COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (September 15, 2023) – North Alabama Football is in the second year of a renewed rivalry against a nearby opponent, as the Lions travel up to Cookeville, Tenn. for the second game of a home-and-home against Tennessee Tech set to kickoff this Saturday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m.
The Lions and Golden Eagles played yearly from 1953-59, but underwent a 63-year hiatus in the series before scheduling a home-and-home for 2022 and 2023. In the early stretch, UNA was led by legendary coach Hal Self, who remains the longest-tenured coach in school history with 21 seasons from 1949-69.
As the regional rivalry rebudded in 2022, the Golden Eagles spoiled UNA's home finale with a 35-27 victory. The Lions look to avenge that loss with a road win this weekend.
For a list of "Things to Know" for Saturday's game, including ticket information, directions, how to watch or where to listen,
click here.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama at Tennessee Tech
Date: Saturday, September 16
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
Stadium: Tucker Stadium / Overall Field
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Website
ABOUT THE LIONS
- The Lions enter with a 1-2 overall record and an 0-1 record in conference play.
- UNA participated in the first-ever conference game in United Athletic Conference history last Saturday, combining for over 1,000 yards with Tarleton State. The Texas took a high-octane affair by a 52-31 final in Stephenville, Texas.
- The North Alabama offense has posted back-to-back games with at least 500 yards, marking 61 times in program history this has happened. Of the 61 times, only 11 of those have been on the road. Two of those 11 came at Tarleton State in 2013 and 2023.
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Dating back to last season, seven of UNA's last nine games have seen a combined 950 yards between the Lions and their opponent — including five games with over 1,000 yards. One of those was the Tennessee Tech game last year that totaled 959 combined yards.
- Sophomore quarterback Noah Walters was a busy man last Saturday at Tarleton State, completing 36-of-63 passes for 342 yards, while adding 32 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. The 63 passes set a new school record for attempts, while falling one short of a record for completions. Both marks were last set in 2005 by Vinnie Saylor, who went 37-for-58 against Central Arkansas in 2005.
- Walters connected with 11 receivers on Saturday, including graduate receiver David Florence who led the corps with eight catches for 82 yards. Redshirt senior Takairee Kenebrew, who won the first-ever UAC Player of the Week award two weeks ago, caught six passes for 57 yards last week
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Early in the contest, sophomore running back Jalyn Daniels exited the game with a lower body injury and will unlikely play again this season. Daniels currently sits at 13.9 yards per carry with 16 attempts for 223 rushing yards, putting him on pace to break the record set at 8.0 yards per rush by Kenyatta Jones in 1993.
- In Daniels' stead, sophomore teammate Demarcus Lacey ran 16 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 29 reception yards for his second straight game with over 100 all-purpose yards. Also, redshirt junior Parker Driggers also had 16 carries and powered his way to 65 yards.
- Defensively, UNA forced a pair of turnovers last week. Memphis transfer linebacker Rush Lansdell grabbed his first interception as a Lion midway through the first quarter, while returning redshirt junior defensive back K.J. Trujillo forced and recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
- Senior defensive lineman Philip Ossai led the defense last week with eight tackles, including six solo, two tackles for loss and a sack.
- Despite being doomed by turnovers on Saturday, the Lions won the time of possession battle by a wide margin. UNA totaled 36:13 of possession time, which matches the UNA FCS Era record last set in 2022 against Austin Peay.
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UNA also had an advantage in third and fourth down conversions, going 12-of-23 on third down and 2-of-4 on fourth down. Meanwhile, the defense held strong on late down situations against TSU, as the Texans were 2-of-10 on third down and were stopped short on both fourth down attempts.
- In the first three weeks of the season, UNA faced three opponents who were either ranked or receiving votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 — earning a win over one of those with a 41-27 victory over Chattanooga. After Tennessee Tech, all three of UNA's next opponents are receiving votes in the same poll, including UT Martin, Eastern Kentucky and Abilene Christian.
- The Lions are in their 75th season of football in 2023 with an all-time record of 481-300-16.
- This season will be the sixth for UNA since transitioning to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the second as a full-fledged FCS member. UNA has an all-time record of 17-36 versus FCS opponents.
- The Lions are charter members of the newly-formed United Athletic Conference, along with Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Utah Tech and UTRGV, who will be joining in 2025. Former Gulf South Conference rival West Georgia announced its move to NCAA Division I and will join the league in 2024.
- The Lions are led by first year head coach Brent Dearmon, an Alabama native and offensive guru who made stops at Kansas, Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic. Prior to those places, Dearmon was the head coach at Bethel University (TN), where he led the team to a 10-1 record and a top-five NAIA national ranking in 2018.
- North Alabama remains the second-winningest program in the state of Alabama since 1990 with 254 wins in the last 33 years, ranking second only to the University of Alabama with 296 wins. The Lions boast 21 NCAA playoff appearances, 17 conference championships and three national championship victories.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
- Tennessee Tech enters Saturday with an 0-2 record following losses to No. 6 Furman and FBS opponent New Mexico.
- The Golden Eagles finished with a 4-7 record last season and a 2-3 record in the Ohio Valley Conference, including wins over Eastern Illinois and Lindenwood.
- Offensively, TTU is averaging 285.5 yards per game thus far, led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Ethan Roberts who is 42-of-66 passing for 368 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Roberts completed both touchdown passes for TTU this season to graduate receivers Metrius Fleming and Willie Miller.
- Junior Jayvian Allen is the primary rusher for the Golden Eagles with 21 carries for 86 yards over two games.
- On defense, the Golden Eagles have already intercepted three passes and recovered one fumble in two games. Sophomore linebacker Aaron Swafford leads the team with 17 tackles, while junior defensive back Tim Coutras has been at the center of chaos with 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception.
- The Golden Eagles are converting nearly half of their third down conversions with a 49 percent success rate, going 17-for-35 over the first two games.
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Tennessee Tech is led by Dewayne Alexander — a 1989 graduate of the school. Alexander has a 16-38 record in six seasons at TTU, while also owning a 57-71 overall record in 13 seasons as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday marks the ninth all-time meeting between North Alabama and Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles lead the series, 5-2-1.
- The Lions and Golden Eagles played regularly from 1953-59. The first meeting resulted in a 14-7 win for Tennessee Tech at home, but UNA returned the favor the following season in Florence with a 20-7 victory under Coach Hal Self.
- UNA's only other win in the all-time series came in 1957, as the Lions shut out the Golden Eagles for a 20-0 victory in Cookeville.
- The 1959 season marked the last meeting between the two schools for 63 years — a game that ended in a 14-14 tie in Cookeville.
- Last season, Tennessee Tech won 35-27 despite over 500 yards of total offense by the Lions.
- UNA has a winning record against the state of Tennessee with a record of 66-45-2. Both of UNA's ties came against each of the next two opponents — Tennessee Tech and UT Martin.
- The Lions will play four schools from the state of Tennessee this season — more than any other state. This includes Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin and Austin Peay.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
