OVC Football Report
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2019 Ohio Valley Conference Football Report Austin Peay | Eastern Illinois | Eastern Kentucky | Jacksonville State | Murray State | Southeast Missouri | Tennessee State | Tennessee Tech | UT Martin August 26, 2019 Ohio Valley Conference FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 215 Centerview Drive, Suite 115 Contact: Kyle Schwartz Brentwood, TN 37027 Phone: (615) 690-6685 OVCSports.com Email: [email protected] Twitter: @OVCSports OVC STANDINGS (In games through August 25) OVC OVERALL W L PCT. PF PA W L PCT. PF PA Home Away Neutral Streak Austin Peay 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - Eastern Illinois 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - Eastern Kentucky 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - Jacksonville State 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - Murray State 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - Southeast Missouri 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - Tennessee State 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - Tennessee Tech 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - UT Martin 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 - THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE LAST WEEK'S RESULTS Thursday, August 29 none Eastern Illinois at Chattanooga, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN3) Pikeville at Murray State, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) Valparaiso at Eastern Kentucky, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) Northwestern State at UT Martin, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) Southern Illinois at #17 Southeast Missouri, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) #6 Jacksonville State at Southeastern Louisiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) North Carolina Central at Austin Peay, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) Saturday, August 31 Samford at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) Mississippi Valley State at Tennessee State, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) * Indicates OVC Contest ALL TIMES CENTRAL THIS WEEK’S OVC HIGHLIGHTS/STORYLINES The 72nd season of Ohio Valley Conference football gets underway on Thursday night with seven of nine OVC teams in action; the other two teams will begin play on Saturday...There are no games against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents this week, although six are on the schedule for week two...This year marks the 150th anniversary of the fi rst college football games...Two OVC teams begin the season ranked in the Top 25, with fi ve-time defending champion Jacksonville State coming in at No. 6 in both major FCS polls and Southeast Missouri being ranked No. 17 in the STATS poll and No. 18 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll...Eastern Kentucky is among the other teams receiving votes in both polls...Two OVC players, Jacksonville State quarterback Zerrick Cooper and wide receiver Josh Pearson, begin the season on the Walter Payton Award Watch List; the award is given to the top offensive player in the FCS...Three OVC players are on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List to begin the season; those players include last year's winner Zach Hall from Southeast Missouri as well as Jacksonville State defensive back Marlon Bridges and Eastern Kentucky defensive lineman Aaron Patrick...All nine games this week can be seen on the ESPN Family of Networks, including eight on ESPN+ and one on ESPN3...This season 69 of 72 total OVC football games will air on ESPN Networks, including 52 on ESPN+ and 12 on ESPN3. 2019 OVC Football Weekly Release - August 26 • 1 OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK OVC MEDIA INFORMATION The fi rst OVC Players of the Week will be released on Sunday, Sept. 1. Kyle Schwartz Asst. Commissioner/Strategic Communications Phone: (615) 690-6685 Cell: (615) 775-1937 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.OVCSports.com ONLINE PRESS BOX: The OVC Football Online Press Box is a one-stop shop for gathering information about the OVC and its member schools. Media can access it at www.OVCSports.com/ footballpressbox or through links at OVCSports.com. SOCIAL MEDIA: Get breaking news about the OVC by follow- ing the OVC through Social Media. Check out the OVC sites at http://www.twitter.com/OVCSports and http://www.facebook. com/ovcsports. Also check out www.YouTube.com/ohiovalley- conference and the league’s blog at OVCExtra.com. WEEKLY NOTES: The OVC will release its Players of the Week each Sunday afternoon throughout the season. The full weekly notes report will be released each Monday throughout the season by 5 p.m. CT. The report is available via e-mail, and is posted on the league’s Web site in text and PDF versions. Statistics are updated after each gameday on the OVC Web site. 2019 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK OFFENSIVE Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 DEFENSIVE Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 SPECIALIST Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 NEWCOMER Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 Bold indicates player went on to be named National Player of the Week (STATS, HERO Sports or NCAA.com). 2019 OVC Football Weekly Release - August 26 • 2 NOTES FROM AROUND THE GRIDIRON COACHES TELECONFERENCE Let’s Get It Started: The 72nd season of Ohio Valley Conference football will get underway on Thurs- During the regular season a weekly teleconference day, August 29 with seven games, while the fi nal two OVC teams will start on Saturday, August 31. featuring the league’s nine head coaches will be held The OVC is made up of nine football-playing schools; since its beginning, 15 of the 18 total schools every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Central Time. The that have played football in the league have claimed at least one championship. fi rst teleconference will take place on Tuesday, Aug 27. A schedule of what times coaches will appear CFB150: This year marks the 150th anniversary of college football which began on November 6, 1869 weekly is below. For information on how to access the when Princeton played Rutgers. The commemoration will showcase the rich history and traditions call, please contact Kyle Schwartz in the OVC Offi ce of the sport and its positive impact on lives and communities, while also promoting the opportunity it (615-690-6685 or [email protected]). continues to provide to thousands of student-athletes across all levels of the sport. Follow the cam- paign @CFB150 and take part in the conversation with the hashtag #CFB150. 10:07 - Mitch Stewart, Murray State 10:14 - Tom Matukewicz, Southeast Missouri Jacksonville State and Southeast Missouri Ranked in National Polls: Jacksonville State and 10:21 - John Grass, Jacksonville State Southeast Missouri are each ranked in the Top 25 to begin the 2019 season. The Gamecocks are No. 10:28 - Mark Elder, Eastern Kentucky 6 in both major FCS polls while Southeast Missouri is No. 17 in the STATS poll and No. 18 in the AFCA 10:35 - Mark Hudspeth, Austin Peay FCS Coaches poll. JSU has now been ranked in the Top 10 in 71 of the past 74 weeks and ranked in the Top 25 for 75 consecutive weeks. Southeast Missouri fi nished last season ranked in the Top 25 10:42 - Jason Simpson, UT Martin for only the second time ever, and begins this year ranked for only the second time in program history. 10:49 - Rod Reed, Tennessee State 10:56 - Dewayne Alexander, Tennessee Tech JSU's Cooper and Pearson on Walter Payton Award Watch List: Jacksonville State junior quar- 11:03 - Adam Cushing, Eastern Illinois terback Zerrick Cooper and senior wide receiver Josh Pearson are two of the initial 25 players named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List. The award, sponsored by STATS and fi rst awarded in 1987, is given to the top offensive player in the FCS and has twice been won by an OVC player: Eastern Illinois’ Tony Romo (2002) and Jimmy Garoppolo (2013). The Payton Watch List can undergo OVC SID DIRECTORY revision during the season. A national panel of over 150 sports information and media relations direc- AUSTIN PEAY tors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries will vote on the winner following the regular season. Colby Wilson (931) 221-6562 Cell Phone (615) 604-3803 Three OVC Players on Buck Buchanan Award Watch List: Three OVC players have been named Email [email protected] to the 2019 Buck Buchanan Award Watch List by STATS. The award is given to the top defensive Web site LetsGoPeay.com player in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The OVC selections were Jacksonville State Press Box Number (931) 221-7191 senior defensive back Marlon Bridges, Southeast Missouri senior linebacker Zach Hall and East- ern Kentucky senior defensive lineman Aaron Patrick. The watch list will have updates during the EASTERN ILLINOIS season. A national panel of over 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, Rich Moser (217) 581-7480 writers and other dignitaries will vote on 25 fi nalists following the regular season. The award was fi rst Cell Phone (217) 508-8317 bestowed in 1995 and the fi rst OVC player to win the honor was Jacksonville State's Darius Jackson Email [email protected] in 2017.