Western Carolina football whips No. 8/9 Tennessee Tech, 44-20

FINAL: Western Carolina 44, No. 9 Tennessee Tech 20

Western Carolina football pinned the first Southern Conference defeat on new league member Tennessee Tech on Saturday night in Cullowhee. Josh Perry rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, the defense forced five turnovers and WCU drubbed the previously unbeaten Golden Eagles 44-20.

Tennessee Tech (4-1), which joined the iconic conference after winning the Ohio Valley last season, came into the game with three SoCon victories already in the bag. The Eagles held a No. 8 national ranking in the AFCA Coaches Poll and a No. 9 standing in the Stats Perform FCS media poll, giving WCU its most monumental win in the Kerwin Bell era.

Western Carolina has been somewhat Jekyll and Hyde this season. The Catamounts (3-3, 1-1 SoCon) have alternated wins and losses the past four contests.

🔑 How It Happened

Western Carolina got off to a fast start: The Catamounts jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first 17 minutes, getting McCollum’s first field goal (from 25 yards), a 1-yard touchdown run from Jordan Martin-Durham and a 49-yard TD pass from Lex Thomas to Jai Boyd. 

Tennessee Tech battled back: McCollum added another field goal before halftime, this time from 39 yards. But the Golden Eagles started to find a rhythm too despite a couple of first-half turnovers. Jax Leatherwood completed two touchdown throws, and Tennessee Tech got a 50-yard field goal from Carter Brown at the halftime buzzer to pull within 20-17.

Josh Perry fuels second-half surge: Kerwin Bell-coached Western Carolina teams typically do their most damage through the air. But Josh Perry has given the Catamounts a potent rusher. Perry scored twice in the second half as WCU reasserted command. His TD runs covered 35 and 13 yards. The WCU defense meanwhile turned Tennessee Tech over three times after the break.

Icing on the Catamounts’ cake: A second short-yardage touchdown by Martin-Durham with 1:03 provided the exclamation mark for a WCU team which has been on a roller coaster ride since coming into the season with high expectations. The Catamounts gave up 58 points to ETSU in its SoCon opener last week.

📊 Numbers That Matter

• 157 – Rushing yards for WCU running back Josh Perry, a season high. Perry crossed the 100-yard plateau for the second time in three games and now has 405 yards and five touchdowns on the season.
• 236, 94 – Passing yards and rushing yards for Western Carolina quarterback Lex Thomas. The NC State transfer threw just one TD pass but did not have an interception. 
• 53 – Total rushing yards for Tennessee Tech on 15 carries. The Eagles did amass 342 yards through the air but only managed 3.5 yards per rushing attempt.
• 5 – Turnovers for Tennessee Tech, four fumbles and an interception. 
• 39:15 – Time of possession for Western Carolina, eating up nearly two thirds of the game clock with the ball in their hands.
• 225 – Receiving yards on 13 catches for Tennessee Tech’s Gabe Nunez, who caught one throw for an 18-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
• 14 – Kicker points for WCU’s Bryan McCollum, who made three field goals and all five of his PATs.

⏭️ What’s Next

Western Carolina just beat one nationally ranked foe. The Catamounts will take aim at another on Saturday, Oct. 10 when it visits No. 21/23 Mercer. The Bears beat VMI 54-3 on Saturday to improve to 4-2 overall.

Tennessee Tech will look to bounce back on Oct. 10 when Furman visits in another battle of purple-clad SoCon teams.

🔗 More North Carolina College Football Coverage

• Western Carolina Football Schedule
• 2026 week-by-week schedule
• North Carolina college football scores