2018 UT Martin Skyhawks football team

The 2018 UT Martin Skyhawks football team represented the University of Tennessee at Martin as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Jason Simpson, the Skyhawks compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing eighth in the OVC. UT Martin played home games at Graham Stadium in Martin, Tennessee.

2018 UT Martin Skyhawks football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	2–9 (2–6 OVC)
Head coach	Jason Simpson (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Kevin Bannon (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jordon Hankins (2nd season)
Home stadium	Graham Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Jacksonville State $^		7	–	1					8	–	3
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State ^		6	–	2					8	–	3
Eastern Kentucky		5	–	2					7	–	4
Murray State		5	–	3					5	–	6
Tennessee State		3	–	4					4	–	5
Eastern Illinois		3	–	5					3	–	8
Austin Peay		3	–	5					5	–	6
UT Martin		2	–	6					2	–	9
Tennessee Tech		1	–	7					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

OVC media poll

On July 20, 2018, the media covering the OVC released their preseason poll with the Skyhawks predicted to finish in third place.^[1] On July 23, the OVC released their coches poll with the Skyhawks also predicted to finish in third place.^[2]

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Jacksonville State	134 (14)
2	Austin Peay	114 (1)
3	UT Martin	96
4	Tennessee State	91
5	Eastern Illinois	83
6	Eastern Kentucky	64
7	Murray State	39
8	Southeast Missouri State	35
9	Tennessee Tech	19

Coaches poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Jacksonville State	126 (14)
2	Austin Peay	112 (4)
3	UT Martin	95
4	Eastern Illinois	73
5	Eastern Kentucky	69
6	Tennessee State	64
7	Southeast Missouri State	62
8	Murray State	24
9	Tennessee Tech	23

Preseason All-OVC team

The Skyahwks had three players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.^[3]

Offense LaDarius Galloway – RB Defense James Gilleylen – LB Specialists Peyton Logan – KR

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	3:00 p.m.	at Missouri*	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	SECN	L 14–51	44,019
September 8	6:00 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee*	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	ESPN+	L 37–61	16,227
September 15	3:00 p.m.	Chattanooga*	Graham Stadium Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 24–34	4,414
September 22	2:00 p.m.	No. 24 Austin Peay	Graham Stadium Martin, TN (Sgt. York Trophy)	ESPN+	W 37–7	1,497
September 29	6:00 p.m.	at Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 38–45	11,137
October 13	2:00 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky	Graham Stadium Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 34–35	1,769
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN3	L 21–24 OT	7,413
October 27	2:00 p.m.	Southeast Missouri State	Graham Stadium Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 33–56	4,014
November 3	1:00 p.m.	at Jacksonville State	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	L 14–21	16,093
November 10	2:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	Graham Stadium Martin, TN (Sgt. York Trophy)	ESPN+	W 38–13	2,736
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN (Sgt. York Trophy)	ESPN+	L 28–31 OT	3,618
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]

Game summaries

At Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	0	7	7	0	14
Tigers	14	24	10	3	51

See also: 2018 Missouri Tigers football team

At Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	7	10	7	13	37
Blue Raiders	14	12	21	14	61

See also: 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

Chattanooga

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mocs	10	10	7	7	34
Skyhawks	0	7	0	17	24

See also: 2018 Chattanooga Mocs football team

Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Governors	7	0	0	0	7
Skyhawks	6	0	17	14	37

See also: 2018 Austin Peay Governors football team

At Murray State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	3	7	14	14	38
Racers	14	17	7	7	45

See also: 2018 Murray State Racers football team

Eastern Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	21	0	7	7	35
Skyhawks	7	24	3	0	34

See also: 2018 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

At Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Skyhawks	7	7	0	7	0	21
Panthers	0	7	14	0	3	24

See also: 2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

Southeast Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redhawks	16	14	7	19	56
Skyhawks	7	10	3	13	33

See also: 2018 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team

At Jacksonville State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	3	0	0	11	14
No. 10 Gamecocks	10	3	0	8	21

See also: 2018 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

Tennessee Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	13	0	0	13
Skyhawks	14	14	3	7	38

See also: 2018 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team

At Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Skyhawks	0	3	7	15	3	28
Tigers	0	12	3	10	6	31

See also: 2018 Tennessee State Tigers football team