Analysis: No.13 Tennessee-Martin holds off upset-minded SEMO

UT-Martin receiver Rodney Williams alludes SEMO defensive backs Ty Leonard (5) and Dony'e Taylor on Saturday in Martin, Tennessee.

Ryan Collingwood - Southeast Missourian

MARTIN, Tenn. — It still had a heartbeat, but it was faint.

When Southeast Missouri State defensive tackle Bryson Donnell recovered a fumble by Tennessee-Martin quarterback Keon Edwards with 2:12 left in the fourth quarter on Saturday, the Redhawks were in a position to push the country's 13th-ranked team to overtime.

SEMO trailed 38-30 when it began the drive on its own 39, looking to march down the field with a hit-and-miss offense that found late steam at Hardy M. Graham Stadium.

But SEMO couldn't cash in on the Skyhawks' gift, totaling six yards on a final series that saw C.J. Ogbonna's pass sail behind an open Aaron Alston on fourth down.

The Redhawks (2-6) cemented their first losing regular season since 2017 in a game that didn't count in the Ohio Valley Conference, where SEMO (2-1 OVC) is still hopeful.

When UT-Martin (6-1, 2-0 OVC) and SEMO meet again on Nov. 20 at Houck Field - the teams played twice due to OVC scheduling holes —  it will have much more significance.

That didn't ease the sting on Saturday for SEMO, which nearly dug itself out of a 21-point hole.

"I love how we responded in the third quarter,"  said SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz, whose team trailed 17-10 at halftime. "We come out, fumble, they score. That's when a lot of teams go berserk and start getting blown out, so it tells you a lot about their character."

Howard, a Tulane transfer, was a force with his arm and hard-running legs, completing 17 of 25 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two rushing touchdowns.

The Skyhawks, which have the OVC's top rushing attack (228 yards per game), totaled 236 yards on the ground, including Peyton Logan's 75-yard run in the fourth quarter that appeared to put SEMO away.

"And that's against a good defense," UT-Martin coach Jason Simpson said. "That's a good (SEMO) defense that's tough to make plays against."

UT-Martin also took full advantage of a pair of big SEMO mishaps -— quarterback Jalyn Williams' first-quarter interception and Shabari Davis' third-quarter fumble — by scoring touchdowns on its subsequent possessions.

Davis, a kick returner, fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, putting UT-Martin in prime field position for Howard. He soon plunged into the end zone to give the Skyhawks a 24-10 lead.

After Edwards hit Rodney Williams on a 51-yard touchdown to give the Skyhawks a 31-10 lead two drives later, things appeared bleak for SEMO.

But four of the game's next five scores belonged to the Redhawks, whose defense began forcing punts and turnovers and Ogbonna got into a rhythm with Johnny King (96 receiving yards, two touchdowns), whose 29-yard touchdown grab cut UT-Martin's lead to 38-30 at the 6:00 mark.

An interception by defensive back Trai Hodges, who also had six tackles, helped spark the comeback attempt against an UT-Martin program that hasn't reached the FCS playoffs since 2006.

"When bad stuff happens, we have to get better at responding,"  said Hodges, whose defense held the Skyhawks scoreless in the first quarter. "We have gotten better. We never know what play is going to cost us the game or win us the game, go as hard as you can."

Jackson graduate Bryce Norman had a game-high 14 tackles for SEMO, which hosts Eastern Illinois (1-7, 1-2) on Saturday for homecoming.

Hess shines (again)

All-American running back Geno Hess broke the century mark again on Saturday, rushing for 137 yards and a touchdown on  18 carries.

Much of that total came on a 66-yard scoring run in the first half. SEMO totaled 211 rushing yards against the 17th-best rushing defense in the FCS, which had previously allowed 107rushing yards a game.

Third-down woes

SEMO was slowed by going 3 for 11 on third-conversion tries Saturday, a trend.

The Redhawks rank near the bottom of the FCS on third down, converting on just 35 of its 116 tries.

Aerial inconsistency

At times, Ogbonna looked like the quarterback who hoisted a national junior college championship trophy last season, hitting receivers in stride.

Other times he didn't.

Ogbonna completed 13 of 24 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on Saturday and ran for 50 more yards.

But he also missed some key throws.

King was wide open down the middle of the field in the fourth quarter, a connection that would have cut UT-Martin's lead to 31-27, but the ball was overthrown.

"There were 2-3 long passes we should have completed," Matukewicz said.

Obgonna, who split a few plays with Williams behind center on Saturday, has completed 73 of 150 passes this season for 886 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.

"It's really unfair to get here in July and expect him to win a championship with us," Matukewicz said. "But if he can focus on getting a little better, eventually it will happen for us. And our receivers also have to step up, the line has to give him more time.

Doak was busy

SEMO has scored on each of its redzone attempts this season, but several have come from the foot of Kenny Doak.

Against potent teams like UT-Martin, SEMO would prefer to score touchdowns, but three points is better than none.

Doak had field goals of 31, 37 and 38 yards on Saturday. He has 10 total field goals this season.

He earned OVC Special Teams Player of the Week for the effort.

Injured again

SEMO's top receiver, Zack Smith, caught two passes on Saturday before leaving the game, apparently re-injuring the same foot that forced him to miss four games. Smith was on crutches in the second half.

SEMO's top safety, Lawrence Johnson (shoulder), has also been a significant loss, especially against schools with dual-threat QBs like Howard.

OVC still wide open

A 2-6 record isn't pretty, but if SEMO can win its next three games and get some help, it could still win an OVC that doesn't appear to have a juggernaut.

Several other OVC teams have the same plan in a seven-team league with plenty of parity.

If the Redhawks (2-1 OVC) can beat Eastern Illinois (1-2 OVC) at Houck Field on Saturday, win at Murray State (0-2 OVC) on Nov. 13 and beat UT-Martin (2-0 OVC)  in a Nov. 20 regular season finale at home, they could at least share the crown.

Murray State - the preseason OVC favorite that clipped SEMO 32-31 last week - was handled 47-6 by Austin Peay on Saturday.

The same Austin Peay (1-1 OVC) that fell to SEMO 30-14 in Clarksville, Tennessee two weeks ago.

Austin Peay, a team that also lost to Tennessee State 24-22 three weeks ago, shortly after SEMO handled the Eddie George-led Tigers (2-1 OVC) 47-14 at Houck Field.

Tennessee Tech (1-2 OVC), which upset SEMO 28-17 in Cookeville, is also in the mix.

"We have to approach this one play at a time, drive at a time," Hodges said of the OVC stretch. "Whether it's on special teams, offense or defense, everyone has to be locked in on their keys. We have to play the whole 60 minutes."

"Everybody can beat everybody, but you can lose to anyone. Things are close, so what's going to separate the teams? Those critical moments," Matukewicz said." We're banged up and have lost a lot of players already, so we have to get some guys healthy during our bye week (Nov. 6).