Southeast Missouri State football team heads to Tennessee Tech refreshed off bye week

Southeast Missouri State's Chad Meredith tackles Eastern Kentucky's Henry Enyenihi during the fourth quarter on Oct. 8 in Richmond, Kentucky.

Nathan Hutchinson ~ Richmond Register

An extra week to recuperate couldn't have come at a better time for the Southeast Missouri State football team.

Coach Tom Matukewicz said the team accomplished a lot during its bye week. The coordinators stayed home to self-scout the previous six games, the assistants hit the recruiting trail to offer more than a dozen scholarships and the players collectively took a breath of fresh air, lifting three times and practicing twice to remain in a rhythm.

All of it was a concerted effort to recharge a Redhawks squad that still has plenty at stake with five crucial Ohio Valley Conference games remaining in the regular season, beginning with a matchup versus Tennessee Tech at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville, Tennessee.

"Our main focus was to try to rest our team both physically and emotionally," Matukewicz said. "... I feel good. I feel like we handled it well."

Southeast (2-4, 2-1 OVC) was handed a 31-16 loss two weeks ago at Eastern Kentucky, as injuries began taking their toll. Matukewicz said starting right tackle Alex Snyder and both starting inside linebackers Roper Garrett and Terrance Hill would've likely missed action had the team played a game the following week.

Southeast Missouri State quarterback Jesse Hosket throws a pass against Indiana State's Kenyota Rollins during the second quarter Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 at Houck Stadium.

Fred Lynch

All three are expected to play against the Golden Eagles, but Southeast will have to find a way to replace senior nose tackle Marlon Hampton, who's out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.

"He's a senior, and so those are tough," Matukewicz said. "It's tough on him, tough on the team and all that. But we've just got to find a way to get the next man up.

"We had a lot of injuries in the past, so this is by far the healthiest we've been."

It'll be the third year in a row the Redhawks face TTU (2-5, 2-3 OVC) following their bye week. Southeast is 1-1 when returning from its bye week under Matukewicz, dropping a 27-26 decision in 2014 on the road and cruising past the Golden Eagles 38-17 a year ago at home.

"I think your natural instinct is to want to just keep trying to grind them and keep trying to find a way to get them a little better, but I just felt like after my first year that I needed to back off there a little bit," Matukewicz said. "Last year we played Tech at home, and I thought we played well. So it's a very similar model to what we did a year ago.

"When I got my team, I just wanted a fresh team, even so emotionally. I was wanting a team that was excited about going back out to practice and getting into the game week."

The game will be homecoming for TTU, which is currently riding a two-game skid after dropping a 40-21 decision at Jacksonville State and a 30-24 decision last week against visiting Eastern Illinois. The most impressive win for the Golden Eagles came on Oct. 1 at Tucker Stadium, a 33-30 victory in overtime over EKU.

TTU is third in the OVC in passing offense, averaging 256.1 yards per game, but ranks second-to-last in rushing offense with 99.1 yards per game. The Golden Eagles rank sixth in the conference in both scoring offense (25.1 ppg) and scoring defense (29.4 ppg).

TTU's offense is run by quarterback Michael Birdsong, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound senior who leads the conference and is 10th in the Football Championship Subdivision with 1,797 yards passing. However, the Golden Eagles have struggled to protect the QB, allowing a league-high 28 sacks on the season.

"He is the real deal," Matukewicz said about Birdsong. "He means more to his team than anybody in our conference. He can throw it. He can run it. He's smart, makes good decisions. Everything just really runs through him.

"They haven't been able to consistently run it. They've had some games where they've been able to run the ball and some other ones where they weren't, and so they've put a lot of pressure on him. He's taken a lot of hits. They've had more sacks than anybody in the league, but he's tough as nails."

Birdsong has been aided by a plethora of talent at the skill positions, as seven different players have 135 yards receiving or more on the year.

