Southeast Missouri State University
Gardner-Webb
10/26/2026 10:58:00 AM | Football
Game Information
Date:Â Saturday, October 31, 2026
Kickoff:Â 1 p.m., CT
Site:Â Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field (8,000)
Surface:Â FieldTurf
Series Record:Â Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting:Â GWU 27, SEMO 24 | 11/8/25 | Boiling Springs, N.C.
Follow the Redhawks
Video:Â ESPN+Â (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
Radio:Â 99X FMÂ (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
Live Stats:Â SEMORedhawks.com
X:Â @SEMOFootball
Happy Halloween
•   Southeast Missouri (5-3, 3-0) hosts Gardner-Webb (2-6, 1-2) on Halloween Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT at Houck Field.
•   SEMO is at home for the fourth time this season. The Redhawks are 2-1 at Houck Field with wins over Central Arkansas (27-9, Sept. 19) and Western Illinois (40-30, Oct. 17).
•   The Redhawks wrap up their 2026 regular-season at home vs. UT Martin on Nov. 21.
•   SEMO plays on Halloween for just the second time under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
•   The last time the Redhawks played on Halloween was during the 2015 season. SEMO beat Tennessee Tech, 38-17, at home that year.
Series Tidbits
•   Southeast Missouri and Gardner-Webb meet for the third time.
•   The series stands tied at 1-1 with the home team winning a one-score game in the first two contests.
•   SEMO defeated GWU, 30-24, on Oct. 26, 2024 in Cape Girardeau and the Runnin' Bulldogs won, 27-24, on Nov. 8, 2025 in Boiling Springs, N.C.
•   GWU is one of two Big South Conference teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. Charleston Southern is the other.
Alone at the Top
•   With its win over Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24) and UT Martin's 55-24 loss to Western Illinois, Southeast Missouri moved into sole possession of first in the Ohio Valley Conference standings.
•   SEMO is 3-0 in conference action thus far.
•   WIU, Lindenwood and UTM follow with 2-1 records.
•   The Redhawks five overall wins and three OVC victories are both most in the conference.
•   SEMO (5-3) is the only OVC team with an overall winning record in 2026.
Winning Streak
•   Southeast Missouri enters the weekend on a season-long three-game winning streak.
•   Each of those three games were two-score victories.
•   The Redhawks beat Lindenwood (38-27, Oct. 10) and Eastern Illinois (20-10, Oct. 24) on the road and Western Illinois (40-30, Oct. 17) at home.
•   The Redhawks started Ohio Valley Conference play with a 3-0 record for the fourth time in the last five seasons under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
•   Southeast Missouri also began league action with three-straight wins in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
•   SEMO won the OVC title in two of the years (2022, 2024) it went 3-0 to start conference play.
Road Stretch Ahead
•   After Saturday's game vs. Gardner-Webb, Southeast Missouri will be on the road for its next two games.
•   SEMO will travel to Tennessee State (Nov. 7) and Charleston Southern (Nov. 14) for its final road matchups of the regular-season.
•   The Redhawks won each of their last two road games and are 3-2 away from Cape Girardeau this year.
Redhawks Pick Up Road Win at Eastern Illinois
•   Southeast Missouri scored 17 unanswered points to nail down a 20-10 road win at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24).
•   Down, 10-6, after Justin Keller's 29-yard field goal with 3:37 left to play in the second quarter, Jobe Bryant caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Braylen Ragland and Khyair Spain scored on a 16-yard run to finish off the Panthers.
•   SEMO won its ninth-straight game in its series against EIU and fifth in a row in Charleston.
•   The Redhawks outgained the Panthers, 219-31, on the ground and did not allow a point in the second half.
Running Game Emerges
•   After rushing for no more than 53 yards in each of its first three games this season, Southeast Missouri has raised its numbers significantly over the last four weeks.
•   SEMO ran for 123 yards vs. Central Arkansas (Sept. 19), 106 yards vs. West Florida (Sept. 26), 215 yards vs. Western Illinois (Oct. 17) and a season-high 219 at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24).
•   The Redhawks had 198 rushing yards in the second half against the Leathernecks and 133 in the first half against the Panthers.
•   Both Khyair Spain and Tyrell Reed, Jr. ran for 111 yards. Reed, Jr. had one rushing touchdown and Spain scored twice in the fourth quarter, vs. WIU, as well.
