Zane Whitson stiff-arms an Anderson defender during Carson-Newman's 28-6 win at AU on Oct. 18, 2025.
Zane Whitson stiff-arms an Anderson defender during Carson-Newman's 28-6 win at AU on Oct. 18, 2025.
October 24, 2025

C-N set for Homecoming matchup with UVA Wise

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.  – After 35 days and three straight games away from the banks of Mossy Creek, Carson-Newman (4-2, 3-2 South Atlantic Conference) at long last returns home for both a literal and figurative Homecoming game against UVA Wise (1-6, 1-5 SAC) Saturday at 3 p.m. from Burke-Tarr Stadium. 

C-N Game Notes

VIDEO: Ashley Ingram presser

VIDEO: 2024 C-N v. UVA Wise Cinematic Highlights

VIDEO: 2024 C-N v. UVA Wise Full Broadcast Replay 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.  – After 35 days and three straight games away from the banks of Mossy Creek, Carson-Newman (4-2, 3-2 South Atlantic Conference) at long last returns home for both a literal and figurative Homecoming game against UVA Wise (1-6, 1-5 SAC) Saturday at 3 p.m. from Burke-Tarr Stadium. 

"We're excited to be home," Carson-Newman head football coach Ashley Ingram said. "We're excited for homecoming. Hopefully we'll have a big crowd this weekend. You know, as you win games, each game becomes more meaningful. And obviously we got a very big game this weekend. UVA Wise is coming in. Coach Bass - got a lot of respect for him. Very good football coach. These guys are a tough football team. They're going to play hard. Their record just didn't indicate what kind of football team they are. So we have our work cut out for us." 

Carson-Newman is still largely in control of its own destiny for a league-record 22nd South Atlantic Conference championship. C-N, Wingate, Emory & Henry, Catawba all enter the weekend with two league losses, while Newberry sits atop the conference table at 5-1.  Winning out would guarantee Carson-Newman no worse than a share of SAC title.  Newberry beating Emory & Henry this week creates a clean path where Carson-Newman could lay claim to the league's autobid to the NCAA playoffs should it win out. 

There is also a realistic path for there to be a six-way tie for the SAC championship featuring a sextet of 6-3 teams. If you're sick and want to know what that would take, reference Carson-Newman Associate AD Adam Cavalier's Twitter thread on the subject.      

"It's huge for us," Ingram said. "I think really one of the big things we want to accomplish as a football program is we want to make this university, the alums, the former players - we want them to just be proud of the product we're putting on the field. Then the way we're behaving off the field, our guys are doing a great job with that. We're doing well in the classroom. We're representing, and we need to play well because this place has great tradition and we need to live up to the standard."

Carson-Newman will be looking to hold serve on Homecoming. The Eagles have won 10 of their last 12 Homecoming contests, the exceptions being a 31-21 loss to North Greenville in 2017 and a 48-23 defeat to Mars Hill in 2021. Carson-Newman took care of Anderson last year on Homecoming 28-7.  C-N has won three straight Homecoming games.  UVA Wise is an opposing school's Homecoming opponent for a second straight week. The Cavs lost 23-10 last week on Lenoir-Rhyne's Homecoming. 

The 35-day stretch is tied for the longest planned stretch between home games and the second-longest of all-time.  Carson-Newman went 42 days between home games in 1989 when it blanked Lenoir-Rhyne 38-0 on Oct. 28 and didn't play again in Burke-Tarr Stadium until the semifinals of the NAIA playoffs on Dec. 9 against Central State, whom C-N defeated 20-17.  C-N only played Presbyterian and West Virginia Tech in the interim.

Only one other time has Carson-Newman spent 35 days away from home since moving to NCAA Division II.

In 2003, Carson-Newman walloped New Haven 54-7 on Sept. 13 in Burke-Tarr Stadium and wouldn't return home until Oct. 18 when it pulled out a 24-21 win over Presbyterian.  In the interim, C-N tallied three straight wins over Florida International, Mars Hill and Newberry.

Carson-Newman also spent 35 days away from home in 1974, 1968 and 1966. 

