Southeast Missouri State football looks to end 3-game skid on the road at Tennessee State

Southeast Missouri State's Marquis Terry rushes for 24 yards against UT Martin during the second quarter Saturday at Houck Field.

Fred Lynch

The Southeast Missouri State football team learned a great deal about its margin for error in Saturday's 16-14 defeat against UT Martin.

The Redhawks did everything but finish against a Skyhawks team that took advantage of two red zone stops in the fourth quarter and won on a last-second field goal at Houck Field.

Southeast will try to turn the page and snap its three-game losing streak when it hits the road for the final time this season, taking on Tennessee State at 2 p.m. Saturday at W.J. Hale Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

"You knew it was going to come down to whoever's going to make a play," Redhawks coach Tom Matukewicz said. "I felt good in the fourth quarter, I really did. When our offense had the ball, I thought they were going to be able to get a couple first downs or at least make them drive 80. We went three-and-out, punted it right back to them, and they ended up making the play to win the game."

SEMO's defense held the visitors to 4 of 7 in the red zone but was unable to hold up on the game-winning drive. Freshman quarterback Dresser Winn took UTM's offense 51 yards in six plays, setting up a 22-yard kick by Mitch Mersman that sealed the final score with 1 second left on the clock.

Southeast Missouri State's Justin Swift stretches to recover a fumble by UT Martin quarterback Winn Dresser during the fourth quarter Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017 at Houck Field.

Fred Lynch

Southeast (2-7, 2-4 Ohio Valley Conference) ran for 221 yards against a Skyhawks rushing defense that entered the game ranked second in the league, but the Redhawks committed three turnovers and came up empty-handed on two trips to the red zone during the final period. Kicker Nicholas Litang missed wide right from 31 yards out with 9 minutes, 22 seconds remaining before UTM's Mike Turner blocked a 22-yard attempt at the 6:11 mark.

"You know it's going to be a tough football game, and so the big ones are turnovers, red zone and third down. That's where I feel like we struggled on offense," Matukewicz said. "We turned the ball over three times. In the red zone, we weren't good enough, and then obviously our field goal situation. Defensively, we created two takeaways and stopped them in the red zone, but we just gave up too much in the middle."

Running back Marquis Terry was a bright spot on the Redhawks' offense, finishing with 154 yards on 20 carries, including a 68-yard run with just under 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

RB Cameron Sanders added 50 yards on five carries, averaging 10 yards per carry, while Southeast averaged 7.1 ypc as a team.

"I think it's just our key to winning. We play better when we run the ball, and so we've got to come out and establish the run right away," Matukewicz said. "We've got to be able to throw it, too, to help us out on third down and in the red zone."

Balance on offense proved to be an issue against the Skyhawks. Southeast QB Jesse Hosket threw for just 90 yards on 9-of-19 passing (47.3 percent), finishing with one touchdown and one interception.

Now the Redhawks will see the top pass defense in the conference. TSU (5-4, 1-4 OVC) is allowing a league-best 156 passing yards per game and is giving up just 5.6 yards per attempt. The Tigers have combined for 13 takeaways through the air and have given up just seven passing TDs. They lead the OVC with four interceptions returned for touchdowns.

"They just have so much athleticism that if you have an errant ball or make a poor decision, they'll take it and score with it," Matukewicz said. "Their athleticism is off the charts. Coach Rod (Reed) does a great job getting them to play physical.

"He knows we're going to try to run it. Everybody knows we're going to try to run it, so they're going to start there. But when we need to throw it, we need to be able to do that, and we can't let their athleticism show up there."

Terry leads the league with 199 rushes for 868 yards and five TDs, averaging 96.4 ypg. Sanders has 283 yards and two scores on 27 carries, averaging 10.5 ypc. As a team, Southeast is averaging 136 rushing ypg, which ranks fifth in the OVC.

Hosket has completed 158 of 304 passes (52 percent) for 1,701 yards with a league-leading 13 TDs to seven interceptions. He surpassed the 4,000-yard mark as a Redhawk in last week's loss, becoming the program's first QB to accomplish the feat since Matt Scheible (2008-11).