•   It was the first time SEMO had two 100-yard rushers in a game since Geno Hess had 128 yards and Andrew Bunch had 115 at Southern Illinois on Oct. 30, 2020.
•   As a team, the Redhawks are averaging 133.1 rushing yards per game.
Sack Free
•   Southeast Missouri's offensive line has not given up a sack in four of the last five games.
•   SEMO has gone three-straight games without allowing a sack.
•   West Florida was the last team to record a sack against the Redhawks on Sept. 26.
Reed, Jr. Springs for 100
•   Tyrell Reed, Jr. ran for over 100 yards in two-straight starts.
•   Reed, Jr. finished with a season-high 111 yards and one touchdown vs. Western Illinois (Oct. 17).Â
•   A week later, he had 109 yards at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24).
•   Reed, Jr. ranks second on the team with 376 yards on 76 carries with an average of 4.9 yards per touch.
•   He is the first running back to rush for over 100 yards in consecutive games since Geno Hess in 2023 (122 at Central Arkansas on Oct. 7; 129 vs. Eastern Illinois on Oct. 14).
Field Goal Streak Ends at Seven for Keller
•   Justin Keller made seven-straight field goals before his miss from 48 yards at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24).
•   Keller, who was named Ohio Valley Conference Specialist of the Week twice and Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week once this season, leads the OVC and ranks 13th in the nation in scoring with 8.4 points per game.
Another Pick for Jones
•   David Jones had Southeast Missouri's only takeaway against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24) when he intercepted Cole LaCrue's pass with 8:26 left to play in the fourth quarter.
•   Jones' interception came on the first play of EIU's drive after the Panthers blocked a punt and took over on downs at the SEMO 26-yard line.
•   Jones leads the Redhawks in interceptions (4) and interception return yards (110).
•   He leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 11th in the FCS with 0.43 interceptions per game.
Possession Advantage
•   In its last four games, Southeast Missouri has possessed the ball over eight minutes more than its opponent.
•   The Redhawks had a +9:58 advantage vs. West Florida (Sept. 26), a +8:08 advantage at Lindenwood (Oct. 10), a +8:30 advantage vs. Western Illinois (Oct. 17) and a season-high +13:40 advantage at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 24) in time of possession.
Receiving Votes
•   Southeast Missouri is again receiving votes in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches and Stats Perform Top-25 Polls.
•   SEMO received 13 votes in the coaches poll and 15 votes in the media poll this week.
•   The Redhawks last received votes in both polls on Sept. 21.
Keller Among Top-10 in Field Goals
•   Justin Keller is 29-of-40 (72.5 pct.) in field goals during his career.
•   Keller is currently eighth among Southeast Missouri's all-time career field goal leaders.Â
•   So far this season, Keller made 16-of-23 field goals. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring (67 pts.) and ranks first in the Football Championship Subdivision with 2.0 field goals per game.
PAT Streak
•   Justin Keller has not missed an extra point in his career.
•   Keller has made 52-consecutive PATs in his 52 attempts.
•   He scored 139 points and leads the Redhawks with 67 this season.
Take it Away
•   Southeast Missouri's defense forced a turnover in each of its first eight games this season.
•   The Redhawks had a season-high three takeaways (one interception, two fumble recoveries) at Southern Illinois (Sept. 12).
•   SEMO has 12 takeaways and won the turnover margin three times in 2026.
About Gardner-Webb
•   Gardner-Webb comes to Cape Girardeau following its bye week on Oct. 24.
•   The Runnin' Bulldogs are on a two-game losing streak after dropping a 21-7 decision at home to Eastern Illinois (Oct. 10) and a 17-6 contest on the road at UT Martin (Oct. 17).
•   Earlier in the season, GWU came up on the short end of a close 36-35 loss at Football Bowl Subdivision Marshall on Sept. 26.
•   The Runnin' Bulldogs lead the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense allowing 22.5 points per game. GWU also leads the league in pass defense giving up 242 yards per game.
•   Quarterback Cole Pennington tops the OVC in passing average with 280 yards per game. Pennington has thrown for a league-best 1,680 yards. He rates second in total offense (272.3 ypg), as well.
•   Wide receiver Kory Jones is second among league leaders in receiving yards per game with 78.1.
•   Tre Yanez leads the OVC with 84 tackles and a 10.5 tackles per game average.
•   Pete Bennett is GWU's interim head coach after Kris McCullough was relieved of his duties one game into the 2026 campaign.
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