Tennessee Tech (2-3, 2-0 Big South-OVC) vs. #9 Southeast Missouri (5-1, 2-0 Big South-OVC) 

Game Information
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Kickoff: 3 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field (8,000)
Surface: Field Turf
Series: Tied, 16-16
Last Meeting: SEMO 28, TTU 3 (10/21/23)
Last Meeting in Cape Girardeau: SEMO 34, TTU 20 (10/8/22)

Head Coaches
Tennessee Tech: Bobby Wilder (79-59 overall; 2-3 at TTU; 2-0 Big South-OVC)
Southeast Missouri: Tom Matukewicz (60-60 overall; 59-60 at SEMO; 43-30 Big South-OVC)

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Video: ESPN+ 
Live Stats: SEMORedhawks.com
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
Twitter: @SEMOfootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) 

Redhawks Host Tennessee Tech
•    #9 Southeast Missouri returns to Cape Girardeau to host Tennessee Tech Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m., CT at Houck Field.
•    SEMO is 2-0 at home this season with victories over UT Martin (45-42, 2OT, Sept. 7) and Northwestern State (19-0, Sept. 28).
•    The Redhawks remaining three home games will be afternoon contests.
•    SEMO scored 28 or more points in five of its previous seven matchups with the Golden Eagles.
•    The Redhawks posted a record of 6-1 against TTU since 2017. 
•    Eleven of SEMO's 16 wins in the series have come at Houck Field. 
•    The Redhawks are 11-6 in those games. 

Series Notes
•    Saturday marks the 33rd meeting between Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech.
•    The all-time series is tied at 16-16.
•    SEMO is 11-6 against the Golden Eagles at Houck Field and beat TTU the last five times it visited Cape Girardeau.
•    The Redhawks won six of the last seven matchups between the teams.  
•    Head Coach Tom Matukewicz has the second-most wins against any opponent with seven victories over Tennessee Tech (7-3).

Conference Games the Rest of the Way
•    The Redhawks are in Big South-OVC play for the rest of the season.
•    Southeast Missouri is first in the standings early in league action with a 2-0 mark.
•    SEMO beat both teams (UT Martin, Eastern Illinois) ahead of the Redhawks in this year's Big South-OVC Preseason Poll.
•    The Redhawks took down Big South-OVC preseason favorite UT Martin, 45-42, in double overtime on Sept. 7 and defeated Eastern Illinois (Oct. 5), 38-27, on the road.

Four-Game Winning Streak
•    The Redhawks carry a four-game winning streak into this weekend's matchup withTennessee Tech.
•    That stretch started with a 45-42 double overtime victory over Big South-OVC preseason favorite UT Martin on Sept. 7.
•    SEMO followed that up with a 38-21 road win at #7 Southern Illinois (Sept. 21), 19-0 home victory over Northwestern State (Sept. 28) and 38-27 road win at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 5).
•    The Redhawks are on their longest winning streak since they won six in a row during the 2022 campaign.

DeLaurent Ties SEMO Career Record in Passing Touchdowns
•    Paxton DeLaurent threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score leading Southeast Missouri to its latest 38-27 win over Eastern Illinois (Oct. 5).
•    DeLaurent tied SEMO's all-time career passing touchdowns record in the process.
•    His 46 career passing touchdowns are tied with Daniel Santacaterina (2018-19). Santacaterina transferred to SEMO from Northern Illinois to finish out his college career.
•    DeLaurent is just the third quarterback in program history to throw over 40 career touchdown passes joining Santacaterina (46, 2018-19) and Jeff Brown (45, 1983-87).
•    He leads the Big South-OVC and ranks second in the FCS with 16 passing touchdowns.
•    DeLaurent is among four FCS quarterbacks with 16 or more passing touchdowns along with Monmouth's Derek Robertson (18), Abilene Christian's Maverick McIvor (16) and Stephen F. Austin's Sam Vidlak (16).
•    He has thrown a touchdown pass in all six of his starts this season. 

Passing Yardage Record in Sight
•    Paxton DeLaurent needs just 35 yards to break Southeast Missouri's all-time career record in passing yardage.
•    DeLaurent has thrown for 6,145 yards and ranks close behind Jason Liley (6,179, 1989-92).
•    Only DeLaurent, Liley, Jeff Brown (5,853, 1983-87) and Daniel Santacaterina (5,291, 2018-19) have thrown for over 5,000 yards in program history.
•    DeLaurent has 1,669 passing yards halfway through the 2024 season.

