For the second time this season, the University of Tennessee at Martin Skyhawks will travel on the road to an Ohio Valley Conference-Big South opponent after a home conference win. The Skyhawks not only got back in the win column for the season–now 2-5 overall–but also moved above .500 in conference play–2-1 against conference opponents. This comes off a close 32-31 victory over the Western Illinois Leathernecks. 

*All stats are provided by ESPN via Skyhawks, UTM Sports, ESPN via Runnin’ Bulldogs and Gardner Webb Sports.* 

Fellow OVC-Big South team, the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs had an impressive road win against another conference opponent, the Eastern Illinois Cougars. Gardner-Webb dominated Eastern Illinois in every part of the game, with a win of 21-10. 

Offensively, Gardner-Webb only punted four times out of 57 plays and racked up 446 total yards–195 through the air and 251 on the ground. 

The charge on the ground was led by junior running back Carson Gresock. On just six carries, Gresock rushed for 137 yards–an insane 22.8 yards per carry–and two touchdowns. The bright side for UT Martin is they managed to hold well in the trenches against Western Illinois with just 59 yards and two touchdowns allowed on 16 carries from Western Illinois junior running back Markell Holman. Gardner-Webb may not be able to produce those high yardage runs against UT Martin like they did against Eastern Illinois.

Standouts against the run for the UT Martin include senior defensive lineman Jabaree Dawkins and senior defensive tackle Toby Camp, who made a game changing tackle for loss against Western Illinois in the final seconds of the game. 

For UT Martin’s rushing attack, senior running back John Gentry made sure teams remember his name with over 104 rushing yards on 15 carries. That does not mean the team went away from the younger sophomore running back Thomas Ansley. Ansley kept up his production rushing for 66 yards and a touchdown in the win. Both Gentry and Ansley could be in for a challenge though as Gardner-Webb held Eastern Illinois to a 4.04 yards a carry between the team’s two starting running backs.  

UT Martin senior quarterback Jase Bauer continues to find the endzone with his legs–scoring two touchdowns on 24 yards. Bauer should look to continue this production as Eastern Illinois’ lone touchdown of the game came off a 19-yard touchdown run by LaCrue. 

In addition, Bauer once again broke out at home when needed most and was honored by being named OVC-Big South Offensive Player of the Week. Bauer’s stats from that game include 19 completions on 28 attempts, 235 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 24 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. This marked Bauer’s second time being named to the award.

Another scary thing about this Gardner-Webb defense is they sacked sophomore quarterback Cole LaCure eight times. They are led by senior defensive lineman Robert Holtz. Bauer has a tough matchup ahead of him with the OVC-Big South sack leader, Holtz, coming to town. Standing at six-foot-three-inches from Springfield, Ohio, he has been dominant in conference play this season–averaging 1.33 sacks and 2.33 tackles for loss per game.

UT Martin will look to win two straight games against conference opponents traveling to Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. in Ernest W. Spangler Stadium.