TTU football is near the end of their 2024 campaign as they only have two games left on the schedule.
The Golden Eagles currently sit at (5-5) overall and (4-2) in the conference.
Head coach Bobby Wilder’s first year at Tech has been an overall success as the team started 2-0 in the conference for the first time since 2011.
Following the hot conference start, the Golden Eagles went on to lose two conference games in a row to nationally-ranked opponent Southeast Missouri (SEMO) and Western Illinois on the road.
Following the loss to the Leathernecks, the Golden Eagles were able to return home and take down conference opponent Charleston Southern 28-23 to improve to 3-2 in the OVC. Senior quarterback Dylan Laible (7) threw for two touchdowns and had zero turnovers in just his second start back since being out with injury.
Coach Wilder was pleased with his veteran quarterback in the postgame press conference.
“Dylan Laible, playing only his second game in the last two years… continues to make good progress. [Dylan Laible] Protected the football today, that was really critical for us.”
The following week, Tech hosted Lindenwood for their annual homecoming game on Nov. 2. The result was a dominating 52-10 win in favor of the Golden Eagles.
Tech rushed for an astonishing 400 total yards on the ground, with grad-transfer running back Jalen Mitchell (0) leading the way with 128 yards on just 13 carries.
Dylan Laible went his second-straight week without turning the ball over, while also throwing for 119 yards and a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver D.J. Linkins (10), a guy who has been very consistent as of late.
The Golden Eagle defense showed out yet again, forcing three turnovers en route to their impressive performance against a talented Lindenwood offense.
Sophomore linebacker Cayman Spaulding (0) was awarded the Big South-OVC defensive player of the week award. Spaulding finished with six total tackles, one sack and a 29-yard pick-six in the third quarter.
After a dominant performance on homecoming, Tech traveled to Samford to take on the Bulldogs.
After a scoreless first half from both teams, the Golden Eagles surged in the third quarter, outscoring Samford 20-0 in that quarter alone.
A pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter by each team resulted in a 27-7 win for the Golden Eagles and their fifth win of the season.
In that explosive third quarter, Tech saw a touchdown run from redshirt-freshman running back Aidan Littles (32), a blocked punt by junior linebacker Miles Cooney (44) that was recovered for a touchdown by junior running back Torin Baker (25) and a touchdown run by grad-transfer wide receiver Jordan Yates (1).
Defensively, it was the same story that it has been through much of the year as the Tech defense forced two turnovers.
The first was an interception by junior defensive back Jalin Shephard (6) early in the third quarter. The second was a strip sack forced by junior linebacker Aaron Swafford (19) and recovered by Cayman Spaulding near the end of the third.
To cap off the scoring for the day, junior wide receiver Tremel Jones (2) ran in a 57-yard touchdown to make the score 27-7 and secure the victory for TTU.
The Golden Eagles have just two more games left on the schedule as they travel to UT Martin this Saturday and then return home on Nov. 23 to take on Eastern Illinois on senior day.
Both games are conference games for Tech, which provides a unique opportunity to finish strong and put an exclamation point on Bobby Wilder’s first season as head coach.