Riddick Leads Big South-OVC in Punt Returns
•    Khalani Riddick leads the Big South-OVC and ranks sixth in the FCS in punt returns.
•    Riddick returned 12 punts for 188 yards averaging 15.7 yards per return through six games.
•    His 188 punt return yards are tied for 10th among Southeast Missouri's all-time single-season leaders in that category.

Ruble Scores First Career Touchdown
•    Sophomore Cole Ruble scored his first career touchdown against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 5).
•    Ruble scored on a 2-yard run to give SEMO a 24-0 lead with 9:35 left to play in the second quarter.
•    Four players have scored a rushing touchdown this season, including Ruble (1),Payton Brown (4), Carter Hensley (1) and Paxton DeLaurent (1).

Big South-OVC Update
•    At 5-1 overall, Big South-OVC leader Southeast Missouri has the best record in the league this season.
•    Only three teams in the Big South-OVC are .500 or better, including SEMO (5-1), Tennessee State (3-2) and UT Martin (3-3).
•    In conference play, four teams do not have a Big South-OVC loss entering Saturday's action.
•    SEMO and Tennessee Tech are both 2-0, while Lindenwood and Western Illinois follow with 1-0 marks early in league action.

Over Halfway to 100
•    Bryce Norman leads Southeast Missouri with 53 tackles through six starts this season.
•    Norman is 47 tackles away from getting 100 in a season for the second time in his career.
•    He recorded a career-best 119 tackles in 2022. 
•    Norman led SEMO in tackles every year he has been in a Redhawk uniform.
•    He is tied for second in the Big South-OVC in tackles with Eastern Illinois' Anthony Shockey.
•    Norman ranks 23rd in the nation in total tackles.

What a Turnaround
•    After finishing the 2023 season last in the Big South-OVC Association in sacks, Southeast Missouri is at the top of the conference in that category this year.
•    SEMO leads the Big South-OVC with 18 sacks and is averaging three per contest.
•    The Redhawks are +4 from their 14 sacks in 11 games during the 2023 campaign.
•    SEMO had only six sacks through its first six contests a year ago.
•    Nationally, the Redhawks are sixth in the FCS in sacks.
•    Eight different SEMO players have recorded a sack this season. Nasim Cairo and Jeremy Walton pave the way with 3.5 apiece.

Redhawks Crack Top-10 in National Polls
•    For the first time in 14 years, Southeast Missouri is ranked among the top 10 FCS teams in the nation.
•    SEMO moved to #9 in the American Football Coaches Association Coaches Poll and #11 in the Stats Perform Media Poll on Oct. 7.
•    The #9 ranking tied the third-highest in program history. SEMO's other Top-10 rankings were #7 (Stats Perform, Nov. 8, 2010), #8 (AFCA Coaches, Nov. 8, 2010; Nov. 22, 2010) and #9 (Stats Perform, Nov. 1, 2010; Nov. 12, 2010).
•    It is the fourth-straight week where the Redhawks are ranked in both Top-25 polls.
•    The Redhawks initially landed in the Top-25 in both polls on Sept. 16.
•    SEMO is the only Big South-OVC team ranked in the Top-25 this year.
•    The Redhawks have been ranked a total of 36 weeks in either the AFCA or Stats Perform Top-25 polls under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
    AFCA Coaches    Stats Perform
    Sept. 16    #21    Sept. 16    #21
    Sept. 23    #14    Sept. 23    #13
    Sept. 30    #13    Sept. 30    #13
    Oct. 7    #9    Oct. 7    #11

Pippin Propels Redhawks
•    DC Pippin kicked a career-high four fieldcgoals and scored 13 of Southeast Missouri'sc19 points against Northwestern State (Sept. 28).
•    Pippin scored the final 12 points of the game on kicks of 30, 38, 37 and 24 yards. His 13 points were also a career-high.
•    That performance came three weeks after he kicked his first career game-winning field goal to beat UT Martin (Sept. 7) in double overtime.
•    Pippin is SEMO's leading scorer this season with 51 points (11-of-16 field goals and 18-of-19 extra points).
•    He ranks second in the Big South-OVC and 20th in the FCS in scoring with 8.5 points per game.
•    Pippin made a field goal in six-straight games.
•    He also moved to second all-time on SEMO's career point after touchdown list. Pippin (105-of-107) is behind Derek Kutz (136-of-143, 2001-04) on that list.
•    He is only the third kicker in program history to make 100 PATs in his career joining Kutz and Ryan McCrum (100-of-104, 2013-16).
•    Pippin was named Big South-OVC Specialist of the Week on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7.

