The Tennessee Tech football team faces a grave challenge on Saturday as it travels to Richmond, Kentucky to take on two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky (0-1, 0-0 OVC).Tech (1-0, 0-0 OVC) routed Pikeville College 51-10 at Tucker Stadium on September 10 en route to its third straight home opening victory.
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels, ranked 23rd in the Coaches’ poll, have dominated Tech in recent years, winning seven of the last eight meetings.
In Cookeville last season, EKU claimed a 33-12 victory, taking advantage of three Golden Eagle turnovers and holding Tech to only 56 rushing yards.
A strong backfield looks to be the workhorse of the Golden Eagle offense, racking up 256 rushing yards against Pikeville last week.
Sophomore Donte Gay set a career high with 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns while quarterback Lee Sweeney passed for 187 yards and a score.
Sweeney, a senior from Mt. Juliet, Tenn., currently ranks fifth nationally in passer rating at 183.38.
Defense will be key in the matchup, as Tech enters the game ranked second nationally in passing yards allowed and EKU finished second in scoring defense a year ago.
“Their defense is very solid,” said Golden Eagle head coach Watson Brown. “There are no weaknesses on the defense as far as I can see.”
Brown has never defeated EKU and Tech has not taken a win in Richmond since 2000.
The game will be broadcast live on Magic 98.5 at 6 p.m. CST and video streaming is available via OVCSports.tv.
