Lindenwood’s defense celebrates winning Saturday’s game, after its opponent, Eastern Illinois missed a last-second field goal. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
Lindenwood, Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech each won Big South-OVC Football Association league games last Saturday, with two of those games coming down to last-second plays.
The Lions (2-3) won their game over Eastern Illinois (1-4), when the host Panthers missed a last-second field goal that could’ve sent the game into overtime. This was after Lindenwood rallied from 17 points down to take a 28-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
And Tennessee State (3-2) won on a fake-out-the-whole-defense, 19-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left to beat Charleston Southern (1-3). Tennessee-Martin (2-3) won on the road at Kennesaw State, while No. 13 Southeast Missouri (4-1) and Western Illinois (1-3) both won games at home.
Western Illinois’ win snapped a 27-game losing streak for the Leathernecks that dated back to 2021.
Here’s a quick recap of what went down in Big South-OVC football last weekend:
LINDENWOOD 28, EASTERN ILLINOIS 25 | BOX SCORE
The Lindenwood football team picked up a thrilling 28-25 win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday. It marked the third all-time meeting between the teams, all of which have been decided by six points or less.
EIU led 17-0 at halftime, but Jeff Caldwell caught four second half touchdown passes to lift his team. The Panthers scored with 3:36 to play and had a chance to tie the game with a field goal in the final minute, but the kick was wide right.
Caldwell was named Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
TENNESSEE STATE 13, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 9 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee State put together an 11-play, 92-yard drive, culminating in a 19-yard rushing touchdown by Jordan Gant with :46 left to give the Tigers a 13-9 win over Charleston Southern on a rainy Saturday night at Nissan Stadium. Gant paced the Tigers rushing attack by accumulating 40 yards and one touchdown The Tigers won the turnover battle in forcing two turnovers while coughing the ball up one time.
UT MARTIN 24, KENNESAW STATE 13 | BOX SCORE
A stout defense and another stellar game by senior running back Patrick Smith helped lead Tennessee-Martin to its second win over a FBS program by defeating Kennesaw State, 24-13.
Smith carried the ball 24 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He leads the Big South-OVC in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 49, MCKENDREE 32 | BOX SCORE
Western Illinois snapped a 27-game losing streak that dated back to the 2021 season and notched the first win of the Joe Davis Era by defeating McKendree on Saturday in its home opener. Cameren Smith had a career night, rushing for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries as the Leathernecks ran for 273 yards on 38 attempts. Defensively, Ryan Crandall led the Leathernecks, registering a team-high 14 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
TENNESSEE TECH 52, GARDNER-WEBB 21 | BOX SCORE
For the first time since 2011, Tennessee Tech is starting conference play with a 2-0 record. The Golden Eagles defeated defending Big South-OVC champ, Gardner-Webb, 52-21.
#13 SEMO 19, NORTHWESTERN STATE 0 | BOX SCORE
DC Pippin kicked a career-high four field goals to lead #13 Southeast Missouri (4-1) to a 19-0 shutout over Northwestern State (0-5) Saturday on a misty day at Houck Field.
Defensively, SEMO held NSU to just 120 total yards and completed its first shutout at home in 10 years. The Redhawks last blanked Missouri Baptist, 77-0, in Matukewicz’s first career game as a head coach on Aug. 28, 2014.
WEEK 6 — BIG SOUTH-OVC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE — Oct. 5, 2024
| Away | Home | Time | Location | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gardner-Webb |  Tennessee-Martin | 1:00 P.M. | Martin, Tenn. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Tennessee State |  Lindenwood | 1:00 P.M. | St. Charles, Mo. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 South Carolina State |  Tennessee Tech | 1:30 P.M. | Cookeville, Tenn. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Southeast Missouri |  Eastern Illinois | 2:00 P.M. | Charleston, Ill. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Western Illinois |  Charleston Southern | 3:00 P.M. | Charleston, S.C. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |