Tennessee State Game Notes | Southeast Missouri Game Notes
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Game 7: Southeast Missouri (3-4) at Tennessee State (2-4)
Date: Sunday, Apr. 11, 2021
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Stadium: William J. Hale Stadium (15,000)
Time: 2:30 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 2:15 p.m. CT.
Series Information: This is the 28th meeting with the Tigers holding a 14-13 advantage. The teams first met in 1991, with SEMO earning a 37-34 win. The Tigers gained their first win in the series a year later (1992), 37-27. The Redhawks recorded the next three wins, before the Tigers went on a five game win streak. SEMO won the meeting in 2014, 28-21, snapping a three game run by the Tigers. TSU bounced back with a 32-31 victory in Cape Girardeau in 2016 and a 23-20 win at Hale Stadium in 2017. The Redhawks have won two in a row against the Tigers for the first time since the 2002 and 2003 campaigns.
Head Coach Rod Reed: Coach Reed is in his 11th season at the helm of the Tigers and holds a 58-60 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 are coming off a 24-10 defeat at the hands of Tennessee Tech. TSU was limited to 51 plays and gained 159 yards on the day. Antonio Zita kicked a 51-yard field goal late in the second quarter to send the Big Blue to the break trailing 14-3. Jalen Rouse opened the second half with a 40 yard kickoff return. Despite the good field position, TSU came up empty as Zita's 34 yard attempt sailed wide left. With the Golden Eagles ahead late in the contest, Deveon Bryant reached the end zone on a 13 yard scamper to cut the lead to 24-10. The Defense registered 13 tackles for loss, including three sacks. Nyle Love posted a game high 10 tackles, seven solo and one for loss. Freshman Chris Walker led with four TFLs, tying for third at TSU since TFLs became an official stat. Zita has now connected on five field goals from 50-plus yards. The kicker ranks first in the nation averaging 2.17 field goals per game. Devon Starling leads the OVC averaging 90.7 yards per game and ranks 21st nationally. Davoan Hawkins has amassed 9.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries, forced two fumbles, recovered one and is second on the team with 31 tackles. Hawkins leads the OVC averaging 1.3 tackles for loss and 0.83 sacks per game.
Last 10 Results:
2019 - Southeast Missouri 32, Tennessee State 13
2018 – Southeast Missouri 38, Tennessee State 21
2017 – Tennessee State 23, Southeast Missouri 20
2016 – Tennessee State 32, Southeast Missouri 31
2014 – Southeast Missouri 28, Tennessee State 21
2013 – Tennessee State 40, Southeast Missouri 16
2012 – Tennessee State 40, Southeast Missouri 28
2011 – Tennessee State 55, Southeast Missouri 3
2010 – Southeast Missouri 19, Tennessee State 17
2009 – Tennessee State 23, Southeast Missouri 17
Scoring Streak
Tennessee State has scored a point in 76 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 101 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.
Playing Behind the Line
The defense, made 13 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including three sacks, at Tennessee Tech. The previous best this season was 12 Tackles for Loss and three sacks in week one at Austin Peay. The top game in 2019 for TFLs was 10 against Eastern Illinois. The last time TSU finished with 13 TFLs came on Nov. 7, 2015 against Murray State. This year, the Big Blue picked up another eight stops in the backfield against Eastern Illinois, led by Davoan Hawkins 3.5. The Tigers tallied six tackles for loss against UT Martin. TSU produced six stops for loss at Murray State, including two by Hawkins. The transfer is averaging 1.3 per game which is first in the OVC and 50th in the FCS. The Big Blue made seven stops behind the line of scrimmage versus Jacksonville State without recording a sack.
Another Ladder to Climb
Antonio Zita has entered the TSU career scoring Top 10. Zita scored four points at Tennessee Tech, giving the junior 200 points for his career. The total moves him into eighth all-time at TSU passing Larry Watkins who posted 198 points from 1978-81. 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. 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 four games. The redshirt-freshman has carried the ball 105 times for 544, but was held to just 30 yards on 11 touches at Tennessee Tech. Starling is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and 90.7 per game. The running back leads the OVC and ranks 21st 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. Week six was the first time this season the Big Blue did have a player earn their first start. For the first five weeks multiple players earned their initial starts. Freshmen Detoye Adewole and Chris Walker 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 climbed the ranks and is one field goal 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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