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Game 6: Tennessee State (2-3) at Tennessee Tech (1-4)
Date: Saturday, Apr. 3, 2021
Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
Stadium: Tucker Stadium (16,500)
Time: 1:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Audio: Big Blue Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
TV: ESPN+. Dylan Vazzano will serve as play-by-play along with Sam Brooks 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 1:15 p.m. CT.
Series Information: This is the 34th meeting with the Tigers holding a 20-13 advantage. The teams first met in 1984, with TSU earning a 33-3 win. The Tigers would grab victory for the first six games of the series, only to see the Golden Eagles reel off five straight wins from 1992-96. TSU would break the streak with three consecutive wins, but Tennessee Tech responded with three wins of their own. The Big Blue have grabbed ten of the last 14 contests, but saw a four game streak halted by TTU in 2015, 30-24 in Cookeville. The Golden Eagles won three in a row before the Tigers roared back in the last meetings to outscore TTU 78-41.
Head Coach Rod Reed: Coach Reed is in his 11th season at the helm of the Tigers and holds a 58-59 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 claimed a 26-24 win over UT Martin at Hale Stadium. TSU built a 26-7 lead on three rushing touchdowns and two Antonio Zita field goals. Sabree Curtis opened the scoring with a six yard run ad was followed by a Deveon Bryant 32 yard scamper and a Devon Starling 65 yard dash. Zita was 2-of-4 on field goals, connecting from 51 and 33 yards. Devon Starling led all rushers with 134 yards on the ground on 26 attempts. Starling leads the OVC averaging 102.8 points per game and ranks 18th nationally. Isaiah Green completed 7 of 11 passes for 91 yards. On special teams, Zita ranks first in the nation averaging 2.4 field goals per game. The kicker leads the OVC in scoring with 8.4 points per game and is 11th in FCS play. The Tigers are one-two in the OVC in All-Purpose yards. Devon Starling is first averaging 104.8 per game, just ahead of Dayron Johnson at 101.4. Johnson is second in the OVC and ranks seventh in the FCS with 274 combined kick return yards. The sophomore is second in the OVC and eighth in FCS play averaging 11.3 yards per punt return. Davoan Hawkins leads the OVC averaging 1.4 tackles for loss and 0.8 sacks per game.
Last 10 Results:
2019 - Tennessee State 37, Tennessee Tech 27
2018 - Tennessee State 41, Tennessee Tech 14
2017 - Tennessee Tech 30, Tennessee State 26
2016 - Tennessee Tech 44, Tennessee State 16
2015 - Tennessee Tech 30, Tennessee State 24
2014 - Tennessee State 10, Tennessee Tech 7
2013 - Tennessee State 41, Tennessee Tech 27
2012 - Tennessee State 22, Tennessee Tech 21
2011 - Tennessee State 42, Tennessee Tech 40
2010 - Tennessee Tech 21, Tennessee State 10
Scoring Streak
Tennessee State has scored a point in 75 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 100 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.
Another Ladder to Climb
Antonio Zita has entered the TSU career scoring Top 10. Earlier in the season, the kicker moved past Carlos Jones (1982-84) who finished his career with 172 points. Zita scored eight points in the Tigers 26-24 win over UT Martin, giving him 196 career points. The kicker climbed to ninth on the scoring list, passing former wide receiver C.J. Johnson (2000-03) who amassed 192 points. Zita is two points behind Larry Watkins who posted 198 from 1978-81. Eric Benson is the next kicker on the list in seventh with 232.
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 three games. The redshirt-freshman has carried the ball 94 times for 514. Starling is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 102.8 per game. The running back leads the OVC and ranks 18th in the FCS in yards per game and is fourth, 11th in the nation, in total yards. His amount leads all freshman runners who have played games in the spring only. The Memphis transfer made 26 attempts against UT Martin and finished with 134 yards and one touchdown. The 100 yard outing was his second consecutive in his brief career as a Tiger. For his efforts, Starling was named BOXTOROW National Player of the Week and OVC Newcomer of the Week. 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 five games this season, Starling is over two-thirds of the way to Roberson's full slate total from 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 100 yards per game was Trabis Ward in 2012. Ward ran for 1,422 yards on 309 carries in 11 games, averaging 4.6 yards per rush and 129.3 per game.
Fresh Starts
The 2021 spring season has seen 20 Tigers earn their first start. For the fifth consecutive week, multiple players earned their initial start. Freshmen Detoye Adewole and Chris Joiner lined up on opposite ends of the defensive line against UT Martin. 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, 36 players have seen the field for the first time this season. Against 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.
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.
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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