GAME 8
RMU (2-5) vs. Tennessee Tech (2-5)
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 • 12:00 p.m.
Joe Walton Stadium (3,000) • Moon Township, Pa.
 
TV: ESPN+
Audio: RMU Athletics Gameday App
Talent: Chris Shovlin (pxp), Ray Thomas (Color)
Twitter: @RMU_Football • Instagram: RMU_Football
 
No Huddle
 
- The RMU football team gets back on the field after the off week as they host Tennessee Tech in a Big South battle. The Colonials will start a stretch where they will play three of their last four games of the season at home.
 
- The Colonials are led by Bernard Clark, Jr., who is in his sixth season at the helm of the program. In his first head coach position, Clark was named the 2019 Northeast Conference (NEC) Co-Coach of the Year and owns an overall record of 15-38 (.283).
 
- Clark was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame presented by AutoNation, joining Dewey Selmon (Oklahoma) and Grant Wistrom (Nebraska) as part of the Class of 2022. The trio were honored at the annual AvMed Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon presented by AutoNation Dec. 29, 2022, at Jungle Island and were recognized in an on-field ceremony at the 89th Capital One Orange Bowl Dec. 30, 2022, at Hard Rock Stadium.
 
- Last time out before the off week, the Colonials came up short against Bryant on the road by a score of 43-24. RMU tried valiantly to come back in the contest and ended up scoring 24 points for the first time since their matchup against UVA-Lynchburg on September 23^rd.
 
- Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt was 12-for-17 passing for 117 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Chiccitt also had 39 yards rushing for the Colonials and capitalized on a rushing touchdown of his own. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Szalkowski came in at quarterback for RMU and had a good stat line going 9-for-12 passing for 69 yards and one touchdown pass.
 
- Tight end Landen Lucas led the Colonials in receiving yards as he had five catches for 62 yards and one touchdown catch. Junior wide receiver Trenell Ridgley also had a solid game as he finished with a team-high seven catches for 54 yards.
 
- Defensively against Bryant, defensive back Robert Carter Jr. led the Colonials with seven tackles all of which being solo stops. RMU linebacker Tony Brown was also atop the defensive leaderboard as he had six tackles with five of those being individual stops.
 
- Prior to the Bryant contest, the Colonials started conference play at Gardner-Webb in a game where RMU saw themselves come back late but fell to the Bulldogs, 31-16. The Colonials held Gardner-Webb to three points in the second half and also scored a defensive touchdown courtesy of a scoop and score from defensive end Garret Fairman.

 - Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt went 26-for-43 passing and 179 yards with his longest completion being 19 yards. Cyrus Bonser scored the lone offensive touchdown for the Colonials on the ground as RMU attempted the second half comeback.

- A total of three Colonials were named to the 2023 Big South-OVC Association Watch List, which came as part of Big South-OVC Association Media Day in Nashville, Tenn., at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. Garnering the plaudits for RMU were senior linebackers Joe Casale and Jamar Shegog and fifth-year punter George Souders III. Casale was named to the 2022 All-Big South Second Team, while Shegog earned a spot on the 2021 All-Big South Second Team as well as the HERO Sports 2020-21 Freshman All-America Team.
 
- The Big South and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) announced Feb. 20, 2022, the creation of an association of their football member institutions to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I season and have an initial term of four years. The unique agreement combines the football membership of the two conferences to ensure NCAA championship access and stability. Selected as the 2023 preseason favorite for the inaugural Big South-OVC Association in a vote of league head coaches was Southeast Missouri State.
 
- RMU will go on the road one more time this season when they battle Southeast Missouri next weekend with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 pm on ESPN+. The Colonials will play their final two games of the regular season at Joe Walton Stadium as they'll host Charleston Southern and Eastern Illinois to close out the year.

TENNESSEE TECH LINKS
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- Video
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
                           
The All-Time Series (Tennessee Tech) – This will be the first matchup between the Colonials and the Golden Eagles as Tennessee Tech was with the Ohio Valley Conference prior to the merger with the Big South this season.
 
Colonial Conference Leaders – Quarterback Anthony Chiccitt continues to stay atop the Big South-OVC leader boards in some of the top passing categories. Chiccitt leads the conference in pass efficiency with a rate of 139.05 and also leads the Big South-OVC in completion percentage (65.82).
 
Did You Know? Defensive end Tizlam Muhammad is tied for the lead in the Big South-OVC with three forced fumbles in six games played.
 
Firecracker – To get ready for the 2023 season, redshirt senior linebacker Jamar Shegog entered the Brentwood Firecracker 5K in Pittsburgh, Pa., on the Fourth of July. Shegog navigated the 40th annual 3.1 mile jaunt in a time of 27:03 to finish in the top half of the 1,686 participants. Shegog has compiled career totals of 155 career tackles in 22 games in an RMU uniform, the most by a student-athlete that has spent his entire career with the Colonials. Included among his career numbers are 78 solo stops, two-and-a-half sacks and two forced fumbles.
 
The Third – Returning for the Colonials as the starting punter is grad student George Souders III, who has anchored the RMU special teams for years. Also serving as the holder for kicker Jayson Jenkins, Souders has amassed 8,112 career yards punting on 210 attempts, an average of 38.6 yards per punt. In RMU's last game @ Youngstown State (9/16), Souders punted six times for 252 yards (42.0 yards per punt) with a long of 51. He also pinned a pair inside the 20-yard line of the Penguins. Entering Saturday's game as part of Homecoming festivities, Souders ranks fourth in the RMU career record book for punting yards.
 
Still On Top – The program's first running back, Tim Hall (1994-95), spent two seasons with the Colonials and during his career rushed for 2,908 yards. He accomplished the feat on 393 carries, an average of 7.40 yards per attempt. That total remains No. 1 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) record book (minimum 350 rushes) entering the 2023 season, a span that hits 27 years this fall. Matt Cannon of Southern Utah sits second with an average of 7.25 yards per carry thanks to 5,489 yards on 757 attempts.

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