GAME NOTES | AUDIO | VIDEO | LIVE STATS
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Since 1984, the Tennessee Tech football team has made trips all over the country to face its bigger brothers in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
There's only been eight seasons in those 39 years where the Golden Eagles didn't – 1989, 1992 through 1996, 2014 and 2020, though the last one is a misnomer as the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out scheduled FBS contests against Minnesota and Southern Miss, and the spring 2021 campaign was primarily on the Football Championship Subdivision level.
This season, the Golden Eagles will load up the plane and soar to Albuquerque to take on the New Mexico Lobos out of the Mountain West Conference.
Kickoff against the Lobos on Saturday is 7 p.m. Central time. The game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network (available on DIRECTV, as well as through the Mountain West app on iOS and Google Play, and on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Android TV devices). Jeff Siembieda and George Carter will handle the broadcast duties there, while Roger Ealey and Dylan Vazzano will handle the radio chores on 98.5 KISS FM.
It's certainly not the first time the Golden Eagles have gone that far west to play a football game as Tech faced Air Force in 2001, Oregon in 2012 and Utah State in 2018. It also may be the first time Tech has faced New Mexico in football, but the two schools have faced each other before as the men's basketball team is 1-1 against the Lobos – including a 104-96 win at The Pit in 2017 as Aleksa Jugovic went 11-for-12 from the field and 7-for-7 from 3-point range for 31 points – and the Tech women's basketball team is 3-0 against the Lobos.
New Mexico enters the fray with an 0-1 record following its opener last week at Texas A&M, where the Aggies topped the Lobos 52-10. A&M rolled up 411 yards of offense on the Lobos, as quarterback Connor Weigman threw for 236 yards and five touchdowns – three to Noah Thomas and two to Evan Stuart. Le'Veon Moss also ran for a score against the Lobo defense.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored New Mexico's lone touchdown last week on a 27-yard breakaway in the second quarter, then Luke Drzewiecki connected on a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Offensively, New Mexico had 222 yards of total offense against A&M, rushing for 91 yards and passing for 131. Croskey-Merritt finished with 50 rushing yards on 11 totes, while Dylan Hopkins threw for 115 yards on 15-of-24 passing.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tavian Combs led the Lobos with 11 stops last week – seven solo and four assisted – while also blocking Randy Bond's first field goal attempt in the second quarter, breaking up a pass and hurrying the Aggies' QB. Donte Martin also had eight solo tackles with a forced fumble and two pass breakups.
New Mexico is 8-0 in its last eight games against FCS opponents, and Saturday's game is its first against a team from the Volunteer State since a 35-21 loss to Tennessee in September 1986. The Golden Eagles are 2-37 all-time in FBS matchups dating back to the 1978 Division I split and are 0-3 against members of the Mountain West Conference all-time, which includes then-member TCU in 2010.
Tech is looking to bounce back from a tough outing last week at FCS No. 6 Furman as the Golden Eagles turned the ball over six times with four total interceptions and two fumbles lost. The turnovers were costly as they helped the Paladins produce 28 points in the contest to make a close battle more one-sided on the scoreboard.
And it was close statistically as the Golden Eagles led in offensive production through three of the four quarters. Without the interceptions, Ethan Roberts posted a solid first career start with 204 passing yards on 25-of-38 passing, finding 11 different receivers – including a touchdown strike to Willie Miller.
Furman's defense, however, slowed down the Tech rushing attack as the Golden Eagles averaged 2.5 yards per carry. The Paladins stand as one of the top defensive units in the FCS, making Tech earn every yard.
Against the Lobos, the Golden Eagles have an opportunity to showcase its talents. Last week, Aaron Swafford and Tim Coutras did just that. Swafford led the Golden Eagles – and the Big South/Ohio Valley Conference Football Association – last week with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery, while Coutras, a Liberty transfer, picked off a pass, forced a fumble and had six tackles in the contest.
Following the trip to New Mexico, the Golden Eagles return home on Sept. 16 for a visit from North Alabama.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech football are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Jim Dillon
