Hot off winning a share of its fourth straight league championship, the No. 20 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team will hit the road for a first round matchup in the 2024 Division I Football Championship at No. 16 seed New Hampshire. Kickoff from Wildcat Stadium is slated for noon CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Skyhawks (8-4) earned a share of their fourth straight league championship after defeating Lindenwood by a 33-26 margin in overtime in the final week of the regular season. With the championship, UT Martin is just the fourth Ohio Valley Conference program to win four consecutive league titles.
This marks the third postseason appearance in the program’s Division I history. UT Martin made its FCS playoff debut back in 2006 with a matchup at Southern Illinois before returning to the field 15 years later in 2021. During that season, the Skyhawks posted their first postseason victory in their FCS Era with a thrilling 32-31 victory over Missouri State before falling to eventual national runner-up Montana State in the second round.
UT Martin currently ranks in the top-10 nationally in five statistical categories including interceptions (18, 4th), rushing defense (87.7 ypg, 5th), defensive touchdowns (four, 5th), third down conversion percentage defense (30.4%, 7th) and punt returns (14.28, 10th).
A total of 14 players garnered Big South-OVC postseason honors including nine first team selections and five second team picks. First team honorees include running back Patrick Smith, center Vance Van Every, right guard Drake Carroll, defensive end Charles Perkins, nose guard Christian Dowell, linebacker Jaylon Sharpe, linebacker Tevin Shipp, safety/punt returner Oshae Baker and cornerback JaMichael McGoy, Jr.
The second team featured wide receiver Trevonte Rucker, tight end Max Dowling, left guard Josiah Tingley, linebacker Chris Hunter, Jr. and long snapper Colton Peoples.
New Hampshire (8-4) earned the No. 16 seed in the postseason field after closing out the regular season with four straight wins out of the Coastal Athletic Association. The Wildcats feature 11 all-conference performers – including CAA Defensive Player of the Year Josiah Silver who finished the regular season third in the nation with 11.5 sacks while recording 17.5 tackles for loss. All-CAA performers Wande Owens (101 tackles) and Ryan Toscano (100 tackles) both eclipsed the century mark defensively while quarterback Seth Morgan threw for 2,311 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season.
The game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ while locally fans can tune into the Skyhawk Sports Network to hear Davis Gregory (play-by-play) and Chuck Hammer (analyst) call the action.
Games are broadcast on WCMT “Talk and News You Can Use!” with simulcasts on 1410 AM, 100.5 FM, 92.7 FM, 96.1 FM, 99.7 FM and 103.3 FM. Those links – in addition to live stats – can be found at the top of the page.
(Photo Credit: UTM Athletics)
