By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The 2022 campaign will see some familiar foes and some new ones as the Tennessee Tech football team takes to the field in the fall.
Across the 11 regular-season contests, the Golden Eagles will host five home contests and compete in five Ohio Valley Conference matchups. Dewayne Alexander leads Tech into his fifth season at the helm as the program celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first varsity game.
The season opens on Sept. 2 – a rare Friday night college football matchup – as the Golden Eagles travel to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. The first meeting between Tech and the Big 12 school, the Jayhawks finished 2-10 last season for first-year Kansas coach Lance Leipold but return a lot of depth with the team's two leading rushers, two leading passers, three leading tacklers and eight of the nine top receivers returning from 2021.
Tech opens its home slate on Saturday, Sept. 10, as Texas A&M-Commerce comes to Cookeville as part of the OVC's scheduling alliance with the Southland Conference. You have to go back a few years to find the last time the Golden Eagles faced the Lions – January 1, 1953, to be exact, in the Tangerine Bowl (now known as the Citrus Bowl) as Tech took on then-named East Texas State. 2022 will be its first season on the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The Lions went 7-4 a season ago, 5-2 in the Division II-based Lone Star Conference.
On Sept. 17, the Golden Eagles will see a return appearance from Samford out of the Southern Conference. A former OVC foe themselves, Tech and Samford reignited the series in 2019 with the Golden Eagles taking a double-overtime thriller in Tucker Stadium. The Bulldogs returned the favor last season in Birmingham, topping the Golden Eagles 52-14 in the season opener behind the arm of Liam Welch at quarterback and All-American Montrell Washington as a receiver and returner, but both were among the 17 departing players following the season.
Following a bye week on Sept. 24, Tech hits the road the following two weeks to open Ohio Valley Conference play, starting with a visit to UT Martin on Oct. 1 and Southeast Missouri on Oct. 8. The Skyhawks won the OVC title last season, finishing 10-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference. UTM was a perfect 5-0 from Hardy Graham Stadium and finished the season ranked in the Top 25 nationally in nine statistical categories.
Southeast Missouri finished the season with a 4-7 mark, but finished tied for second in the OVC standings as the Redhawks were 4-2, neck-and-neck with Austin Peay in the standings. SEMO returns All-American running back Geno Hess and linebacker Bryce Norman for another season giving them a foundation to work with on both sides of the ball.
Tech will play one of its two home OVC contests on Oct. 15 as the Tennessee State Tigers come to Tucker Stadium. The Tigers finished 3-3 last season in OVC play. Tech and TSU battled in their previous meeting at Nissan Stadium, the Tigers prevailing in the overtime session 20-13.
The Golden Eagles will take a brief sojourn from the league slate on Oct. 22 as Tech travels to Kennesaw State. It will be the third meeting with the Owls since 2017 with KSU taking both meetings. The Owls finished 11-2 last season – its losses standing as a regular-season meeting with Georgia Tech, then a 32-31 defeat by ETSU in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. Kennesaw State went a perfect 7-0 in the Big South last season and will compete in its first season in the Atlantic Sun in 2022 – facing two current and four former OVC members.
On Oct. 29, the Golden Eagles will head to Charleston, Ill., to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers. EIU finished 1-5 last season in the conference race, 1-10 on the season. Former Bob Spoo assistant Chris Wilkerson has taken over the reins of the Panther program, bringing with him a successful run at EIU with four FCS playoff appearances and two OVC titles. He recently led the University of Chicago to winning seasons in seven of his eight years at the helm.
Tech will close out the OVC portion of the schedule on Nov. 5 as it hosts OVC newcomer Lindenwood. A former member of the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference, Lindenwood finished 9-3 in 2021, including a perfect 7-0 mark in the GLVC. The Lions fell 20-3 to Grand Valley State in the first round of the Division II playoffs.
In league play, six of the seven competing teams will play five conference matchups as the Golden Eagles will not face Murray State, UT Martin will not play Southeast Missouri, while Tennessee State will not see Lindenwood. EIU will play the OVC newcomer, but the game will not count in the conference standings.
Tech hits the road one more time on Nov. 12 as the Golden Eagles take on North Alabama out of the A-Sun. Another school the Golden Eagles have not seen in some time – Tech was 4-2-1 against them between 1953 to 1959 as they were known as Florence State – the Lions finished 3-8 last season, including a 2-4 mark in the Big South Conference.
The Golden Eagles conclude the 2022 slate at home on Nov. 19 as North Carolina Central makes the return trip on the home-and-home series. Tech topped the Eagles 27-16 in Durham as David Gist rushed for a career-high yardage total of 143 yards. NCCU finished 6-5 last season, including a 4-1 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
The FCS Playoffs will begin on Nov. 26.
Season ticket sales will open soon. Follow Tech Athletics and TTU Football on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as TTUsports.com for information on the 2022 season.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
