Tennessee Tech football to-do list: Win big in home opener: Check. Put up a fight against defending Ohio Valley Conference champions: Check. Go on the road and stun the world by beating Kansas State: To be determined.The Golden Eagles look to play the role of the spoiler as they travel to Manhattan, Kan. to face off against the Wildcats out of the Big XII Conference on Saturday.
“We are not in a position to take any team that we play for granted. Our approach is not who we play on Saturdays, it is how we prepare for that opponent during the week,” said KSU head coach Bill Snyder.
Preparation will be a daunting task for the Wildcats after a long trip to UCLA last weekend.
Rest, practice, and the balance between the two are keys for KSU, as they are coming off of back-to-back road losses.
For the Wildcats, it will be a welcome feeling to play at home after two long road trips in the last two weeks.
Road games have not been kind to the Wildcats, as they have lost 10 of the last 11 road contests dating back to 2007.
So it must be some relief for the Wildcats to be back at home for a change.
After falling 23-9 at UCLA last weekend, the Wildcats enter the matchup with Tech looking to avenge those losses.
“We are a hungry team right now,” said Wildcats offensive lineman Nick Stringer.
KSU has not been consistent this season, surging late against Louisiana-Lafayette in its opener, but was shut down against UCLA in the 4th with two turnovers.
Coach Snyder certainly isn’t looking past the Golden Eagles, saying, “Tennessee Tech is a young football team that is very deep. They seem to play well during the latter part of the game. They are a very well coached team. Watson Brown has been around for a long time and he has them playing very well in all areas of their game. You rarely find them out of position. It seems that they are always in position to make plays. They have good team speed. They have some talented players who have put up some good numbers throughout the season.”
Two key performers for the Golden Eagles, Henry Sailes and Tremaine Hudson, are listed as out for the game due to injuries suffered last week against Eastern Kentucky.
The pair has combined for 177 rushing yards and a touchdown on the year.
Senior quarterback Lee Sweeney (concussion) is listed as questionable for the KSU matchup. Sweeney has 248 yards passing and two scores.
Kickoff is slated for 1:10 pm CST and will be broadcast on Magic 98.5 as well as online via TeamLine.
