Lindenwood’s Kobe McClendon (4) goes after a loose ball during last Saturday’s NCAA FCS football game against Central Arkansas. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
Week 2 of the NCAA college football season proved to be an exciting one for teams around the Big South-OVC Football Association. Several teams got their first win of the new season, and the game of the weekend between Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee-Martin went to double-overtime, with SEMO winning on a walkoff field goal.
Lindenwood played hosted its home opener last Saturday as well, and the Lions played with No. 9 Central Arkansas for about 2 1/2 quarters. But in the final quarter and a half, the Bears showed why they’re one of the top teams in the FCS and rolled up a 34-13 victory.
Here’s a recap of what went on around the league last weekend:
#9 CENTRAL ARKANSAS 34, LINDENWOOD 13 | BOX SCORE
After playing a nationally-ranked FBS foe to open the season, Lindenwood played a nationally-ranked FCS opponent in its home opener, No. 9 Central Arkansas.
The Lions led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 13-6 midway through the third, before UCA scored three second half touchdowns to pull away late.
Lindenwood linebackers Devon Edwards, Ethan Stuhlsatz, and Vincent King combined for 34 tackles to lead the Lion defense. Quarterback Nate Glantz threw for 182 yards and receiver Jeff Caldwell caught six passes for 99 yards to lead the offense.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 45, UT MARTIN 42 (2OT) | BOX SCORE
DC Pippin kicked a 37-yard field goal in double overtime as Southeast Missouri came from behind to knock off UT Martin in the Big South-OVC Football Association opener.
Paxton DeLaurent threw for a career-high 376 yards and single-game school record six touchdowns in the win. Mitchell Sellers, who did not play the first three quarters, put together a clutch performance catching three touchdowns, including two in the fourth period to send the game to overtime.
Defensively, Bryce Norman had a game-high 13 tackles and a forced fumble. Norman went over 300 tackles in his career, becoming the 10th player in program history to get 300 or more career tackles.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 27, INDIANA STATE 20 | BOX SCORE
Nick Coates forced a fumble that Moses Alexander scooped up and raced 60 yards for an early second quarter touchdown as Eastern Illinois defense forced four turnovers in a 27-20 win over Indiana State during Saturday night’s home opener at O’Brien Field. NiJhay Burt had two interceptions and Elijawah Tolbert the other for the Panthers as they ranked as the top two tacklers. Burt had nine tackles with one tackle for loss. Tolbert had eight. MJ Flowers scored an early touchdown rushing for 93 yards in the win.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 24, #15 FURMAN 20 | BOX SCORE
Charleston Southern (1-1) defeated #15 Furman (0-2) by a final score of 24-20 on Saturday evening to collect their first win over a ranked opponent since 2016.
The Bucs won the turnover battle 4-0 and had big plays on both ends of the ball to get their first win. Furman cut the deficit down to a point at 21-20, with 9:45 to play off a 30-yard field goal. Charleston Southern bumped their advantage back to four points with their lead now at 24-20 after recovering a Furman fumble and Montgomery knocked in a 26-yard field goal. Rob McCoy finished the day going 12-23 with 143 passing yards and two touchdowns passes. Jennings had seven catches for 97 yards and each of the TD receptions.
#1 GEORGIA 48, TENNESSEE TECH 3 | BOX SCORE
Facing the top-ranked team in all of college football is a daunting task to say the least. And while the 48-3 result against No. 1 Georgia still puts another notch in the loss column, the Tennessee Tech football team accomplished its goal against the Bulldogs with a respectable effort. Injuries were kept to a minimum, the Golden Eagles (0-2) kept the game respectable in the first half, Tech scored its first-ever points against the Bulldogs (2-0) in the third meeting and the team is coming back with a decent payday to help improve the program’s future. On defense, Kalvyn Crummie led the team with six tackles, including a tackle-for-loss. Tim Coutras, Jalin Shephard and Cayman Spaulding each had five stops. Kanstin Brooks and Daniel Rickert also had tackles-for-loss.
#2 NORTH DAKOTA STATE 52, TENNESSEE STATE 3 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee State fell 52-3 to No. 2 North Dakota State on the road Saturday afternoon at the Fargodome. Draylen Ellis totaled 27 yards to lead the Tigers’ ground attack in the game. CJ Evans also tacked on 22 yards on the ground, picking up 5.5 yards per carry. Jalal Dean hauled in three catches for 51 yards. Malik Ganaway showed out for the Tennessee State defense, collecting five tackles and one interception. Ahmad Nelson had six tackles and 1.0 TFL in the loss.
JAMES MADISON 13, GARNDER-WEBB 6 | BOX SCORE
The Gardner-Webb football team’s attempt at an upset came up just short on Saturday evening as the Runnin’ Bulldogs fell to James Madison by the final of 13-6.
Gardner-Webb led 3-0 at halftime, as the Bulldogs held the Dukes’ potent offense off the scoreboard over the first 30 minutes of action. However, after a three-and-out by the Runnin’ Bulldogs to start the second half, James Madison was able to post its first score while pushing ahead 7-3 on the board. After another JMU score the Runnin’ Bulldogs later got a 30-yard field goal from Billingsley.
INDIANA 77, WESTERN ILLINOIS 3 | BOX SCORE
The Western Illinois University football team took a loss on the road Friday night, falling to Indiana 77-3 in Bloomington, Indiana. The meeting was the first ever between the two programs. The Hoosiers (2-0) looked every bit the Big 10 team they are, jumping out to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Indiana would keep up the scoring before Western Illinois (0-2) put together a 12-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Antonio Chadha’s 31-yard field goal. The make was Chadha’s third field goal this season.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 54, WESTERN ILLINOIS 15 | BOX SCORE
The Western Illinois University football team kicked off the season on Saturday, falling on the road at in-state foe, Northern Illinois, 54-15. The Leathernecks (0-1) were able to hang tough for the first 15 minutes, trailing 6-3 after a quarter. Nathan Lamb went 17-29 for 204 yards and a touchdown at quarterback. Tristan Duncan led the receivers with five catches for 68 yards. On the ground, Cam Smith led the way with 51 yards on 14 carries. As a team, WIU rushed 29 times for 94 yards. Defensively, Willie Jones led Western Illinois with a career-high 13 tackles. Jones had eight solo and five assists. Ryan Crandall added six tackles and Noah Epley had five.
Week 3 – Big South-OVC Football Association Schedule
| Away | Home | Time | Location | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Western Illinois |  Illinois State | 12:00 P.M. | Normal, Ill. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Charleston Southern |  Richmond | 1:00 P.M. | Richmond, Va. | TV: FloSports Stats Video |
 Gardner-Webb |  Charlotte | 5:00 P.M. | Charlotte, N.C. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Lindenwood |  Missouri State | 6:00 P.M. | Springfield, Mo. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Tennessee State |  Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 6:00 P.M. | Memphis, Tenn. | TV: HBCU GO Stats Video |
 North Alabama |  UT Martin | 6:00 P.M. | Martin, Tenn. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Eastern Illinois |  Northwestern | 6:30 P.M. | Evanston, Ill. | TV: BTN Stats Video |
Big South-OVC Football sports information contributed to this story.