Lindenwood WR Jalen Smith gets tackled by two Missouri State defenders after making a catch in last Saturday’s NCAA Football game at Plaster Stadium in Springfield, Mo. (Photo courtesy: Yahoo Sports)
Week 3 was another fun week of football for teams in the Big South-OVC Football Association. Seven of the league’s nine teams played games on Saturday.
Tennessee State improved to 2-1 on the season with its victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the 35th annual Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis. Tennessee-Martin came back to defeat North Alabama for its first win of the year.
Gardner-Webb narrowly missed what would have been a huge win over FBS Charlotte, while Lindenwood, Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, and Charleston Southern suffered setbacks last Saturday. Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee Tech both had bye weeks last week.
Here’s a recap of what went on around the league last weekend:
MISSOURI STATE 28, LINDENWOOD 14 | BOX SCORE
Lindenwood suffered its third straight loss to begin the 2024 season in a 28-14 defeat at Missouri State. The Lions got a career-high 100 yards rushing from freshman tailback Steve Hall and 137 yards receiving from junior wideout Jeff Caldwell, but couldn’t hold off Missouri State’s potent offense, which racked up 476 yards of total offense and scored touchdowns on its first three drives to take control of the game.
Once the Lions settled in, they were able to hold the Bears to just one more score the rest of the game. Senior linebacker Vincent King posted a career-high 17 tackles (11 solo) in the defeat.
For their efforts, Hall and King both earned Big South-OVC Player of the Week awards. Hall was named Co-Freshman of the Week and King was named Defensive Player of the Week.
TENNESSEE STATE 41, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 28 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee State erased an early 7-0 deficit and took the lead for good on Jalen Rouse’s 3-yard TD run in defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 41-28 on Saturday. After UAPB got within three points to 17-14 at 10:11 of the second quarter, TSU rolled up 21 points for a 38-14 advantage early in the third period. Draylen Ellis was 20-of-33 passing for 228 and three touchdowns to lead the Tiger offense.
UT MARTIN 43, NORTH ALABAMA 28 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee-Martin found its first win of the season in comeback fashion by surging past visiting North Alabama for a 43-28 victory in the squad’s home opener.
The Skyhawks (1-2) fell behind in an early 18-0 hole in the first quarter before mounting a sizeable comeback and outscoring the visiting Lions 43-10 margin the rest of the game. In total, UT Martin tallied 416 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers to key their comeback attack and move into the win column for the first time in 2024.
CHARLOTTE 27, GARDNER-WEBB 26 | BOX SCORE
The Gardner-Webb football team dropped a heartbreaking 27-26 contest at Charlotte on Saturday evening inside Jerry Richardson Stadium. The Bulldogs struck first in the opening quarter, traversing the field for 69 yards on 11 plays before a 30-yard field goal by Jay Billingsley gave Gardner-Webb the early 3-0 advantage.
Defense was on full display for GWU as it wreaked havoc in the backfield the majority of the first half. After a pair of fumble recoveries turned into no points, Trevor Moffitt took the game into his hands, intercepting Charlotte’s Deshawn Purdie while returning the rock 45 yards for the first defensive score of the year for Gardner-Webb.
#18 ILLINOIS STATE 51, WESTERN ILLINOIS 34 | BOX SCORE
Western Illinois put together its best effort in the season, going on the road and hanging around with nationally-ranked Illinois State for four quarters.
The Leathernecks (0-3) gave the Redbirds all they could handle, but unfortunately fell short, falling to No. 18 Illinois State, 51-34 on Saturday afternoon in Normal.
Western Illinois had a big day from several players as quarterback Nathan Lamb opened the game completing his first 10 passes. Lamb went 24-33 passing for 269 yards and a touchdown. Lamb also hurt ISU with his legs, rushing for three touchdowns and 59 yards on 15 carries.
NORTHWESTERN 31, EASTERN ILLINOIS 7 | BOX SCORE
Eastern Illinois played with Big Ten member Northwestern for nearly 30 minutes on Saturday night before eventually falling 31-7. EIU and NU traded scores with Cam Porter scoring with 1:22 left in the opening quarter to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. EIU knotted the game at 7-7 with 10:37 to play in the first half as Pierce Holley hit Eli Mirza for a 13-yard strike.
Northwestern dominated the rest of the game to earn the victory.
RICHMOND 38, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 0 | BOX SCORE
Richmond notched their first win of the season in a complete performance over Charleston Southern in front of the Spiders’ packed home crowd for Family Weekend on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 38-0.
Week 4 – Big South-OVC Football Association Schedule
| Away | Home | Time | Location | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 St. Thomas |  Lindenwood | 1:00 P.M. | St. Charles, Mo. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Tennessee State |  Tennessee Tech | 1:30 P.M. | Cookeville, Tenn. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Missouri State |  UT Martin | 6:00 P.M. | Martin, Tenn. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 #21 Southeast Missouri |  #7 Southern Illinois | 6:00 P.M. | Carbondale, Ill. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Eastern Illinois |  #15 Illinois State | 6:00 P.M. | Normal, Ill. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Gardner-Webb |  Presbyterian | 6:00 P.M. | Clinton, S.C. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |