COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Golden Eagles welcome into Tucker Stadium the top-ranked FCS team in the nation when Jacksonville State visits for a Saturday night game on Overall Field. JSU is the highest-ranked opponent to visit Tech since Jacksonville State came in as No. 2 in 2010. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

Tech has hosted a number of ranked opponents through the years, but this will be the highest-ranked visitor since, well, Jacksonville State came to town ranked No. 2 for the regular season finale in 2010. The Golden Eagles erased a 24-7 deficit with 28 points in the fourth quarter behind the stellar play of backup quarterback Cass Barnes to claim a 35-24 victory.

Tech’s starting lineup has two new faces since the last time fans saw the team in Tucker Stadium. Sophomore Colby Brown will start at quarterback for the injured Jared Davis. Brown saw his first Tech action last week against Eastern Kentucky.  At right guard, true freshman Myles Douglas will start in place of the injured Jibrin Linge, who has played in 38 career games with 36 starts. This will be the first career start for Douglas.

BLACKOUT IV: The Golden Eagles will be clad in their black uniforms for Golden Eagle Blackout IV, and Tech fans are encouraged to wear black to the stadium. The first 2,500 fans into the stadium will receive a free blackout t-shirt.


Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-4, 1-2 OVC)
vs. Jacksonville State Gamecocks (4-1, 2-0 OVC)
Saturday, Oct. 17 • 6 p.m. CT
Tucker Stadium (16,500) in Cookeville, Tenn.

 
QUICK HITS:
* With 51 receptions in the first six games, Brock McCoin is on the verge of cracking into the Top 5 in Tech history for most catches in a single season. His 51 catches is currently tied for eighth with Larry Shipp. Gerald Bentley had 54 (1995) to rank fifth, and Walter Hill had 55 (1997) to rank fourth. In third place all-time is Da’Rick Rogers (2012) with 61. The two top seasons in Tech history belong to Tim Benford with 68 (2008) and 65 (2011).
* Tra’Darius Goff and Jay Rudwall  have combined to make 541 career tackles, 29 tackles-for-loss and 9.0 quarterback sacks in 80 total games. With 319, Goff needs seven to move to 10th in career tackles in Tech history.
* After going the first five games without an interception, the Golden Eagles picked off three passes against Eastern Kentucky. Freshman Anthony Flemister (first of his career) got the first of the year, followed by Daniel Pierce (first of his career) and Maleek Hall (second of his career).

THE TTU SENIOR CLASS — The 2015 senior class includes 16 players who are playing in their final season for the Golden Eagles. The seniors, in alphabetical order, are: Radir Annoor, Stephen Bush, Willie Davis, Brett Dillard, Demario Donnell, Tra'Darius Goff, Justin Ivory, Jimmy Laughlin, Steven Lillard, Jibrin Linge, Blake Luevano, Jordan Patrick, Daniel Pierce, Jay Rudwall, Josh Smith, Ladarius Vanlier and Steve Wilson.

GAME NOTES FROM OVC: Jacksonville State travels to Tennessee Tech for the 19th all-time meeting between the two programs. Jacksonville State has won the last three in the series including 49-3 a season ago at home. In that game the Gamecocks finished the game with 596 yards of total offense while limiting the Golden Eagles to just 174 yards, including 67 through the air. Eli Jenkins passed for 136 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 68 yards for Jax State while DaMarcus James added 93 rushing yards and a touchdown. Tech quarterback Darian Stone was his team’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 13 times for 79 yards. Ben Endress had 13 tackles (including 2.0 for loss) in the game. Jacksonville State enters this game having won 11-straight OVC contests.
 
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech suffered a 48-17 loss to nationally-ranked Eastern Kentucky last Thursday in a game moved to a neutral site in Georgetown, Kentucky due to a threat on the EKU campus. The Golden Eagles started backup quarterback Colby Brown due to an injury to starter Jared Davis. In his first career start Brown completed 16-of-28 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown but was sacked five times. Tech was limited to just 211 yards of total offense on the night as Ladarius Vanlier rushed for a team-best 59 yards and a touchdown. Brock McCoin, who ranks fourth nationally in receptions/game (8.5), hauled in nine catches for 71 yards for the Golden Eagles. Senior Tra’Darius Goff had 11 tackles and now ranks fourth nationally in tackles/game (13.0). Bill Dillard had a game-high 13 stops while Jay Rudwall added nine. After not scoring an interception through the first five games of the season the Tech secondary picked off three Colonel passes on Thursday, as Maleek Hall, Anthony Flemister and Daniel Pierce each had interceptions. Hall also added three pass breakups and now ranks eighth nationally in that category (1.7/game).
 
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: Prior to its bye week, Jacksonville State won its last regular season non-conference game in topping Mississippi Valley State 49-7. It was the team’s 15th consecutive victory over a non-FBS opponent. JSU finished the contest with 494 yards of total offense, extending its school record to 16-straight games with 400 or more yards of offense. Troymaine Pope rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Eli Jenkins (who was added to the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year Watch List last week) rushed for 48 yards and two touchdowns to go along with his 127 passing yards and a touchdown through the air. Newcomer Josh Clemons added 98 yards on the ground as JSU finished the day with 328 rushing yards. The Gamecocks defense was stout in limiting the Delta Devils to just 194 yards of total offense, sacking its quarterback five times and picking off four passes. JSU also netted 18 tackles-for-loss, a new program single-game record. Jax State is the only team in the FCS to rank in the Top 10 nationally in both rushing offense (284.4 yards/game) and rushing defense (86.2 yards/game). The Gamecocks also rank third nationally in passes intercepted (10) and tackles-for-loss/game (9.5), sixth in total offense (494.8 yards/game) and 10th in turnovers gained (13) and turnover margin (+1.2/game). For the fifth week in a row JSU is No. 1 in the STATS Top 25 poll; the Gamecocks have been ranked in the Top 10 nationally for 22 consecutive weeks.

TICKETS ON SALE  — Season tickets are on sale for the five-game 2015 Golden Eagle home schedule. Several ticket packages are available. Individual game tickets may also be purchased. Visit or call the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center (931-372-3940). Tickets may also be purchased online at TTUsports.com.

Click here to read the Golden Eagle game notes for the contest vs. Jacksonville State