Lindenwood QB Tyler Kubak fumbles the ball, after getting hit by Tennessee State’s Terrell Allen during last Saturday’s game at Nissan Stadium. (Photo courtesy: TSU Athletics)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

Nine of the Big South-OVC Football Association’s 10 teams were in action last weekend, with eight of them playing in conference games. Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Bryant, and Gardner-Webb, which upset No. 13 Tennessee-Martin, all earned wins.

Southeast Missouri also picked up a much needed win in a non-conference matchup against Nicholls State.

Here’s a quick recap of what went down last week:

TENNESSEE STATE 43, LINDENWOOD 20 | BOX SCORE
The Tennessee State defense racked up seven sacks to help the Tigers to a 43-20 win over Lindenwood at home Saturday afternoon. The win guarantees TSU a winning season, their first since 2017. Draylen Ellis led Tennessee State’s passing attack with 236 yards through the air, tossing one touchdown without throwing an interception. The signal caller also added one touchdown on the ground.

Lindenwood’s Jeff Caldwell, Jr., scored his league-leading eighth receiving touchdown in the defeat.

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GARDNER-WEBB 38, #13 TENNESSEE-MARTIN 34 | BOX SCORE
A 16-play, 90-yard drive punctuated by a 10-yard touchdown run from Jaylen King with 13 seconds left gave Gardner-Webb a 38-34 victory over #13/14 UT Martin A 59-yard punt from Laros pinned Gardner-Webb at their own 10-yard line with 5:41 left in the ballgame. Gardner-Webb marched down the field, converting three fourth downs, getting all the way to the UT Martin 10-yard line. King scrambled around on second down and found a seam up the middle, rolling across the goal line and giving GWU a 38-34 lead with 15 seconds left.

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TENNESSEE TECH 38, ROBERT MORRIS 13 | BOX SCORE
The Tennessee Tech defense meant business on Saturday. Tim Coutras had two interceptions, including one for a touchdown, Kanstin Brooks almost had a pick-six of his own, then Jyron Gilmore forced a fumble and Aaron Swafford took another fumble back to the house.  The defensive effort was huge as the Golden Eagles left Pittsburgh with a 38-13 victory over Robert Morris on Saturday to earn their first Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association victory, improving to 3-5 on the season, 1-2 in the league.  In all, the Golden Eagles forced six Colonial turnovers, converting three of those into touchdowns in the game. 

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BRYANT 47, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 24 | BOX SCORE
Zevi Eckhaus passed for 338 yards and four touchdowns as Bryant went on the road to top Charleston Southern 47-24. Bryant led by only three late in the second half, but got a field goal before the break and a touchdown early in the third quarter to break open the contest.

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SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 35, NICHOLLS 31 | BOX SCORE
Geno Hess ran for 128 yards and a touchdown and Southeast Missouri (4-4) got a turnover with less than a minute left in the game to seal a 35-31 win over Nicholls (3-4) Saturday afternoon at Guidry Stadium. In a back-and-forth game that featured two ties and six lead changes, it was only fitting there would be a wild finish. Nicholls tried to catch SEMO off guard with a trick play on a third-and-10 at the Redhawks 14-yard line. Running back Collin Guggenheim tried to throw a pass back to quarterback Pat McQuaide, but defensive lineman Steven Lewis intercepted the pass and ran 36 yards to the Colonels’ 44-yard line. Hess averaged over seven yards per carry (7.1) on 18 attempts en route to his fourth 100-yard game of the season. SEMO finished with a 210 rushing yards.

WEEK 11 BIG SOUTH-OVC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

AwayHomeTimeLocation
Gardner-WebbGardner-WebbBryantBryant12:00 P.M.Smithfield, R.I. (Conf.)
Robert MorrisRobert MorrisSoutheast MissouriSoutheast Missouri1:00 P.M.Cape Girardeau, Mo. (Conf.)
UT MartinTennessee-MartinTennessee TechTennessee Tech1:30 P.M.Cookeville, Tenn. (Conf.)
Eastern Illinois Eastern IllinoisLindenwoodLindenwood2:00 P.M.St. Charles, Mo. (Conf.)
Tennessee StateTennessee StateCharleston SouthernCharleston Southern3:00 P.M.Charleston, S.C. (Conf.)