DURHAM, NH – The University of Tennessee at Martin put forth a dominant display this afternoon, stifling the No. 16 New Hampshire Wildcats by a 41-10 margin in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
The victory was the second playoff win in the Skyhawks’ Football Championship Subdivision Era (since 1992), joining the 2021 squad’s first-round win at No. 10 Missouri State. No. 20 UT Martin improved to 9-4 overall via its fifth consecutive road victory and will now travel to No. 1 seed Montana State on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. CT.
After the score was knotted at 7-all through 15 minutes, the Skyhawks opened up a big lead courtesy of 20 unanswered points in the second quarter. UT Martin’s defense only conceded three points on the day while the Skyhawks tacked on two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
The Skyhawks outgained New Hampshire by a 482-124 margin in total yards and held the Coastal Athletic Association power to just six first downs for the entire contest. The 124 total yards allowed were the lowest by a UT Martin defensive unit against a FCS opponent since conceding 123 yards against Tennessee State on Nov. 13, 2010.
It was a total team effort on the defensive side of the ball as Michael Pleas, Jr. and Josh Hastings tied for the team lead with five tackles apiece. Pleas and Celeycan Hill each had a sack while Keyshawn Johnson, DeShawn McKnight, Taylor Burton and Toby Camp were all credited with half-sacks. JaMichael McGoy, Jr. made a spectacular interception at the goal line in the second quarter while LaMarion Pierce (two pass breakups) and Davonte Murray (two quarterback hurries) both made plays throughout the day for the Skyhawks.
Five separate UT Martin players rushed for touchdowns as the Skyhawks generated five scores on the ground for the first time since Oct. 29, 2022 at Houston Christian.
Rashad Raymond, Patrick Smith, Kinkead Dent, Trevonte Rucker and Glover Cook III each found the endzone today for the UT Martin offense while Jaren Van Winkle successfully booted field goals from 30 and 36 yards out. Dent accounted for 302 yards of total offense (246 passing, 56 rushing) while Smith set game-highs in carries (15) and rushing yards (71). Rucker went off for career-highs in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (88) while DeVonte Tanksley caught four passes for 71 yards.
In addition to his 2-for-2 day from field goal range and going 5-for-5 in PAT attempts, Van Winkle additionally boomed four punts for 160 yards (40.0 average), pinning the Wildcats inside their own 15-yard line twice.
New Hampshire (8-5) was limited to just 53 rushing yards on 16 attempts (3.3 yards per carry) and 71 passing yards on a 40 percent completion rate (14-of-35). The Wildcats’ lone touchdown of the day came on a 95-yard kickoff return by Caleb Mead in the first quarter while Ryan Toscano (18 tackles) and Wande Owens (10 tackles) both paced the squad defensively.
The FCS Round of 16 matchup at Montana State will be the second outing against the Bobcats in school history, both taking place in the playoffs. The Skyhawks previously visited Bozeman, Mont. in Round 2 of the 2021 postseason, falling 26-7 to the eventual national runner-up.
