Lindenwood’s Frank Caldwell celebrates after returning an interception for a touchdown in last Saturday’s game against Tennessee State. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
There were only five games featuring Big South-OVC teams last week, but all of them were exciting.
The most thrilling of which may have been Tennessee State’s 24-20 come-from-behind win over Lindenwood. The Lions led 20-7 at halftime, but had major trouble moving the ball in the third and fourth quarters. That allowed the Tigers to pull off their second straight fourth-quarter comeback win.
Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee-Martin, and Western Illinois also won on Saturday. SEMO and Western are tied with Tennessee Tech, which was on a bye last week, for first place in the Big South-OVC standings.
Here’s a recap of what happened around the conference in Week 6:
TENNESSEE STATE 24, LINDENWOOD 20 | BOX SCORE
Lindenwood scored two touchdowns in the first three minutes and 11 seconds of the game to take a 14-0 lead, but couldn’t move the ball at all in the second half and eventually lost to Tennessee State 24-20.
TSU forced three second-half turnovers, including a muffed punt deep in Lindenwood’s territory, which led to the go-ahead and eventual game-winning touchdown.
TSU is now 4-2 on the season. Lindenwood is 2-4.
TENNESSEE-MARTIN 35, GARDNER-WEBB 17 | BOX SCORE
The University of Tennessee at Martin football program picked up its first win of Big South-OVC Football Association action with a commanding 35-17 home victory over Gardner-Webb.
The Skyhawks (3-3, 1-1 Big South-OVC) picked up their first win in association play with an impressive showing in front of a large Homecoming crowd.
UT Martin eclipsed 400 yards of total offense while rushing for 235 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. With the win, the Skyhawks improved to 13-5 in Homecoming contests during the Jason Simpson era.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 31, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 20 | BOX SCORE
Making their debut in a new league, the Western Illinois Leathernecks delivered their second-straight win, topping Charleston Southern 31-20. The offense was efficient as Nathan Lamb went 17-23 for 197 yards and a touchdown. Running back Cameren Smith added 101 yards on 25 carries and receiver Eli Aragon added 129 yards on 10 catches for a touchdown. Defensively, the Leathernecks gave up yards, but for the second-straight week, made the opposing offense have to work for yards and grind out long drives before scoring.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 22, TENNESSEE TECH 20 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee Tech missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired in suffering its first loss to a FCS opponent this season, 22-20 against South Carolina State. The Golden Eagles trailed from the start until finally taking the lead on an Ashton Maples two-yard touchdown catch with 4:12 to play in the third quarter. However, SCSU would kick a field goal on the ensuing drive in what turned out to be the game-winner. Jordyn Potts passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns for the Golden Eagles.
#13/13 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 38, EASTERN ILLINOIS 27 | BOX SCORE
Paxton DeLaurent threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score to lead #13 Southeast Missouri (5-1, 2-0) to a 38-27 win over Eastern Illinois (1-5, 0-2) Saturday afternoon at O’Brien Field. DeLaurent tied SEMO’s all-time career passing touchdowns record. His 46 career touchdown passes are now at the top of the list with Daniel Santacaterina (2018-19). Today’s win, which was the Redhawks seventh-straight in their series against the Panthers, marked Tom Matukewicz’s 60th as a head coach. Matukewicz has 59 wins at the SEMO helm and one as Northern Illinois’ interim head coach.
| WEEK 7 — BIG SOUTH-OVC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE — OCTOBER 12, 2024 |
| Away | Home | Time | Location | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Charleston Southern |  Lindenwood | 1:00 P.M. | St. Charles, Mo. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Tennessee Tech |  Southeast Missouri | 3:00 P.M. | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 UT Martin |  Western Illinois | 3:00 P.M. | Macomb, Ill. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |
 Eastern Illinois |  Tennessee State | 5:00 P.M. | Nashville, Tenn. | TV: ESPN+ Stats Video |