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Game 5: Tennessee State (1-3) vs. UT Martin (2-2)
Date: Sunday, Mar. 28, 2021
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Stadium: William J. Hale Stadium (15,100)
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Audio: Big Blue Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

TV: ESPN+. Alex Gould will serve as play-by-play along with Derek Fleming who will provide analysis.

Audio: Big Blue Sports Network will carry the game live with Greg Pogue (play-by-play) and Will Brown (analyst). Pregame will begin at 1:45 p.m. CT.

Series Information: This will be the 30th meeting between the two teams. TSU leads the series, 17-12. The first contest was held in 1976 as UTM came away with a 26-21 victory. The Tigers came back the following year for their first win with a convincing 55-7 decision. The Big Blue won nine straight contests from 1996-04. TSU's last win over the Skyhawks on the road came in 2013, 29-15. The Tigers won the last meeting at Hale Stadium, 31-28 in overtime.

Head Coach Rod Reed: Coach Reed is in his 11th season at the helm of the Tigers and holds a 57-59 record. Only two coaches have produced more wins at TSU. John Merritt claimed 174 victories in his 20 years (1963-83) for a .806 winning percentage (174-35-7), while Harry Kean spent 10 years in charge of TSU from 1944-54 and compiled a 93-15-3 record (.838). TSU is 9-2 in season openers under Rod Reed, including a 17-10 win at FBS opponent Georgia State in 2017. The loss to Austin Peay was the first opening day defeat since a 12-9 decision to Bethune-Cookman in 2013.

Tennessee State: The Tigers dropped a 35-13 decision at Murray State falling to 1-3. TSU scored first for the first time this season. The Tigers traveled 57 yards in 10 plays and used 5:11 off the clock before a botched snap on a field goal attempt left them scoreless. After the defense produced a three-and-out, the offense went on a seven play, 71 yard touchdown drive, taking up 4:22 to open a 7-0 lead. Murray State would score in all four quarters, marking a first for a TSU opponent this year.  The Tigers outgained the Racers on the day, 362-343. Devon Starling led all rushers with 149 yards on the ground on 19 attempts. Starling leads the OVC averaging 95.0 points per game and with 5.59 yards per carry. Isaiah Green completed 15 of 29 passes for 202 yards with an interception. Green added 10 yards rushing on seven carries. The junior transfer ranks second in the OVC with 194.2 yards passing per game. Green is second to UT Martin quarterback John Bachus III with 212.0. On special teams, Antonio Zita ranks first in the nation averaging 2.5 field goals per game. The junior connected from 50 and 47 at Murray State. Dayron Johnson finished last weeks game with with 169 all-purpose yards. Johnson is tops in the OVC and ranks 17th in the FCS with 121.25 all-purpose yards per game. The sophomore has 279 combined kick return yards, which is second in the OVC and sixth in FCS play. Davoan Hawkins is second on the team with 24 tackles and has 7.0 for loss and 3.0 sacks. Hawkins is first in the OVC  in TFLs (1.5 per game) and sacks (0.75).


Last 10 Results:
2019 - UT Martin 28, Tennessee State 17
2018 - Tennessee State 31, UT Martin 28 OT
2017 - UT Martin 31, Tennessee State 16
2016 - Tennessee State 34, UT Martin 30
2015 - UT Martin 28, Tennessee State 14
2014 - UT Martin 21, Tennessee State 16 
2013 - Tennessee State 29, UT Martin 15 
2012 - UT Martin 35, Tennessee State 26 
2011 - Tennessee State 35, UT Martin 30 
2010 - UT Martin 37, Tennessee State 0 
 

Scoring Streak
Tennessee State has scored a point in 74 consecutive games. The last time the Tigers were shutout was on Nov. 2, 2013 at Eastern Kentucky (44-0). The streak is the second longest current streak in the OVC. Jacksonville State has scored in 99 consecutive games dating back to a 23-0 loss at Florida on Nov. 17, 2012. The longest all-time streak at the FCS level belongs to Montana with 406 dating back to 1989.

A New Workhorse
Devon Starling has exploded onto the scene for the Tigers after spending the first two weeks of the season as number two on the depth chart. Starling has earned starts in the Tigers last two games. The redshirt-freshman has carried the ball 68 times for 380 yards and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and 95.0 per game. His 149 yard performance at Murray State was the first 100-yard game for a Tiger since Nov. 3, 2018. On that day, Te'Kendrick Roberson and Earl Harrison both rushed for 100 yards at Southeast Missouri. In four games this season, Starling is just over half way to the total Roberson rushed for in a full slate of games in 2019. In 12 games a season ago, Roberson rushed for 750 yards on 176 touches, for a 4.3 per rush and 62.5 per game average. In 2018, Roberson finished with 100 carries for 527 yards (5.3 per rush, 58.6 per game). The last Tiger to average over 80 yards per game was Tim Broughton in 2013. Broughton averaged 81.9 yards per game and 4.8 per rush after carrying the ball 237 times for 1,146 yards in 14 games. Prior to Broughton, Trabis Ward in 2012 ran for 1,422 yards on 309 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per rush and 129.3 per game.

