NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State defense racked up six sacks and forced four turnovers to help the TSU to a 37-17 win over Eastern Illinois at home Saturday afternoon.
The TSU improved to 3-4 on the year and 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play, while the EIU fell to 2-5 and 1-1.
Draylen Ellis led Tennessee State's passing attack with 309 yards through the air, tossing three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Devon Starling paced the TSU rushing attack by accumulating 58 yards over the course of the game, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Starling also tacked on 58 receiving yards and one touchdown. Jalen Rouse also added 37 yards on the ground.
Da'Shon Davis hauled in four catches for 70 yards. J.J. Holloman had a nice day as he recorded six receptions for 69 yards. TSU also added 52 yards receiving and one touchdown from John Roberts IV in the game.
Jahsun Bryant led the Tennessee State defensive effort, totaling four tackles, 0.5 TFL, one interception, and one forced fumble. James Reese IV added one interception and Terrell Allen had six tackles, 3.0 TFL, and two sacks in the win.
The Tigers won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing four turnovers while avoiding any giveaways, with TSU turning those takeaways into 10 points. Tennessee State converted on 44.4 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Defensively, Tennessee State did an excellent job limiting the Eastern Illinois offensive attack, holding the EIU to 188 total yards. TSU kept Eastern Illinois under 150 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing 115 passing and 73 rushing yards. The TSU pestered the Eastern Illinois passing attack all game long, totaling six sacks and pulling down three interceptions.
How It Happened
Tennessee State got on the scoreboard first with 9:27 left in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. TSU then followed with another score to expand the lead to 6-0.
Tennessee State then added a touchdown with 6:04 left in the second quarter to make it a 13-0 lead. TSU kept building their advantage, scoring again to go ahead 20-0.
Tennessee State continued to increase its lead, scoring again with :31 left in the second quarter to go up 27-0. EIU then rallied, tallying 14 points before the TSU responded with a field goal to extend their lead to 30-14.
Tennessee State held the EIU off the board before scoring for a final time with 10:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 37-14. Tennessee State didn't score again and Eastern Illinois added three more points to finish off the game.
Game Notes
» Tennessee State outgained Eastern Illinois 394-188, including a 309-115 advantage through the air.
» Tennessee State won the turnover battle 4-0 after intercepting three passes and recovering one fumble.
» TSU scored first with 9:27 remaining in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.
» Tennessee State tallied 24 points in the second quarter, accounting for 64.9% of their total score.
» Tennessee State converted 8 of 18 third downs while Eastern Illinois was successful on 3 of 14.
» Kaleb Mosley knocked through three field goals for the TSU with a long of 46 yards.
» Tennessee State scored three second-quarter touchdowns.
» The TSU took potential points off the board by forcing two turnovers on their own half of the field.
» Tennessee State won the time of possession battle 37:16 to 22:44.
» Tennessee State got off to a hot start in the contest, putting 27 unanswered points on the board before Eastern Illinois could respond.
» Ellis completed 75% of his passes on the day, going 27-for-36 while averaging 8.6 yards per attempt.
» Jonah O'Brien led the EIU passing attack, completing nine of his 22 attempts for 103 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
» Nile Hill was Eastern Illinois' leading receiver with 40 yards and one touchdown.
TSU will be back on the road next weekend as they are set to take on Murray State. Kickoff from Murray is slated for 2:00 p.m.
