhile, were in action in Tucker Stadium and pulled together a sensational fourth-quarter rally to post a come-from-behind, 39-31 victory over No. 12 Eastern Kentucky. Tech trailed the Colonels by 21 points heading into the final period, and got three touchdown passes from Darian Stone to spark the attack and hand EKU its first loss of the season.

Safety Marty Jones intercepted four passes to tie an OVC record, helping him earn OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors as well as three different National Player of the Week awards. Stone, meanwhile, was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week and speedster Ladarius Vanlier was picked as the OVC Special Teams Player of the Week.

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 Jacksonville on Saturday is for sunny skies and a high temperature of 76. There is currently NO chance of rain, and light breezes. Should be an ideal day for the Gamecocks' Homecoming -- unless of course the Golden Eagles ruin it!

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (3-4, 2-2 OVC)
at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5-1, 3-0 OVC)
Saturday, Oct. 25 • 3 p.m. CT
Burgess-Snow Field (24,000) • Jacksonville, Ala.

GAME NOTES: Tennessee Tech will look to knock off its second consecutive nationally-ranked opponent when it travels to OVC leader Jacksonville State on Saturday. The Gamecocks have won two in a row in the series, but the two prior games before that (2010 and 2011), the Golden Eagles topped nationally-ranked Jacksonville State squads (including scoring 28 fourth quarter points in 2010 to deny JSU an OVC Championship). A season ago Jacksonville State jumped out to a 24-7 halftime advantage on its way to a 34-14 win at Tucker Stadium. In that game DaMarcus James rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown while Kyle West threw for two touchdowns for the Gamecocks. Darian Stone had 99 passing yards and a score to go along with a team-best 79 rushing yards for the Golden Eagles. Tennessee Tech will be searching for its first road win of the season (0-4) while Jacksonville State is perfect (2-0) at home.
 
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Trailing nationally-ranked Eastern Kentucky 31-10 early in the fourth quarter, Tennessee Tech came to life and exploded for 29 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to hand the Colonels its first loss of the season. Senior quarterback Darian Stone threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter (earning OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors) and Ladarius Vanlier added a 63 yard touchdown run to spark the Golden Eagles. Tech was within a point on Stone’s third touchdown pass, but grabbed the lead when holder Marty Jones grabbed a low snap on the point-after attempt and raced for a two-point conversion to give the team a 32-31 lead. Jones, a free safety, had a huge game that included an OVC record-tying four interceptions (two of which came in the final 1:07) and a game-high 12 tackles in earning National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Jones now currently ranks ninth nationally in interceptions (0.6/game). In addition to his 63-yard rushing touchdown that sealed the victory, Vanlier added a 79-yard punt return in the second quarter, his second touchdown of the season on a punt return; Vanlier also has a kickoff return for a touchdown, making him one of just two FCS players with both a punt and kickoff return for a score this season. Vanlier had 264 all-purpose yards, the most by an OVC player this season. Freshman Brock McCoin had a season-best 11 catches for 128 yards in the win.
 
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: Coming off an open week, Jacksonville State is now the only team undefeated in OVC play at 3-0. The Gamecocks have won five games in a row overall since a season-opening loss at FBS power Michigan State and have jumped back up to No. 6 in the national polls (equaling its highest-ranking of the season). In its last game the Gamecocks won 27-20 at No. 25 Tennessee State, knocking off its second nationally-ranked FCS opponent of the season. DaMarcus James had 93 rushing yards and two scores while Eli Jenkins had 95 passing yards and a score and added 52 yards on the ground. Taking out the team’s season-opening game to Michigan State, the team is averaging 513.2 yards/game of total offense (which would rank fifth nationally) and 37.6 points/game (which would rank 17th nationally). Currently the Gamecocks rank 16th nationally in total offense (468.3 yards/game). Jermaine Hough was named National Defensive Player of the Week by College Sporting News after picking off two passes, including the game-sealing pass in the end zone with six seconds left. Hough currently ranks third nationally in interceptions (0.7/game) and 12th in passes defended (1.5/game). Junior Devaunte Sigler had a sack, a tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble and an interception in the victory. Not factoring in the Michigan State game, the team is allowing 312.4 yards/game, which would rank 16th nationally.

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