Southeast was gouged for 337 yards passing against the Colonels and is ranked eighth in the conference in that category, giving up 288.3 yards per game. Despite the result, junior cornerback Mike Ford wasn't displeased with the defensive backs' effort against EKU. The Redhawks played their opposing receivers close to the vest but were ultimately undone by the pinpoint accuracy of EKU quarterback Bennie Coney.

"The biggest thing is we know we're in perfect position for plays," said Ford, who used the bye week to spend some time with his family in Alton, Illinois. "We're Division-I athletes. Some players are going to make the plays, but we know that we're right there.

"The next opportunity we know we can make that play, so it's nothing particular that we're really thinking about because we know that we're there and those plays are going to come."

The Redhawks rank third in the league in both scoring defense (25.5 ppg) and rushing defense (120.5 ypg). Garrett leads the defense with 52 tackles and a pair of interceptions, while junior outside linebacker Chad Meredith has 44 tackles on the year, including five for loss. Ford has 38 tackles and a team-leading six pass breakups, while junior OLB Kendall Donnerson leads the OVC with 10 1/2 TFLs.

The Redhawks are minus-3 in turnover margin, while TTU is minus-5.

"We're really focused on getting turnovers because we were killing it last season at this point," Ford said. "We've kind of hit a downfall, but we're focused on getting our turnovers back up. ... We're trying to focus on setting our defense back up to put our offense in good positions."

The Golden Eagles are sixth and seventh, respectively, in passing defense (244.4 ypg) and rushing defense (173.6 ypg). They rank seventh in the league in total offense, giving up an average of 418 yards per game.

"They're a four-man front, so it's similar to what we saw two weeks ago at Eastern Kentucky," Matukewicz said. "They're an opportunistic defense."

Southeast junior QB Jesse Hosket is 107-of-203 (53 percent) passing and has racked up 1,367 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception. Senior Tremane McCullough leads the Redhawks in receiving with 356 yards, while junior Adrian Davis has 331 yards receiving and a team-high three TDs. Redshirt freshman Kristian Wilkerson has added 282 yards receiving and a pair of TDs.

Senior running back Will Young paces Southeast on the ground with 396 yards on 86 carries and has two TDs. McCullough has rushed for 175 yards.

Matukewicz said the team is planning to practice ahead of the game at Baptist Sports Park in Nashville, Tennessee, which is the practice facility for the Tennessee Titans. The arrangement was made possible through Titans general manager Jon Robinson, who played three season as a defensive lineman at Southeast before graduating from the university in 1998.

"With these kids, anything NFL, they love, so they'll enjoy that," Matukewicz said. "The biggest thing I'm looking for is our team to believe.

"What happens is you've got all these seniors who have been around a lot of hard times here, and so sometimes when you get in a close game or something bad happens, they have that default response or auto-pilot where they're like, 'Man, we're going to lose this game,' instead of knowing and believing you're going to win. I really believe it's kind of a final step for our team to really take that next step and have that belief."

Series history

Tennessee Tech leads 14-10

Last meeting

Southeast won 38-17 on Oct. 31, 2015, in Cape Girardeau

By the numbers

4 -- The number of games in a row the Redhawks have lost in Cookeville. TTU has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the two schools. SEMO’s last victory in Cookeville came in 2003. The Redhawks are 3-8 against the Golden Eagles at Tucker Stadium, as 10 of the last 13 matchups have been decided by seven points or less.

203 -- The number of career points scored by senior kicker Ryan McCrum during his career at Southeast. McCrum made all three of his field goal attempts and had an extra point to eclipse the 200-point mark against host Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 8. He’s the Redhawks’ leading scorer this year with 39 points and has made 9 of his 12 FG attempts.

147 -- The number of times TTU has moved the chains this season, which ranks 18th in the FCS and first in the OVC. On the other hand, the Golden Eagles have yielded 144 first downs, which ranks 100th in the FCS. Southeast has converted 118 first downs, which ranks in the middle of the pack nationally at 68th.

