NASHVILLE — Tennessee State put together an 11-play, 92-yard drive, culminating in a 19-yard rushing touchdown by Jordan Gant with :46 left to give the Tigers a 13-9 win over Charleston Southern on Saturday night at Nissan Stadium.
The Tigers improved to 3-2 on the year and 1-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play, while the Buccaneers fell to 1-3 and 0-1.
Gant paced the Tigers rushing attack by accumulating 40 yards and one touchdown over the course of the game, averaging 8 yards per carry. Cj Evans also added 31 yards on the ground.
Bryant Williams hauled in five catches for 49 yards and one score.
Boogie Trotter showed out for the Tennessee State defense, recording six tackles, two pass breakups, and one recovered fumble. Sanders Ellis added 11 tackles, 0.5 TFL, and one recovered fumble and Chris Walker had seven tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in the win.
The Tigers won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers while coughing the ball up one time.
Defensively, Tennessee State held up fairly well against the Charleston Southern offensive attack, holding the Buccaneers to 309 total yards.
How It Happened
Tennessee State scored first and opened a 7-0 lead with 5:09 left in the second quarter.Charleston Southern responded and went ahead 9-7 before the Tigers got on the scoreboard again on a 19-yard touchdown run from to retake the lead at 13-9. Neither team scored again in the game.
Game Notes
» Charleston Southern outgained Tennessee State 309-206 in the contest.
» Tennessee State won the turnover battle 2-1 after recovering two fumbles.
» Tennessee State had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up seven points.
» Tennessee State converted 3 of 11 third downs while Charleston Southern was successful on 2 of 13.
» The Tigers had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Ellis, who had 11.
» Tennessee State allowed just nine points in four Charleston Southern trips to the red zone.
» Tennessee State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» The Tigers didn't allow a sack in the contest.
» The Tigers collected 11 tackles for loss and added two sacks.
» Kaleb Jackson led the Buccaneers passing attack, completing four of his 12 attempts for 90 yards.
» Autavius Ison led the Charleston Southern rushing attack with 157 yards.
