By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Saturday's win over No. 18-ranked UT Martin was a tremendous win as the Tennessee Tech football team claimed its first outright Sergeant York Trophy championship since 2009 and first championship in the round-robin since the spring campaign in the 2020-21 season.

However, the victory also put the Golden Eagles in position to play for the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association championship and its automatic qualifier to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs when the Golden Eagles take on Eastern Illinois this Saturday at Tucker Stadium at noon.

Tennessee State, UT Martin and Tennessee Tech are all tied for second place in the league at 5-2 each, while Southeast Missouri leads with a 6-1 conference mark entering this weekend.

So what could happen?

-- If Southeast Missouri wins at Nissan Stadium against Tennessee State, the Redhawks finish 7-1 in the conference and win both the outright championship and the automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.

-- If Tennessee State wins over the Redhawks and Tech and UT Martin both lose, the Tigers will finish 6-2 and will have the tiebreaker over SEMO. Both teams will be co-champions and TSU will go to the FCS Playoffs.

-- A four-way tie would be created if Tennessee State beats SEMO, Tennessee Tech beats Eastern Illinois and UT Martin beats Lindenwood with all four teams standing at 6-2. Comparing the four teams in the tie, SEMO and Tech both have 2-1 records with TSU and UTM 1-2, thus creating a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Redhawks and the Golden Eagles. All four teams would be considered co-champions, but Southeast Missouri would win the automatic qualifier to the FCS Playoffs.

-- A three-way tie would be created if Tennessee State beats SEMO, UT Martin beats Lindenwood and Tech falls to Eastern Illinois with all three at 6-2. TSU, SEMO and UTM all have 1-1 records against each other, leaving the tiebreaker as their result against Tennessee Tech. SEMO was the only one of the three to beat the Golden Eagles (who would be in fourth place), so the Redhawks would win the tiebreaker and the automatic qualifier, while all three teams would be considered co-champions.

-- A three-way tie would be created if Tennessee State beats SEMO, Tech beats Eastern Illinois and UT Martin loses to Lindenwood at Hardy Graham Stadium this weekend, leaving the trio at 6-2. All three teams would be considered co-champions with TSU, SEMO and Tech all posting 1-1 records against each other. The tiebreaker then would go to the next highest teams -- UT Martin and Lindenwood (who would be tied for fourth). The Golden Eagles would win the tiebreaker after defeating both teams, with SEMO 1-1 and TSU 1-1.

Saturday's game will give Tennessee Tech a chance to win its first conference championship since 2011 and a league-leading 11th title since joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 1949. If the cards play out right, Tech can also earn its first FCS Playoff berth -- and second all-time -- since 2011 with the victory.

It's a momentous occasion and the Tech football team needs the fans there Saturday to try to earn the crown. 

That's what's at stake. Now it's time to be there and be loud as Tech tries to seal the deal.

Tickets for Saturday's Senior Day battle against the Panthers are on sale now -- call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.

Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information