# 2021 UT Martin Skyhawks football team

The 2021 UT Martin Skyhawks football team represented the University of Tennessee at Martin as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 16th-year head coach Jason Simpson, the Skyhawks compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, winning the OVC title. UT Martin received an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Missouri State in the first round before losing to the eventual national runner-up, Montana State, in the second round. The team played home games at Graham Stadium in Martin, Tennessee.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at Western Kentucky* | | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY | ESPN+ | L 21–59 | 16,236 |
| September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Samford* | | Graham StadiumMartin, TN | ESPN+ | W 33–27 | 5,869 |
| September 18 | 6:00 p.m. | at Northwestern State* | | Harry Turpin StadiumNatchitoches, LA | ESPN+ | W 35–10 | 9,146 |
| September 25 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Jacksonville State* | | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL | ESPN+ | W 34–31 | 18,648 |
| October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Murray State | No. 21 | Graham StadiumMartin, TN | ESPN+ | W 48–24 | 7,111 |
| October 16 | 2:00 p.m. | at Eastern Illinois | No. 17 | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN3 | W 28–17 | 3,189 |
| October 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Southeast Missouri State | No. 13 | Graham StadiumMartin, TN | ESPN+ | W 38–30 | 2,230 |
| October 30 | 2:00 p.m. | Austin Peay | No. 13 | Graham StadiumMartin, TN (Sgt. York Trophy) | ESPN+ | W 17–16 | 2,117 |
| November 6 | 2:00 p.m. | Tennessee State | No. 15 | Graham StadiumMartin, TN (Sgt. York Trophy) | ESPN3 | W 41–20 | 3,712 |
| November 13 | 1:30 p.m. | at Tennessee Tech | No. 13 | Tucker StadiumCookeville, TN (Sgt. York Trophy) | ESPN+ | W 42–3 | 9,604 |
| November 20 | 1:00 p.m. | at Southeast Missouri State | No. 13 | Houck StadiumCape Girardeau, MO | ESPN+ | L 14–31 | 3,219 |
| November 27 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 12 Missouri State* | No. 16 | Robert W. Plaster StadiumSpringfield, MO (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN+ | W 32–31 | 5,072 |
| December 4 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Montana State* | No. 16 | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 7–26 | 15,327 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### at Western Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Skyhawks | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| • Hilltoppers | 7 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| WKU –24.0 | 58.5 |
| Statistics | UT Martin | Western Kentucky |
| First downs | 22 | 25 |
| Total yards | 396 | 587 |
| Rushing yards | 201 | 109 |
| Passing yards | 195 | 478 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 33:30 | 26:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UT Martin | Passing | Keon Howard | 20/43, 195 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| UT Martin | Rushing | Peyton Logan | 7 carries, 75 yards |
| UT Martin | Receiving | Colton Dowell | 6 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Bailey Zappe | 28/35, 424 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT |
| Western Kentucky | Rushing | Kye Robichaux | 9 carries, 44 yards |
| Western Kentucky | Receiving | Jerreth Sterns | 7 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TDs |