Southeast is ranked fifth in pass offense (188.2 ypg) and total offense (324.2 ypg). The Redhawks are generating 20.4 points per game, which ranks seventh in the OVC.

Southeast outside linebacker Justin Swift has combined for 14 tackles, including 4 1/2 for loss, four sacks and a fumble recovery in consecutive weeks as a backup to Chad Meredith, who missed practice last week with a knee injury but is expected to return to his starting role against the Tigers.

"This week, he feels like he can go," Matukewicz said about Meredith, who has 40 tackles on the season. "He feels like he can move around a little bit, so hopefully we'll get him back."

Safety Omar Pierre-Louis leads the Redhawks with 60 tackles and three interceptions to go along with two forced fumbles. OLB Kendall Donnerson has 43 tackles, including a team-high 10 1/2 for loss, while inside linebacker Zach Hall has 59 tackles (10 TFLs) and a team-high seven sacks. Cornerback Mike Ford has a league-leading 13 passes defended.

As a team, Southeast leads the OVC and is 19th in the Football Championship Subdivision with 26 sacks on the year, averaging 2.89 per game.

The Redhawks are fourth in scoring defense (23 ppg), seventh in total defense (357.2 ypg), seventh in rushing defense (154.6 ypg) and eighth in pass defense (202.7 ypg).

Wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson, who leads Southeast with 44 catches for 491 yards and three TDs, played just eight snaps in last week's loss but returned to practice this week.

Tight end Broedy Wheeler and WR Tyler McLemore remain out for Saturday's contest, while left guard Kyle Thies returns to the lineup after missing last week's game to attend his mother's funeral.

Matukewicz said he's stressing to his players the importance of the process in order to have them prepared for their final road matchup of the season.

"The process to win is no different than anything that you do," Matukewicz said. "It's about preparation and effort and the details, all those things. That's what we've been focusing on, taking responsibility for your play and your preparation."

Series history

Tennessee State leads 13-11

Previous meeting

Tennessee State won 32-31 on Nov. 19, 2016, in Cape Girardeau

By the numbers

21 -- The number of years since Southeast has played TSU at W.J. Hale Stadium, which served as the home of Tigers football games until 1999. After that, TSU switched its home facility to the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Stadium but returned to Hale Stadium in 2012 and continues to play some games there.

166 -- The number of receiving yards by TSU wide receiver Patrick Smith in last year’s game against the Redhawks. Smith hauled in 11 receptions, including the game-winning TD with 16 seconds left to give the Tigers a 32-31 win at Houck Field. The two teams combined for 24 points in a wild fourth quarter.

793 -- The total number of penalty yards this season by TSU, which leads the OVC. The Tigers have committed the second-most penalties in the league (87) and are averaging 88.1 penalty ypg. Southeast is averaging the second-most penalty ypg in the OVC (78.6). The Redhawks have been flagged 71 times for 707 yards.

Stat leaders

Tennessee State

Passing: Michael Hughes 1,026 yards, Treon Harris 729 yards

Rushing: Seth Rowland 413 yards, Harris 318 yards, Sabree Curtis 310 yards

Receiving: Patrick Smith 606 yards, Steven Newbold 474 yards, DeVon Johnson 158 yards

Tackles: Chris Collins 75, Justin North 48, Laquarius Cook 45

Southeast

Passing: Jesse Hosket 1,701 yards

Rushing: Marquis Terry 868 yards, Cameron Sanders 283 yards, Eddie Morris 79 yards

Receiving: Kristian Wilkerson 491 yards, Trevon Billington 389 yards, Zack Smith 253 yards

Tackles: Omar Pierre-Louis 60, Zach Hall 59, Kendall Donnerson 43

Tennessee State coach Rod Reed

TSU Athletics

Opposing coach's view:

“We know the opponent that we have coming up is a very big, physical football team. You watch them on tape, a slugfest last week against UT Martin. They like to pound the ball. They run it a little bit, and they’ve got some guys on the outside that can make you pay if you get too nosey in the box. So we’ve got to prepare well this week. We’ve got to have a good practice.”

-- Tennessee State coach Rod Reed

Scouting the opponent

Tennessee State linebacker Chris Collins has a team-leading 76 tackles on the season, including nine tackles for loss.

TSU Athletics

The Tigers opened the 2017 season with three straight wins on the road and began conference play as a nationally-ranked program.

Since then, they've won just two games, including a 21-17 decision at Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 7. TSU lost back-to-back games by four points against Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech before hammering Virginia University Lynchburg 60-0 last week.

The Tigers will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, and among the 12 seniors who will be recognized is ILB Chris Collins. With 76 tackles (45 solo) on the season, the 5-11, 230-pound Collins leads the Tigers in stops by a wide margin and is tied for second in the conference in that category. He also leads TSU with nine tackles for loss to go along with a pair of sacks and one forced fumble.

"Chris has played a lot of football, and I think he's like most great linebackers. I think he just finds a way to always be around the ball," Matukewicz said. "He's very instinctive. He uses his hands well. He gets off blocks. He's got everything a good linebacker has."

Redshirt senior Justin North (6-2, 230 pounds) is seocnd on the team with 48 tackles, including six for loss, while sophomore cornerback Dajour Nesbeth (6-1, 187 pounds) leads the secondary with 34 tackles and 10 passes defended. Nesbeth is one of four Tigers who has two interceptions on the season.

Defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko, a 6-3, 255-pound redshirt senior, has 31 tackles (5 1/2 TFLs) to go along with a team-leading four sacks for TSU, which operates in a 4-3 base alignment on defense.

The Tigers have the third-best scoring defense in the OVC (17.8 ppg) and are second in the league in total defense, allowing 259.9 ypg. They rank second in the league in rushing defense, giving up 103.9 ypg.

Offensively, redshirt senior Patrick Smith leads the way for TSU. At 6-foot, 190 pounds, Smith was the OVC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is currently fifth in the league with 67.3 receiving ypg. He has 38 catches for 606 yards and eight TDs and is averaging 15.9 yards per completion, which ranks first in the league among wideouts with more than 30 catches.

Not far behind Smith is teammate Steven Newbold, who has 29 receptions for 474 yards and four TDs. Newbold, a 5-11, 170-pound sophomore, is averaging 16.3 yards per completion, which is first in the OVC among WRs with more than 20 receptions.

"Their wideouts are just so quick and elusive," Matukewicz said. "They can come out and have one- or two-play drives on us, and if they do, we'll be in trouble."

Redshirt sophomore Michael Hughes (6-2, 230 pounds) is listed as the starter under center, but redshirt junior Treon Harris (5-11, 195 pounds) has also contributed at QB. Hughes has thrown for 1,026 yards with 12 TDs and just three interceptions, while Harris has 729 yards passing with two TDs and two picks. Harris has also been effective on the ground with 54 carries for 318 yards and a team-high three rushing TDs.

Sophomore Seth Rowland (5-6, 185 pounds) leads the Tigers on the ground with 89 rushes for 413 yards and two scores, while RB Sabree Curtis, a 5-10, 175-pound sophomore, has 70 carries for 310 yards.

TSU is ranked third in the OVC in both scoring offense (26.4 ppg) and total offense (349.7 ypg). The Tigers are producing 153.1 ypg on the ground (third in OVC) and 196.6 ypg through the air (third in OVC).

OVC schedule

Saturday

* Austin Peay at Eastern Kentucky, Noon

* Tennessee Tech at Murray State, 1 p.m.

* Southeast at Tennessee State, 2 p.m.

* #2 Jacksonville State at UT Martin, 2 p.m.

The Gamecocks can lock up their fourth straight OVC Championship with a win against the host Skyhawks. JSU has won four in a row in the all-time series, including a 33-7 win in last year’s meeting.

The Gamecocks claimed their 30th straight OVC win in a 59-23 decision last week against visiting Murray State. JSU’s defense held the Racers to just 153 yards of offense and is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in total defense.

The Skyhawks are coming off last week’s 16-14 victory over Southeast and have won two games in a row. Freshman QB Dresser Winn threw for 224 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 61 yards against the Redhawks.

OVC standings