Defense Brings It
•    Southeast Missouri leads the Big South-OVC and ranks 21st in the FCS in scoring defense allowing a league low 21.3 points a game.
•    SEMO has given up 16 touchdowns through six games for an average of 2.7 per contest.
•    The Redhawks lead the Big South-OVC in sacks (18), opponent fourth-down conversion percentage (33.3) and red zone defense (16-of-22, 72.7 pct.). 
•    SEMO's defense has stopped opponents 10 times on fourth down this year.
•    The Redhawk defense has also pitched a shutout and held opponents under 20 points twice in 2024.
•    SEMO ranks 23rd in the FCS in fourth-down conversion percentage defense and 24th in red zone defense. 

Great Start
•    At 5-1, Southeast Missouri is off to its second-best start under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
•    SEMO's best start with Matukewicz at the helm came during the Redhawks' 2022 Ohio Valley Conference championship season. The Redhawks began that season with a 6-1 record.
•    The Redhawks already surpassed their total number of wins from 2023 (4-7).

Smith Emerges
•    With both Payton Brown and Brandon Epton, Jr. out due to injury, Darrell Smith has taken the bulk of the carries at running back.
•    Smith made his first career start at tailback at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 5). He ran for a game-high 63 yards on 18 carries and caught four passes for 41 yards in that game.
•    The week before that, Smith ran for a  career-high 127 yards on 31 touches in SEMO's win over Northwestern State (Sept. 28).
•    His 31 carries against the Demons tied for sixth-most in a game in program history.
•    Smith became the second Redhawk player to rush for over 100 yards this season.
•    He moved to second on the team in rushing with 190 yards on 49 attempts for an average of 3.9 yards per carry.

Anderson Excels
•    Dorian Anderson went over 100 receiving yards in four of his last five starts.
•    Anderson had 109 yards and a touchdown on seven catches at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 5).
•    He also finished with 115 yards at New Mexico State (Aug. 31), a career-high 127 yards vs. UT Martin (Sept. 7) and 111 yards at Southern Illinois (Sept. 21). 
•    He is Southeast Missouri's top receiver with 39 receptions for 572 yards and six touchdowns through six starts.
•    Anderson leads the Big South-OVC in receiving touchdowns, receiving yards, receiving yards per game (95.3) and receptions per game (6.5).
•    He is sixth in the FCS in receiving touchdowns, fourth in receiving yards, 11th in receiving yards per game and 10th in receptions per game.
•    He caught a touchdown pass in four of his last five games.

Offense Produces
•    Southeast Missouri leads the Big South-OVC in scoring offense (32.1 ppg), total offensive plays (443), touchdowns scored (23), total offense (397.1 ppg) and passing offense (294.8 ypg).
•    Nationally, SEMO is fifth in passing offense and 21st in scoring.
•    Nine different Redhawks have scored a touchdown through five games this season, including Payton Brown (4), Carter Hensley (1), Dorian Anderson (6), Cam Pedro (2), Tristan Smith (2), Mitchell Sellers (5), Kyron Downing (1), Cole Ruble (1) and Paxton DeLaurent (1).

Mr. Clutch
•    Wide receiver Mitchell Sellers, who did not play the first three quarters of the game, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and another in overtime against UT Martin (Sept. 7).
•    Sellers made a 5-yard touchdown reception to narrow UTM's lead to 35-28 with 8:30 left to play. He then caught a game-tying 10-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds to force overtime.
•    His other touchdown came on a diving catch from 11 yards out to give SEMO a 42-35 lead in the first OT.
•    Sellers finished with career-highs in receptions (6), receiving yards (60) and receiving touchdowns (3) against the Skyhawks.
•    He missed the last five games of the 2023 season with a back injury.
•    Sellers has caught a touchdown pass in three of SEMO's last four contests.

Big South-OVC Weekly Honors
•    For the third-straight week, Southeast Missouri earned multiple Big South-OVC Association weekly honors.
•    Quarterback Paxton DeLaurent was named Offensive Player of the Week and DC Pippin was voted Co-Specialist of the Week on Oct. 7.
•    Pippin was also named the league's Specialist of the Week on Sept. 30.
•    DeLaurent was tabbed Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Week and Payton Brown was the league's Freshman of the Week on Sept. 23.
•    Prior to that, DeLaurent won Big South-OVC Offensive and Bryce Norman earned Big South-OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 9.
•    SEMO has won a total of seven Big South-OVC weekly awards this season.

