Skip To Main Content

Tennessee State University

Starling Rush Not Enough
13
Tennessee State TSU 1-3 , 1-3
35
Winner Murray St. RACERS 4-0 , 3-1
Tennessee State TSU
1-3 , 1-3
13
Final
35
Murray St. RACERS
4-0 , 3-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
TSU Tennessee State 7 3 3 0 13
RACERS Murray St. 7 7 7 14 35

Game Recap: FOOTBALL |

Starling's Big Day Not Enough Against Murray State

Game 4: Tennessee State 13, #24/#25Murray State 35
Records: TSU (1-3), MSU (4-0)
Venue: Roy Stewart Stadium
Location: Murray, Ky.
Weather: Sunny, 64
Kickoff Time: 2:05 p.m.
Game Duration: 3:10
Attendance: --- 2,545
 

MURRAY, Ky. --- Tennessee State started fast on Sunday afternoon Murray State before miscues allowed No. 24/25 Murray State to pull away with an Ohio Valley Conference victory. The Tigers fell to 1-3 as they dropped a 35-13 contest to the Racers.
 
Devon Starling had a big day on the ground for the Big Blue, gaining 149 yards on 19 carries. The redshirt freshman averaged 7.8 yards per run and added 10 yards receiving on two receptions. Starling's day was a part of the Big Blue offense which produced 362 total yards.
 
TSU was not able to score on its first possession in the red zone, but came back to take a 7-0 lead on a Shawn McColley two-yard run. Murray State answered with a pair of touchdowns to gain a 14-7 advantage.
 
Antonio Zita put the Tigers on the board just before halftime with a 50 yard field goal, cutting the lead to 14-10.
 
After an MSU touchdown, Zita connected from 47 yards out to keep the Tigers within striking distance at 21-13 heading into the final quarter. The Racers closed out the game with a pair of touchdowns in the first five minutes of final stanza.


TOTALS

  • Tennessee State outgained Murray State in total yards, 362-343
  • The Tigers gained 202 yards through the air, 160 on the ground
  • The defense surrendered 155 passing yards and 188 rushing
  • The Tigers ran 65 plays, averaging 5.6 yards per play
  • TSU matched Murray with 20 first downs
  • TSU won the Time of Possession battle, 31:46-28:14
  • The Tigers finished 1-of-3 in Red Zone Scoring Chances
  • The Big Blue was tagged with 13 penalties for 90 yards
  • The defense recorded six tackles for loss

INDIVIDUAL

  • Devon Starling finished with a game high 149 yards on 19 carries.
  • Zaire Thornton and Dayron Johnson tied for a game high four receptions.
  • Johnson finished with 80 yards receiving, while Thornton went for 69.
  • Antonio Zita finished 2-of-3 in field goals.
  • Zita connected from 50 and 47 yards.
  • Davoan Hawkins led the defense with seven tackles, six solo.
  • Hawkins registered 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks to go along with a forced fumble.
  • Nick Harper Jr. broke up three passes while David Dorsey recorded one.
  • Josh Green had an interception and a break up.


FIRST QUARTER

  • The Tigers started fast with a pair of first down on the first two plays of the game.
  • Devon Starling rushed for 11 yards and was followed by an 18 yard pass play from Isaiah Green to Zaire Thornton.
  • TSU went back to the ground with Starling who rushed up the middle for seven yards.
  • On the play, the Racers were flagged for a facemask, moving the ball another 15 yards to the MSU 24.
  • The Big Blue continued with the ground game with a pair of runs by Starling, setting up an eight yard run by Dayron Johnson.
  • The first drive was slowed by a penalty, forcing the Tigers to attempt a 24 yard field goal.
  • A bad snap thwarted the attempt, leaving the game scoreless.
  • The defense forced a quick three-and-out allowing one yard to get the ball back for the offense.
  • The Tigers continued their success moving the ball with three plays that totaled 59 yards.
  • Green hit Cam Wyche for 16 yards before Starling broke a 16 yard run for the second first down of the drive.
  • Green went back to the air for a 27 yard completion to Thornton to move into MSU territory.
  • Facing a second and 17 after a penalty and a negative run, Green teamed again with Thornton for 16 yards down to the Racers three.
  • Two plays later, Shawn McColley busted through the line and into the end zone to give TSU a 7-0 advantage.
  • Murray State answered on the next drive with a 56 yard pass play to even the score at 7-7.
  • The Tigers held the ball for 11:34 in the quarter and recorded nine first downs opposed to two for MSU.
  • TSU outgained the Racers 138-73.

