The UT Martin Skyhawks’ Homecoming Game continues their conference schedule in week seven–this time against the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The Skyhawks fell to 1-1 in conference play after a disappointing 30-14 loss to the Lindenwood Lions. 

*All stats are from https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/stats/_/id/2630/ut-martin-skyhawks, https://utmsports.com/, https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/stats/_/id/2710/western-illinois-leathernecks and https://goleathernecks.com/.* 

The Leathernecks also come off a loss to a conference opponent. In their most recent loss of their three-game losing streak, the team was blown out 66-20 against arguably the best team in the OVC-Big South, the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles–who are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

The loss featured Golden Eagle senior quarterback Kekoa Visperas throwing for 358 yards and four touchdowns, he also added another 83 yards on the ground. Visperas’ impressive stat line walked him into earning week six OVC-Big South Offensive Player of Week. 

Skyhawk senior quarterback Jase Bauer looks for a bounce back game after failing to throw a touchdown pass against the Lions. He did find one on the ground though. This could be Bauer’s chance for that bounce back and have a possibly career performance similar to week five when Bauer passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns and added 107 yards and two touchdowns on the ground after the team struggled in week four. 

While the Skyhawks did lose in week six, there were some positives to take away that could win them this football game. Lion senior quarterback Nate Glantz did manage to have 91 rushing yards but the team held down the fort otherwise allowing just 66 yards on 25 carries, 2.64 yards-per-carry between running backs junior Jared Rhodes and sophomore Steve Hall. The Leathernecks are coming off a struggling ground game where they only managed 53 rushing yards on 17 carries, 3.11 yards-per-carry. 

Another positive for the Skyhawk defense to look forward to includes their third down stoppage rate. In their game where the defense struggled for the most part, the Lions only converted four out of 11 third down attempts. The Leathernecks did even worse than the Lions converting just two out of 15 attempts against the Golden Eagles. 

The Skyhawks safety duo of seniors Jacob Stevenson and Josh Hasting are a big part of that. Their tackling ability in the open space has been noticeable all season. In week five versus the SEMO Redhawks the team allowed a 33.33% conversion rate (5 of 15); in week four versus the Missouri State Bears they allowed a 50% conversion rate (5 of 10) and in week three versus the Southern Illinois Salukis they allowed a 44.44% conversion rate (4 of 9). Stevenson and Hasting are the team’s tackle leaders at 38 and 32 respectively.

Back to the offense, the run game has not been bad for the Skyhawks at all. This matchup could be another great game on the ground for the team. After missing week six due to a concussion, senior running back John Gentry returned with a guardian cap for extra padding and averaged seven yards a carry on a limited five carries. Sophomore Thomas Ansley continued to show promise at 4.5 yards-per-carry on six carries. As mentioned earlier, Bauer found the endzone with his legs–marking his third rushing touchdown of the season. The Leathernecks allowed three rushing touchdowns and 93 yards–outside of the quarterback–averaging 4.04 yards-per-carry. 

The Skyhawks try to secure a Homecoming win against the Leathernecks on Oct. 11, 2025, at 2 p.m. at Hardy M. Graham Stadium.