100-Yard Receivers Please Stand Up
•    Southeast Missouri had a pair of 100-yard receivers in three of its last four games.
•    Dorian Anderson and Cam Pedro each had over 100 receiving yards vs. UT Martin (Sept. 7).
•    Pedro made a game-high nine receptions for 126 yards and Anderson had eight catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
•    Against #7 Southern Illinois (Sept. 21), Anderson caught eight passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and Tristan Smith had seven receptions for 109 yards.
•    Most recently, Smith had 124 yards and a touchdown and Anderson finished with 109 yards and one TD at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 5).
•    SEMO's triple threat of Anderson, Smith and Pedro are among the Big South-OVC's top four leaders in both receptions and receiving yards.

About Tennessee Tech
•    Tennessee Tech is tied for first in the Big South-OVC standings with Southeast Missouri.
•    TTU is 2-3 overall and 2-0 in Big South-OVC action.
•    The Golden Eagles have the top rushing offense (165 ypg) and rushing defense (88 ypg allowed) in the league.
•    TTU is under the direction of first-year Head Coach Bobby Wilder.

Notable Streaks
•    Bryce Norman led Southeast Missouri in tackles for three-straight seasons. If Norman does that again in 2024, he will become the first player in program history to lead the team in tackles four years in a row.
•    Three-time First-Team All-Big South-OVC selection Zack Gieg has made 31-consecutive starts at center.
•    Kobe Sixkiller, a four-year starter, made 20-straight starts on the offensive line.
•    The Redhawks have not had a losing record in Big South-OVC play for six-straight seasons. The last time that happened was in 2017 (3-5).

Good to Know
•    Bryce Norman ranks ninth among Southeast Missouri's career leaders in tackles (325), ninth in tackles for loss (28.0) and seventh in sacks (11.5). Norman became the 10th player in program history to go over 300 career tackles. 
•    Paxton DeLaurent ranks second all-time in program history with 6,145 passing yards. DeLaurent is just the second quarterback in program history to throw for over 6,000      yards.
•    DeLaurent has 46 career passing touchdowns and needs one more to break SEMO's all-time career record of 46 set by Daniel Santacaterina (2018-19).
•    DeLaurent needs 35 passing yards to break the school's all-time career record in that category. DeLaurent has 6,145 yards and is chasing Jason Liley who threw for 6,179 yards from 1989-92. 
•    DeLaurent's 376 passing yards against UT Martin (Sept. 7) ranked seventh in program history for most passing yards in a game. 
•    His 63 passing attempts against the Skyhawks surpassed Mike Haley (61, at Kent State, Sept. 10, 2005) for a new single-game record.
•    DeLaurent's six touchdown passes against UT Martin (Sept. 7) surpassed SEMO's previous single-game record of five thrown by Kyle Snyder (vs. Austin Peay, 2014) and Jack Tomco (vs. UT Martin, 2002).
•    His 34 completions tied the school's single-game record.

 Let's Talk Tuke
•    Tom Matukewicz is in his 11th year as Southeast Missouri's head coach.
•    Matukewicz has been at SEMO his entire head coaching career.
•    He is 59-60 overall and 43-30 in Big South-OVC play.
•    Matukewicz guided the Redhawks to two conference titles (2019, 2022) and three FCS Playoff berths (2018, 2019, 2022), both program bests.
•    He also has a program record nine wins over ranked FCS opponents.
•    Matukewicz's 2018 (9-4), 2019 (9-4) and 2022 (9-3) teams each tied the school record in wins. 
•    He is the 13th head coach in SEMO football history and ranks third all-time in wins behind Kenneth Knox (88-59-4, 1952-67) and  Abe Stuber (72-42-6, 1932-46).
•    Matukewicz's 59 wins are the most of any head coach in the Redhawks Division I era.
•    He was named the Roy Kidd Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2022.
•    Matukewicz has 60 total wins as a head coach, including 59 at SEMO and one as Northern Illinois' interim head coach.

About the Program
•    Southeast Missouri is in its 120th year of college football.
•    The 2024 campaign marks SEMO's 34th year at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
•    The Redhawks joined the FCS in 1991 and are 148-230 all-time in their Division I era.
•    SEMO won three conference titles (2010, 2019, 2022) and made four NCAA FCS Playoff appearances (2010, 2018, 2019, 2022) in program history.
•    The Redhawks have a total of six winning seasons (7-5 in 1994, 8-4 in 2022, 9-3 in 2010, 9-4 in 2018, 9-4 in 2019, 9-3 in 2022) in their NCAA Division I tenure.