SECOND QUARTER

  • The Tigers continued drive from the first quarter ended with a 40 yard punt by Kaleb Mosley which was downed at the MSU five.
  • Murray State took advantage of a TSU penalty to continue a drive that would move to the Tigers 46.
  • The defense stepped up as Nate Sutton broke through the line and hit a Racer runner in the backfield for a four yard loss.
  • Two plays later, Josh Green broke on a deep pass an intercepted the ball at the TSU 10.
  • Starling opened the drive with a 17 yard run, but the Tigers were not able to continue the drive.
  • The Racers traveled 75 yards on seven plays to take a 14-7 lead with 2:05 remaining in the half.
  • The Tigers two-minute was effective as they moved into field goal position, allowing Antonio Zita to connect on a 50-yarder with seven seconds remaining in the half.
  • MSU outgained TSU 100-75 in the second quarter.
  • The Tigers trailed 14-10 at the break

THIRD QUARTER

  • The defense forced a three-and-out to start the third as Nick Harper Jr. broke up a pass play on third down.
  • The offense managed just one first down and was forced to punt.
  • The Tigers mishandled the snap and was stopped at their own 34, giving the Racers a short field.
  • MSU needed seven plays to punch the ball across the goal line to take a 21-10 lead.
  • Dayron Johnson tried to jump start the Tigers with a 43 yard kickoff return to the TSU 44.
  • The Big Blue settled for a 53 yard field goal attempt by Zita, which sailed wide left.
  • Harper and David Dorsey would breakup passes on back-to-back plays to give the offense another chance.
  • Starling busted around the right side for 42 yards on the first play of the drive to get to midfield.
  • Miscues would stop the Tigers who settled for a 47-yard Zita field goal to cut into the lead at 21-13.
  • TSU outgained MSU 75-66 in the quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

  • The Racers put a stamp on the fourth with a pair of touchdowns in just under five minutes.
  • The Tigers tried to fight back as Green hit Johnson with a 49 yard pass to the Racers five.
  • TSU were stopped in the red zone with a penalty and a pair of drops in the end zone.
  • The threat was the last for the Big Blue as the Racers were able to run out the clock.
  • MSU outgained the Tigers in the fourth, 104-74.

GAME NOTES

  • This marks the 31st meeting with Murray State.
  • MSU now leads the series 18-13.
  • Murray State holds a 12-6 advantage in Murray, Kentucky.
  • The Racers have won five straight.
  • Rod Reed is 2-8 versus the Racers.
  • Kickoff occurred at 2:02.
  • The weather at kickoff was sunny and 64 degrees with a 6mph wind.
  • Christian Smith served as the honorary captain for Tennessee State. Murray State honored their first African American student athlete Dennis Jackson who wore number 25 on the football field and ran track in 1961.
  • Murray State won the toss and deferred.
  • Shawn McColley rushed for a two-yard touchdown, his second of the season.
  • Josh Green caught his fourth career, second season interception early in the second quarter.
  • Devon Starling is the first player to rush a 100 yards since Nov. 3, 2018. Te'Kendrick Roberson and Earl Harrison both rushed over 100 yards at SEMO.

WHAT'S NEXT:
The Tigers return to Hale Stadium to host UT Martin on Sunday, Mar. 28.at 2:00 p.m.

QUOTES
Head Coach Rod Reed
-Thoughts on the game

Once again this was a very disappointing loss. I thought that our kids came out from the offset and played hard. We gave ourselves several opportunities in the red zone but we didn't convert. We have to start turning field goals into touchdowns. We're depended on the leg of Zita a little too much. We missed three or four opportunities in the first half, down in the red zone to put points on the board. The sooner we learn how to stop shooting ourselves in the foot, the sooner we can move forward as a football team. I think the defense gave a valiant effort the first half. I think turnovers ended up being the key to the game. We had the bad snap on the punt which gave them an opportunity, and we had a pick six. Those were two critical plays in the game that put the game out of reach.

-On the pick six and team thinking it was off sides
Normally when the team jumps, it's a free play and everyone freezes and its just the quartback and the receiver in the route. Normally, that's a free play. I thought the guy was in the neutral zone. The official said he wasn't in the neutral zone. I'm not an official so I can't make that call, but clearly there was movement on the inside of the line of scrimmage. We snapped the ball. I thought it happened twice, where there was movement on the other side of the ball and it wasn't called. One of them we just threw it away and the other he was trying to make a play, which ended up with getting the ball picked off. When you get the ball picked off on the sideline like that, Isaiah was the only one that could really tackle him.

-On the defense and playing shorthanded
Yeah. We have Nyle Love out today with a severely sprained ankle. Hopefully, we'll get him back next week. Kendall Johnson and Ahmad Nelson were our two backup linebackers and both of those guys were out in COVID protocol – as well as Jimmy Nixon, Jeremiah Mawali and Gerand Turner. We had six or seven guys out today. Fact still remains, we still have to go out there and execute. Michael Crawford was a guy that stepped up and played really well for the role we asked him to play today in absence of the guys who were hurt or in COVID protocol.

-On defensive line
Yeah. Our defensive line played in their backfield all game long. They piled up 30-40 yards in the fourth quarter just by running the ball, but our guys were just kind of beat down by then. You know you must continue to play the game. We missed a couple of critical tackles in the fourth quarter. At about the seven-minute mark, it kept the drives going.

-On Devon Starling
We have to figure out how to get the ball into his arms. We outgained them in total yardage. We were better on third downs. We just have to figure out how to get the ball into his arms. We did everything but get the ball in the end zone. It doesn't matter how many yards you got. It doesn't matter how many big plays you get if you can't get the ball over that white line. Then it's all for naught. We have to work harder in our red zone. To Isaiah's defense we had a couple of drops in the red zone, so we'll just have to figure that out.

#BigBlueRising

Print Friendly Version