Stat leaders

Tennessee Tech

Passing: Michael Birdsong 1,797 yards

Receiving: Dontez Byrd 405 yards, Kip Patton 306 yards, Jordan Smith 261 yards

Rushing: Yeedee Thaenrat 341 yards, Andrew Goldsmith 153 yards, Birdsong 93 yards

Tackles: Josh Poplar 68, Elliott Normand 62, Deontay Wilson 55

Southeast

Passing: Jesse Hosket 1,367 yards

Receiving: Tremane McCullough 356 yards, Adrian Davis 331 yards, Kristian Wilkerson 282 yards

Rushing: Will Young 396 yards, McCullough 175 yards, Cameron Sanders 97 yards

Tackles: Roper Garrett 52, Chad Meredith 44, Mike Ford 38

Tennessee Tech coach Marcus Satterfield

Tony Marable ~ TTU Sports Information

Opposing coach's view:

“They’ve played a great schedule, with Memphis, Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Murray State, Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky. Those are all high-quality teams, so they’re a lot better than their record says they are. They pose a lot of issues for us moving forward, so we’ve got our hands full. And hopefully our kids can bounce back, work hard and make it a game this weekend.”

-- Marcus Satterfield, Tennessee Tech coach

Scouting the opponent

Tennessee Tech quarterback Michael Birdsong has thrown for 1,797 yards on the season, which ranks 10th in the FCS and first in the conference.

Thomas Corhern ~ TTU Sports Information

Led by first-year coach Marcus Satterfield, the Golden Eagles have lost both of their non-conference games to this point, including a 21-7 loss against visiting Wofford in the season opener.

Satterfield's first victory at the helm came in Week 2 when TTU manhandled Austin Peay 41-7 in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Birdsong leads the way for TTU's offense and is averaging 256.7 passing yards per game. He's second in the OVC with a 63.5 completion percentage (153 of 241) and has thrown for 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Junior WR Dontez Byrd leads the Golden Eagles in receiving. The 5-11 Byrd has hauled in 34 catches for 405 yards, which ranks seventh in the league. He's averaging 11.9 yards per reception and 57.9 receiving yards per game.

Sophomore Kip Patton, a 6-5 tight end, has 306 yards receiving on 26 grabs, but his status for Saturday's game is unknown after going down with an injury last week against EIU. Birdsong has also heavily relied on senior wideout Jordan Smith, who has 261 yards receiving and two TDs.

On the ground, TTU has churned out 694 yards on the year. Yeedee Thaenrat, a 5-10 freshman tailback, leads the way with 101 carries for 341 yards and three scores. Andrew Goldsmith has rushed for 153 yards and a pair of TDs for the Golden Eagles, while Birdsong has amassed three TDs and 93 yards rushing.

Sophomore linebacker Josh Poplar is second in the OVC with 68 tackles. He also has two fumble recoveries. Elliott Normand, a junior LB, has 62 tackles -- 4 1/2 for loss -- and sophomore safety Deontay Wilson has contributed 55 tackles and is one of four TTU players with an interception.

Sophomore Nick Madonia missed a pair of field goals against Wofford but has converted on eight straight attempts since then. His longest FG of the season was a 43-yarder last week against EIU. Madonia also handles punting duties, averaging 44.1 yards per punt.

OVC schedule

Saturday

* Murray State at #15 Eastern Illinois, 1 p.m.

* #2 Jacksonville State at Eastern Kentucky, 2 p.m.

The two programs, both of which have been the OVC’s most successful since JSU joined the conference in 2013, will meet for the 13th time. The Gamecocks are 63-14 during that time, while EKU is 50-19. JSU holds a slim 7-6 lead in the series.

The Colonels dropped a 35-28 decision last week at Tennessee State, while the Gamecocks toppled Austin Peay 34-14 at home.

* UT Martin at Georgia State, 2:30 p.m.

* Mercer at Austin Peay, 4 p.m.

* #25 Tennessee State at Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m.

OVC standings