From OVCSports.com...
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (1-8, 1-5 OVC)
at Murray State Racers (2-7, 1-4 OVC)
Saturday, November 11 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Stewart Stadium (16,800) • Murray, Ky.
TV:.................................................. OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=184255
Series Record:................... Tennessee Tech leads 44-37-1
Last Meeting:......... Tennessee Tech won 55-19 (11/19/16)
Marcus Satterfield at Tennessee Tech:........... 6-14 (2 yrs.)
Marcus Satterfield Overall:....................................... same
Mitch Stewart at Murray State:....................... 9-22 (3 yrs.)
Mitch Stewart Overall:.............................................. same
Tennessee Tech Last Week:........ L, 35-28 vs. Austin Peay
Murray State Last Week:. L, 59-23 at #3 Jacksonville State
GAME NOTES: Tennessee Tech and Murray State will meet for the 83rd time on
Saturday. The series dates back to 1930 with Tennessee Tech holding a 44-37-1
advantage. Tennessee Tech has won three-straight in the series after Murray
State had won four-straight from 2010-13. A year ago Tennessee Tech racked up 55
points and over 500 yards of total offense in winning 55-19 to finish the season
with a 5-3 OVC record. Yeedee Thaenrat had 118 rushing yards and a touchdown for
the Golden Eagles while Michael Birdsong tossed three touchdowns, including two
to Dontez Byrd who finished the game with 14 catches for 198 yards. KD Humphries
completed 42-of-63 passes for 378 yards and a touchdown for the Racers.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: Tennessee Tech dropped 35-28 decision to in-state rival
Austin Peay on Saturday. Junior Luke Ward got his first career start and
completed 14-of-25 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing
for 41 yards on nine carries. Four of his completions went to senior Dontez
Byrd, who finished the game with 56 yards and a touchdown. Byrd currently has 60
catches for 885 yards on the season, leaving him 14 catches and 48 yards short
of tying his 2016 school records in those categories with two games remaining.
Byrd currently ranks 11th nationally in total receiving yards (885), 13th in
receiving yards/game (98.3), 14th in receptions/game (6.7) and 25th in
all-purpose yards (119.33). Andrew Goldsmith had a team-high 43 rushing yards
and scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter. On defense, Elliott Normand
had a game-high 13 tackles, including half a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.
Normand is first in the OVC with 8.7 tackles/game. Deontay Wilson added 10
tackles. Tennessee Tech ranks eighth nationally in net punting (39.23
yards/punt) and 16th in newest yards penalized/game (43.00).
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: Murray State turned two early turnovers into a 13-7 lead
over No. 3 ranked Jacksonville State after the first quarter of Saturday’s game.
But the Racers could not hold the momentum, as they were outscored 52-10 the
rest of the way as the Gamecocks won its 30th-straight OVC contest. Among the
first quarter turnovers was an interception by D’Montre Wade, who picked off his
sixth pass of the season which is tied for the national FCS lead. Wade finished
the game with five tackles and two pass breakups. Sean Rodriguez also got into
the act with a 47-yard fumble return for a score; he finished the game with
seven tackles. Quarterback Shuler Bentley tossed a pair of touchdowns to Jordon
Gandy, who finished the game with seven catches for 76 yards. Gandy currently
ranks first in the OVC and 14th nationally in receiving touchdowns (8). Landon
Stratton punted the ball a MSU single-game record 13 times (one off the OVC
record) for an average of 47.4 yards/punt. Five of his punts went for more than
50 yards, including a long of 60. As a team, Murray State is first nationally in
red zone offense (95.0%), third in turnovers gained (25), fourth in passes
intercepted (16), eighth in fourth down conversion percentage (70.0%), 11th in
fewest penalty yards/game (42.44), 13th in defensive touchdowns (3) and 14th in
fewest penalties/game (4.89).