#2 sophomore running back Chris Franklin reverses field and runs behind quarterback Jase Bauer for the game deciding touchdown against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in Hardy Graham Stadium on Nov. 15, 2025 (Pacer Photo / Kaniya Anthony)

The UT Martin Skyhawks defeated the Charleston Southern Buccaneers 17-14 on Saturday, Nov. 15. The win moves UT Martin to 6-5 overall and 6-1 in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference.  

It also means that next week’s game against the No.5 nationally ranked Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles is for three different achievements—the Sgt. York Trophy, the Big South-OVC title and a playoff spot in the FCS Playoffs. 

However, it was not an easy road for UT Martin to get to this point. Both teams were locked in a 0-0 draw for the majority of the game, with turnovers and missed field goals as the highlights of the game in the first half. 

Both teams had less than 160 yards in the first half compared to a respective 250 plus yards in the second half.  

Neither team scored until about ten minutes left in the third quarter when UT Martin senior quarterback Jase Bauer avoided pressure, rolled to his right and fired a rainbow to senior wide receiver Scottie Alexander, who was wide open behind the defense. 

Immediately following that, Charleston Southern responded with a touchdown of their own as junior quarterback Zolten Osborne would hit freshman wide receiver Rashawn Cunningham for a 73-yard touchdown to immediately tie the game up again. That play would be the start of the best game of Cunningham’s career. He would finish with seven catches for 216 yards and a touchdown. 

However, UT Martin had a weapon of their own go off. Junior receiver Phaizon Wilson eclipsed 100 yards in a game for the first time in his career with seven catches for 120 yards—including two strong contested catches with a defender draped over him. 

Wilson was just one half of the engine that powered UT Martin to victory—the other half was Bauer. 

Bauer threw for 252 yards and a touchdown, along with leading the team in rushing yards with 54 on the ground on just six carries—all of which came in the second half. After an efficient 11-15 start to the game, Bauer came out of the locker room in the second half ready to let it fly, and that is exactly what he did. 

His first pass of the second half was the aforementioned throw to Alexander, and he would follow that up with passes of 11, 20, 29 and 18 yards respectively.  

On the defense, UT Martin played a near perfect first half. They allowed just 121 total yards to Charleston Southern with just one third-down conversion. 

Things would get a little looser in the second half as they allowed 276 yards and 14 points, but UT Martin met the moment when it mattered. 

That moment came with about five minutes left in the game when Charleston Southern drove into UT Martin territory—down by only three points and knocking on field goal range.  

The UT Martin pass rush pressured Osborne out of the pocket and into the arms of senior nose tackle Toby Camp for a loss of one. Following that, they got pressure on Osborne again for a timely incompletion.  

Then fourth down, the Big South-OVC sack leader, junior linebacker Keyshawn Johnson, would add to his total. Johnson put the Charleston Southern right tackle in a blender with a spin move and sacked Osborne for a loss of six, which forced a turnover on downs and the game was over.

Other defensive standouts included junior cornerback LaMarion Pierce with four tackles and an interception and senior safety Jacob Stevenson with nine tackles and a quarterback hit. 

Head coach Jason Simpson appreciates his teams experience, especially in games like Saturday.

“In Hardy Graham Stadium, there’s some toughness. That’s the standard when we play here, ” Simpson said. “You got to meet that. And that team met it today, but we had just a little bit more.”

Now UT Martin will get one more game to decide whether their season ends next week or if it continues into December and the weight does not escape them.

“They’ll turn that tape on and they’ll see how good their opponent is,” Simpson said. “Margin for error is small.”

Next week, 6-5 UT Martin travels to Cookeville, Tennessee to take on 10-1 Tennessee Tech for the Big South-OVC championship on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 12 p.m.