The Tennessee Tech football team looks to continue its run for an Ohio Valley Conference championship as it travels to Charleston, Ill. Saturday to take on #25 Eastern Illinois. Tech (3-2, 2-1 OVC) is coming off of a road win at UT-Martin last week, topping the Skyhawks 38-25.
Junior Dustin Dillehay was named the FCS National Defensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network and a National All-Star by College Sporting News.
Dillehay picked off a Skyhawk pass and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown to put the Golden Eagles up by two scores and seal the victory for Tech.
Eastern Illinois returns home after being thumped by Penn State by a score of 52 to 3. The contest will be the 93rd homecoming game for the Panthers, with Tech being the last team to top them on homecoming (1999).
EIU rushed for 296 yards against the Golden Eagles last season in its 38-20 win in Cookeville.
The Golden Eagles are receiving votes in the Sports Network top 25 poll while the Panthers are clinging to their #25 ranking.
Tech is tied with EIU for third in the OVC standings, just behind Tennessee State and Eastern Kentucky.
“I don’t look at the standings much, there’s too far to go to be doing that,” head coach Watson Brown said. “Coaches go from game-to-game, but at the same time I’d rather be 2-1 than 0-3.”
With a win, Tech would be 3-1 in the OVC for the first time since 2000 and the Golden Eagles have not beaten EIU and UT-Martin in the same year since 2004. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 and the game will be broadcast live on Magic 98.5 and free on Teamline.