Playing Behind the Line
The Tigers recorded 12 Tackles for Loss and three sacks in week one at Austin Peay. The top game in 2019 for TFLs came against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 9. The last time the Tigers amassed at least 12 stops behind the line of scrimmage came on Nov. 4, 2017 versus Virginia Lynchburg. The last time TSU finished with 12 or more TFLs against an NCAA D-I came on Nov. 7, 2015 against Murray State. The Big Blue picked up another eight stops in the backfield against Eastern Illinois, led by Davoan Hawkins 3.5. TSU produced six stops for loss at Murray State, including two by Hawkins. Hawkins is averaging 1.5 per game which is tied for first in the OVC and 33rd in the FCS. The Big Blue made seven stops behind the line of scrimmage versus Jacksonville State without recording a sack.

The Hole
Tennessee State will play all of its home games this spring in Hale Stadium. TSU is one of the few teams in the nation that splits games between two home sites. This marks the first season since 1998 to play a full season in "the Hole". The Tigers used the on-campus stadium from 1953-1998 before moving into Nissan Stadium in 1999. TSU returned to Hale in 2012 and has gone 9-9 since then. The Big Blue dropped all four games in Hale Stadium in 2019. In total, TSU is 182-66-5 at home all-time.

One Leg After Another
Antonio Zita is another in long line of productive kickers at Tennessee State. TSU has used just five players from 2001-21 to handled the majority of the kicking duties. Joey Hudak was the Big Blue kicker for four seasons from 2001-2004 until Eric Benson took over for the next four campaigns, 2005-08. After Benson graduated, the Tigers only attempted six field goals during the 2009 season. Jamin Godfrey came to TSU and took over the kicking duties from 2010-13 ahead of Lane Clark who was the primary kicker for four seasons (2014-18) before passing the torch to Antonio Zita. The five rank as the top five kickers in field goals made in program history. Hudak left as the career leader and was surpassed by Benson who was then passed by Godfrey. Clark is second on the list behind Godfrey, but holds nine of the top 16 longest field goals at TSU. Zita has climbd the ranks and is six field goals behind Clark.

Fresh Starts
The 2021 spring season has seen 18 Tigers earn their first start. Freshman Zaire Thornton and junior transfer Benjamin Johnson picked up starts at Murray State and joined the ranks of Tigers who earned their first starts. Sophomore David Dorsey and transfer Nate Sutton received the nod versus Eastern Illinois. Against Jacksonville State, three offensive players and two defensive gained the nod. True freshmen Kenyon Andrews and Ahmad Nelson picked up their first starts, along with transfers Isaiah Green and Brandon Jones. Sophomore Dayron Johnson has played in 12 games for the Tigers before earning his first start. In all, 30 players have seen the field for the first time as a part of the Big Blue. In week one at Austin Peay, six Tigers on offense gained their first start. Deveon Bryant, Cam Wych, Vincent Perry, Sean McMoore and Robert Lacey all gained starts in their first action for the Tigers. Shawn McColley earned his first start for the Big Blue after playing in nine contests in each of the last two seasons. Transfers Curt McDonald, Davoan Hawkins and Tadarrius Patterson each gained their first start at Austin Peay.

Snap To It
True freshman Carson Buchanan has taken over as the long snapper for punts and field goals. Buchanan takes over a spot that has been manned by three players since 2010. Thomas Newberg spent four seasons as the first step on the special team's operation team. Newberg replaced Aaron Woods who handled snaps from 2012-15. Woods spent the 2014 season as a redshirt, sitting behind Hunter Howard who took over the duties in 2010. Buchanan takes over from a line of snappers that were tagged with just three errant snaps in 10 years.

Condensed Schedule
Due to the pandemic the 2020 season was reduced to a conference only spring season. The schedule consists of a seven game round robin facing each team in the OVC with the exception of Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels opted out after playing nine games in the fall. In 2018, the Tigers played just nine games due to two cancellations due to weather. The Southern Heritage Classic versus Jackson State was cancelled due to lightning. The following week, the Tigers game at Hampton was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence. The seven game slate is the smallest for TSU since 1957. The Big Blue under the direction of Howard Gentry finished the '57 campaign at 5-0-1.

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