Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
Ohio Valley Conference
Tennessee Tech was the most consistent team in the Ohio Valley Conference even though a whole slew of teams headed into the last weekend of the regular season with playoff hopes. But it was the Golden Eagles who stepped up when they needed to the most. Coach Watson Brown and company had a tough schedule, but won games on the road against Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky. Their lone conference losses came by two points to Tennessee State and one point to Murray State.
2011 Record: 7-3, 6-2
Last Playoff Appearance: none
Coach: Watson Brown (25-30 at Tennessee Tech, 118-181-1 overall)
Big Wins: 10/29 at Jacksonville State (21-14), 11/12 at Eastern Kentucky (28-21)
Bad Losses: 10/15 Tennessee State (40-42), 11/5 Murray State (37-38)
Strengths:
The Tennessee Tech offense is not particularly explosive, but Tre Lamb is a dynamic quarterback who can make plays with his arm or legs. Lamb’s numbers in the rushing department are not impressive, but that is largely due to the fact that he will get sacked quite a bit. Lamb can break tackles and run for some big chunks of yardage. When Lamb is not running the ball, Dontey Gay and Adam Urbano will be. Gay is the workhorse and a touchdown machine, while Urbano can give him a rest. Lamb has thrown a few too many interceptions, but he is a pretty accurate passer who can move the ball down the field. Tim Benford is Lamb’s favorite target and he is always a threat to reach the end zone. The other consistent target is Zack Ziegler. He is usually the check down target while Benford, who has and will continue to garner national accolades, goes deep. Lamb has a handful of other receivers who can step up on any given day. Charlie Stevens and Doug Page may not put up huge numbers, but they are relatively dangerous receivers who can take advantage of the situation when the opposition worries a little too much about Benford and Ziegler.
Weaknesses:
The Golden Eagles defense returned a lot of talent from last year’s team and that depth and experience has been huge for this unit. This is still not a great defense and the biggest problem is getting consistent pressure on the quarterback. Marcus Edwards will spend some time in the backfield and occasionally get to the quarterback, but the only other way Tennessee Tech can get to the quarterback is by blitzing. That leaves some holes in the defense. But this is a team that has some decent tacklers in Howard Griffin, Richmond Tooley and Austin Tallant. Corey Watson is a strong point in the secondary. He has only played the position for two seasons after making the move from wide receiver, but he can pick off some passes and has turned into a fine corner opposite of Caleb Mitchell. As the competition stiffens during the playoffs, Tennessee Tech will need to play turnover free football if they hope to win a game or two. This is a team that has been tested on the road and succeeded, but not against playoff caliber teams.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Dontey Gay, RB, 1,009 yards
Passing: Tre Lamb, QB, 2,051 yards
Receiving: Tim Benford, WR, 826 yards
Tackles: Austin Tallant, S, 76
Sacks: Marcus Edwards, LB, 5.0
Interceptions: Corey Watson, CB, 3
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 208.60 (19th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Passing Offense: 208.10 (56, 5)
Total Offense: 416.70 (23, 3)
Scoring Offense: 34.10 (18, 3)
Rushing Defense: 151.20 (59, 1)
Pass Defense: 192.60 (31, 3)
Total Defense: 343.80 (39, 1)
Scoring Defense: 24.50 (46, 2)
Turnover Margin: .10 (50, 4)
Sacks: 1.50 (95, 4)
Sacks Allowed: 1.80 (49, 6)
