COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech will open its 92nd football season Saturday with a visit to the University of Houston. The Golden Eagles, who play in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) will step up in classification for the 25th season to challenge the Cougars, a team in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) American Athletic Conference.

The Cougars come off an 8-5 season that ended with a one-point victory over Pittsburgh in the Armed Forced Bowl on Jan. 2 First-year head coach Tom Herman begins his tenure at UH, after serving as offensive coordinator of the National Champions Ohio State Buckeyes last year.

The Golden Eagles, now in their ninth season under head coach Watson Brown, were 5-7 overall last season, wrapping up the year with a 41-15 victory at Austin Peay in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Weather in Houston calls for 91 degrees and partly cloudy during the afternoon, with a 50 percent chance of rain. The forecast for the night is 75 degrees with a 10 percent chance of rain. With kickoff at 7 p.m., it should be starting to cool off nicely from the heat of the day, and hopefully it will be the Golden Eagles who bring the heat during gametime!

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0 OVC)
at Houston Cougars (0-0, 0-0 AAC)
Saturday, Sept. 5 • 7 p.m. CT
TDECU Stadium (40,000) • Houston, Texas

QUICK HITS:  
* While the Golden Eagles have never faced the Houston Cougars, Tech head coach Watson Brown has directed teams against the Cougars seven times in his career and owns a 4-3 record in those games.
*Former runningbacks Stephen Bush and Isaiah McKinney are lining up on the other side of the ball this season, each moving to safety.
*Ladarius Vanlier ranked first in the OVC in punt returns last year. He was  fourth in the league in all-purpose yards per game and seventh in the OVC in kick return average.
* Jordan Smith and Krys Cates, two receivers who missed all of last year are back on the field in 2015.
* Ladarius Vanlier needs 16 yards on kickoff returns to break the Tennessee Tech school record (currently 1,875 by Larry Shipp). He is 100 yards from the career record for punt return yards (currently 644 by James Robinson).
* The game with Houston marks the 25th season that the Golden Eagles have stepped up in classification to face a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.

THE SERIES AND MORE — Tennessee Tech and Houston have never met on the football field. Tech has encountered five different teams from the American Athletic Conference in the past. And, Watson Brown has coached against nine of the AAC school. The Golden Eagles are 0-1 against East Carolina, Cincinnati, USF and Tulsa, and own a 7-10-4 all-time record against Memphis, for a combined 7-14-4 record against schools in the league.
FAMILIAR FOES  — Head coach Watson Brown, meanwhile, is more familiar with the American Athletic Conference. He was an assistant coach at East Carolina early in his career and served as head coach at Cincinnati. He has also coached against nine different current AAC schools, and owns a 21-30 all-time record. He is 1-0 vs. Temple, 2-6 vs. Tulane, 0-3 vs. UCF, 3-5 vs. Cincinnati, 3-2 vs. East Carolina, 4-3 vs. Houston, 7-6 vs. Memphis, 1-1 vs. USF amd 0-4 vs. SMU.

BACK IN THE FBS  — The Golden Eagles played games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents for 17 consecutive years, until the streak was snapped last year. The game against Houston was originally slated for last year, but was moved to 2015 and Tech played an FCS ranked UNI last year for its 12th game. Tech began playing up a division in 1984, with then-head coach Gary Darnell taking his squad to his former post, Kansas State. Tech played two FBS foes in 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the last three of those coming under currently head coach Watson Brown. The only previous sojourn into Texas came in the 2010 season when Brown’s Golden Eagles played at No. 4 TCU (coached by former Tech assistant coach Gary Patterson).  (see complete list below).

NEW FACES IN THE LINEUP — The Golden Eagle startig lineup includes three newcomers on offense and one newcomer on defense. On offense, the front line will include freshman Chandler Nelson at left tackle, junior Joel Forrester at left guard, and junior Charles Mouton at center. On defense, freshman Brady Bose is listed as the starter at end. One other position that will feature a player making his Golden Eagle playing debut is long snapper, where redshirt freshman Bradley Cheatham has taken over the role.

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, Stephen Lillard, Jibrin Linge, Blake Luevano, Daniel Pierce, Jay Rudwall, Joshua Smith, Ladarius Vanlier and Steve Wilson.

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.

HOME OPENER SEPT. 19  — Tech has some special events planned for the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 19, when the Golden Eagles host the Mercer Bears. Kickoff in Tucker Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. The 98.5 Kiss FM Tailgate Park will be open all day, with official activities — including live music — beginning at 3 p.m. The Golden Eagle Walk will come through the Tailgate Park at 3:45 p.m. The night is Communiversity Night, with free tickets provided to members of the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. It’s also First Tennessee Bank Poster Night with free schedule posters available. Prior to kickoff, TTU president Phil Oldham will lead the annual Running of the Freshmen onto the field.

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.

SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech head coach Watson Brown begins his ninth season in Cookeville and 31st overall as a head coach in 2015. The 2011 OVC Coach of the Year has 51 returning letterwinners from last year’s squad that won four Conference games, its highest total since winning the League championship in 2011. After missing most of last year with an injury and receiving a medical hardship, fifth-year senior linebacker Tra’Darius Goff returns and was named a Preseason All-OVC selection. In his last full season (2013) he led the team with 101 tackles while also registering 8.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.0 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Also back is senior Ladarius Vanlier, a preseason All-American who is one of the most versatile players in the OVC. Last season Vanlier was one of just four players in the FCS with both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown and one of just five players nationally with multiple punt return touchdowns (2). He also rushed for 494 yards and five touchdowns and caught 21 passes for 130 yards for the Golden Eagles. Junior Jared Davis takes over as the starting quarterback last season after passing for 770 yards and four touchdowns in a mixed role last year (which included starting the season opener).
 
SCOUTING HOUSTON: Houston was tabbed second in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference in a preseason poll of league media. Last season the team was 8-5 overall and 5-3 in The American including beating league champion Memphis during the season and topping Pitt in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. This season the program is under the direction of first-year head coach Tom Herman who spent the previous three years as the Offensive Coordinator at Ohio State where he helped the Buckeyes to the 2015 College Football Championship. This year the team returns 31 letterwinners including Kenneth Farrow who rushed for 1,037 yards and 14 touchdowns last season and who has been named to numerous preseason award watch lists including the Walter Camp, Doak Walker and Earl Campbell lists. Also back is quarterback Greg Ward Jr. who passed for 2,010 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 573 yards and six touchdowns in starting the final eight games after starting the first five contests at wide receiver (where he caught 15 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown).