
AT
Game Time: 6PM Central
Location: TTU’s Tucker Stadium, Cookeville, TN
Weather:

TV: OVC Digital Network (free)
Radio: Announcers (Scott Kornberg, Dr. Tom Cody) - Beardstown - WRMS (94.3 FM); Macomb - WJEQ (102.7 FM); Galesburg - WAIK (1590 AM); Quincy - WPWQ (106.7 FM); Clinton, Iowa - (KCLN 1390 AM)
Internet: wrmsfm.com or Tune-In Radio App (Google store and iTunes)
Live Stats: TTUSports.com
Game Notes: Western Illinois |
Tennessee Tech
A bit about Tennessee Tech
TTU is coming off of a 5-6 season overall, but 5-3 in the OVC which was good enough for 3rd place in the final conference standings. The Golden Eagles don’t have a ton of offensive weapons, with QB Michael Birdsong finishing up a strong senior year last season (2577 yards & 17 TDs passing, 226 yards & 4 TDs rushing). They do have Sophomore RB Yeedee Thaenrat who ran for 707 yards and 6 TDs last season as a freshman and was named to this season’s preseason All-OVC team, as well as Senior WR Dontez Byrd, who caught for 933 yards and 7 TDs last season. Defensively, Junior LB Josh Poplar returns following a 105 tackle performance last season. Overall, in the OVC preseason poll, TTU is expected to finish 6th (out of 9 teams).
Series History
No series history, WIU has never played TTU before.
Predictions
Massey -
31-24, WIU Victory
Compughterratings.com - 33-24, WIU win
Nationalsportsrankings.com - 40-16, WIU win
5Dimes Odds - WIU -2, Over/Under 57.5
Sagarin (calculation, doesn't round) - 30.93-25.63, WIU win
Rankings
Sagarin (out of all 254 DI teams) - WIU 128, TTU 183
STATS Top 25 - WIU 25, TTU Unranked
Massey Composite - WIU 20, TTU 54
My Take
Overall, I think that the Leatherneck offense should have very little difficulty moving the ball against the Golden Eagle defense, especially on the ground, although it’ll take a little bit to “knock the rust off”. I’m predicting something around a 10-point Leatherneck win. If the weather is especially bad, I think the point differential could be a bit more, with particular emphasis on the running game and short passes to our tight ends. This could be another 200+ yard game for Steve McShane, and Sean McGuire could go for nearly 100 yards himself.