For the first time since 2018, the Skyhawks face a potential 0-4 start as they hit the road to take on the Missouri State Bears.
Similar to the Skyhawks, the Bears are coming off of a blowout loss where they only scored 10 points. The only difference is the Bears only allowed 28 points to the Skyhawks’ 37.
All ten points came in the first quarter of the game where the Bears dominated the SMU Mustangs. The Bears’ lone touchdown of the game came off a nine yard pass from senior quarterback Jacob Clark to senior wide receiver Dash Luke. The Bears offense went downhill from there as the Bears’ only other chance to score came off of a missed field goal which moved their sophomore place-kicker, Yousef Obeid, to three for six on the season.
A big part of the Bears’ loss came off not one, not two but three interceptions thrown from Clark. The offensive struggles did not stop there as the team converted zero third downs on 12 attempts.
As for the UT Martin Skyhawks, even in the blowout loss, the team came away with promise. That being said, the negatives need to be stated.
In the home opener, the team hosted the Southern Illinois Salukis. In a turn of events, the Salukis ran the Skyhawks out of their own stadium. Salukis’ senior quarterback DJ Williams showed his duel-threat ability rushing for 128 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries. The Salukis’ rushing attack did not stop there with junior running back Chandler Chapman having a season best 78 rushing yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.
In addition, the Skyhawks tried to run a trick play pass from senior wide receiver Bryce Bailey again but this time around it went to the other team.
Senior quarterback Jase Bauer just keeps getting better and smarter with the ball. Bauer only missed seven passes on 29 attempts for the night while also adding another touchdown to his 2025 resume–now up to two on the season. Bauer also led the team in rushing yards this game at 52 due to an inefficient night from senior running back John Gentry who averaged just 3.2 yards per carry for the night on 13 carries.
While the Skyhawks run defense was mot up to standard, pass defense is another story. The Skyhawks allowed just one touchdown to Williams while also hauling in their first two interceptions of the season. One fell into the hands of senior off-ball linebacker Tah Mac Bright Banda while the other was snagged by sophomore safety Joel Castleberry.
While Bauer playing well is good news for the Skyhawks going forward, the run game has to improve. The Skyhawks take on a team who is coming off of a horrible defensive performance of 167 rushing yards allowed. This could be the night Gentry finally gets his chance to take off. Defensively the Skyhawks run defense should have an easier night with the Bears due to the Bears poor rushing total of just 53 yards on 27 carries, just 1.96 yards per carry.
If the Skyhawks fall to 0-4, then it will mark the first time since 2007 the team has started 0-4. In that season, the team started 0-6 and finished the year 4-7.
In hopes of avoiding that start, the Skyhawks will travel to Robert W. Plaster Stadium to face the Bears at 6 p.m. on September 20, 2025.
*All stats are gathered from https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/stats/_/id/2623/missouri-state-bears, https://utmsports.com/sports/football/roster and https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/stats/_/id/2630/ut-martin-skyhawks.*
