COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech ventures out on the road for the third consecutive game Saturday with a contest at FCS No. 10 Northern Iowa, a game that will be played indoors in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The last time the Golden Eagles played indoors was in the 1983 season at East Tennessee State.

It marks the second consecutive week that Tech faces a Top 20 opponent, following a tough 10-7 loss last Saturday at Tennessee State. It also marks Tech's second foray into the challenging Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2014, following a Sept. 6 game at Indiana State.

Since the game will be played inside the UNI-Dome, we have skipped the weather forecast for the contest. It should be approximately 72 degrees, well-lit, and no wind under the dome. Outside the UNI-Dome, the weather forecast is for sunny skies and a high of 80 degrees on Saturday.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (1-2, 0-1 OVC)
at #10 Northern Iowa Panthers (1-2, 0-0 MVFC)
Saturday, Sept. 27 • 4:00 p.m. CT
UNI-Dome (16,324) • Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The Golden Eagle defense played well enough to deserve a victory last week at TSU, holding the Tiger offense out of the end zone and scoring a touchdown on a 29-yard, first-quarter interception return for touchdown by Austin Tallant for a 7-0 lead. The offense, however, struggled against the third-ranked TSU defense. Tech managed just 150 yards of offense, with senior receiver Cody Matthews accounting for 80 yards on six receptions. His 50-yard haul in the fourth quarter from quarterback Jared Davis set up the Golden Eagles at the TSU 25-yard line, but Tech settled for a 42-yard field goal attempt to try and tie the game, a kick that slipped wide left.

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 3:30 p.m. on 98.5 KISS FM.

 
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech opened OVC play on Saturday dropping a 10-7 defensive battle with nationally-ranked Tennessee State. The game did not feature an offensive touchdown and only 355 combined yards of total offense. The Golden Eagles were the first to put points on the board as Austin Tallant picked off a pass and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown just six minutes into a game. They would allow a field goal with two minutes to go in the quarter and then a minute later starting quarterback Jared Davis was picked off and TSU returned it 50 yards for a score in what proved to be the final points of the game. Each team’s defense was locked down the rest of the way as neither team scored in the second, third or fourth quarters. Overall the Tech defense piled up 15 tackles-for-loss, five quarterback sacks, five pass breakups, recovered a fumble, tipped two passes and had an interception. Defensive end Midoho Okpokowuruk had five tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks and two pass breakups in the game. On the season Okpokowuruk has 6.0 tackles-for-loss, which ranks second in the OVC and is 17th nationally (2.0/game). As a team Tech ranks 12th nationally in tackles-for-loss/game (9.2).
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA: Northern Iowa opened the 2014 season with back-to-back one possession losses to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents, falling 31-23 at Iowa and 27-24 at Hawaii. The team finally got in the win column last Saturday when they topped Northern Colorado 46-7 in its annual Homecoming game. Senior David Johnson rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown in the victory while quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen completed 11-of-20 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. In the game Johnson moved into sole possession of fourth place on the school’s career rushing touchdown list (33); he now has 16 career 100-plus rushing yard games and is fifth in program history in all-purpose yards (4,866). Defensively Max Busher had six tackles and a sack for the Panthers while Deiondre’ Hall had five tackles and blocked a punt. Nationally UNI ranks first in red zone offense, having scored on all 11 of its possessions inside its opponent’s 20-yard line. The Panthers defense ranks fourth nationally in tackles-for-loss (10.0/game). UNI is ranked No. 10 in both the Sports Network and FCS Coaches Top 25 polls.25 yards and a touchdown.
 
For more, please view the complete game notes (click here)