In 1974, C-N opened the season on Sept. 14 with a 17-7 win in Jefferson City over East Tennessee State.  Carson-Newman wouldn't be back on the banks of Mossy Creek that year until Oct. 19 when it collected a 32-20 win over Newberry. Similarly, in 2003  

Carson-Newman has played the 11th-most challenging schedule in NCAA Division II when factoring in past opposition.  UVA Wise is the first team that C-N has faced this season to have a losing record at the time of the game.  C-N has the seventh-toughest schedule nationally when factoring in past and future opposition.  

C-N has the top scoring defense in the SAC under defensive coordinator Tyler Almond.  Since allowing 31 points to Mars Hill on Sept. 13 in an overtime loss, the Eagles have limited teams to 11.5 points per game.  All three teams that C-N has beaten since then, the Eagles have held below 300 yards of total offense. 

"I think the whole thought knowing that Coach Slade was likely just going to coach one more year as we brought Tyler in with the anticipation that he would be promoted to DC so the continuity's there," Ingram said. "Obviously he does things a little different than Coach Slade, but there's obviously still a lot of carryover too. Just kind of what we thought we'd be good on defense and we're playing well there and then we're trying to play complimentary football. You know, we want to win games. We're not turning the ball over on offense. We're running the ball. We're controlling the clock for the most part. So that's been a positive."

This game features the return of former Carson-Newman defenive lineman Max Bryant as an assistant d-line coach with the Highland Cavaliers.  Bryant is the third former Eagle in the last 15 years to coach against Carson-Newman.  Former Eagle receiver Corey Headley was on Jerry Odom's staff at Tusculum in 2023 while former Eagle QB Doug Belk coached with David Dean at Valdosta State in 2012 when the Blazers beat C-N in the NCAA playoffs. Former players have won two straight against C-N going back to Belk's 48-26 win over C-N in 2012. 

UVA Wise has struggled to finish drives.  Of 24 trips inside opponents red zones, UVA Wise has only scored 14 times with TDs scored on 12 trips.  Wise's red zone offense ranks 148th nationally in efficiency.  The Cavs have turned it over on downs six times in opponents' red zones. 

The Cavs have the conference's top rusher in Daniel Thomas.  He averages 107.3 yards per game, a figure that is ninth nationally.  Thomas has eight rushing TDs to rank 21st in the category.  He rushed for 256 yards v. Catawba.

"He's athletic, one, he's explosive, two." Ingram said. "He plays really hard, he runs really hard. He's just a good football player."

Carson-Newman has kept the defensive pressure dialed up.  With a sack in every week of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the last two years's teams are the fourth and fifth this century to tally a sack in every week of the season.  C-N has registered a sack in 29 straight weeks and 37 of the last 38.

Mekhi Brown has 17.5 career sacks, good for eighth among active players in NCAA Division II.  Brown is 11th all-time in school history for career sacks.  He needs 0.5 more sacks to move into the top-10 all-time in school history - 18 for a career to be tied with Eric Rice and David Roberts. 

Jayden Sullins has 1,892 yards rushing for his career.  A seventh career 100-yard day, 108 yards to be exact - would make him Carson-Newman's 22nd all-time 2,000-yard rusher for a career. Sullins six-career 100-yard performances are tied for the 24th-most all-time.  Sullins has 20-career rushes of 20 yards or longer.  The big play back also has five career rushes of 40 yards or longer that didn't score touchdowns. 

C-N has won seven consecutive home games. The Eagles longest home win streak since winning 10 straight home games from the 2008-09 seasons. C-N won its final three home games of 2008 before going 7-0 at home in 2009. C-N has 12 all-time home winning streaks of seven games or longer, including seven that have hit double digits. Carson-Newman is unbeaten at home under second-year head coach Ashley Ingram.

Kickoff between the Eagles and Cavs is set for 3 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 2 p.m. with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloCollege at cneagles.com/FloFB. The ESN also allows you to go "Inside the Radio Booth" with a live feed of the ESN crew on YouTube 

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