Subscribe
Follow Us
The Tennessee State Tigers win an ugly homecoming rock fight against the Norfolk State Spartans, 24-17. The win, which took place in Nissan Stadium (where the Tennessee Titans play home games), added more credence to recent calls for head coach Eddie George to gain more attention.
Coming into this matchup, the Spartans were 2-3 on the year. Their only wins were against Hampton and Towson. They arrived in Tennessee coming off a 28-26 nail-biter against North Carolina A&T University. On the other hand, Tennessee State was searching for their fourth win of the 2023 season. They've had victories over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Gardner-Webb, and most recently came off a win against Kennesaw State University.
Tennessee State started the game with the ball, getting a 65-yard kickoff return. Unfortunately for them, the drive quickly stalled. They settled for a 37-yard field goal.
On the kickoff, Norfolk State nearly turned the ball over as their kick returners ran into each other and barely recovered the football. That interaction was emblematic of their offense for the first three quarters. The Spartans made repeated mistakes, hardly getting over to the Tigers' side of the field. They went 3-and-out on their first possession.
TSU quickly took the ball back and went down the field to score. Quarterback Draylen Ellis threw a touchdown to a wide open Caren Adrian for the 10-0 lead.
The NSU receivers seemed to have trouble catching the ball the entire game. Kuhns often found his receivers, but they couldn't secure the ball when pressure came.
Tennessee State took the punt and converted it to more points. This time, senior quarterback Deveon Bryant threw a deep touchdown to Gerand Turner, extending the lead to 17-0.
Norfolk State started to get some rhythm through the ground game, but a tackle for loss from Ahmad Nelson and a false start killed the drive.
For the rest of the half, the score remained at 17-0. Tennessee State continued to switch quarterbacks nearly every drive, but they couldn't get much going after the initial offensive burst.
Meanwhile, Norfolk State's offense could hardly get any traction. If not for an outstanding recovery by the defense to hold their opponents scoreless for multiple quarters, the Spartans would have been out of the game much earlier.
Kuhns had time to throw. The Spartans' offensive line created safe pockets, but Kuhns couldn't find many open receivers. Drives often stalled due to penalties, incompletions, or sacks if Kuhns held on to the ball for too long.
Towards the end of the half, Ellis handed the Spartans their best opportunity to score. On the Tigers' own side of the field, Ellis seemed spooked by the pressure and took off. He was stripped as he started to leave the pocket, and the Spartans recovered the ball.
Thanks to a pass interference call, the Spartans got to the red zone for the first time. Kuhns scored on a quarterback sneak, but they missed the extra point, making the score 17-6 going into the half.
Despite their first half woes, Norfolk State opened up the second half with some trickery to jump start the offense. Receiver Jason Wonodi broke off a 37-yard run to put the Spartans outside the red zone. However, they again could not turn the opportunity into seven points, instead settling for another field goal.
The score remained at 17-9 up until the fourth quarter. Tennessee State struggled to find the efficiency they had on their first few drives, and Norfolk State continued to have trouble finding receivers downfield.
On a particular string of possessions in the third quarter, Ellis, once again spooked by pressure, threw a jump pass and resulted in an interception. On the next play, Kuhns threw a pick right to a Tennessee State defensive back. Though the Tigers subbed in Bryant for their next possession, the drive resulted in a punt.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, Norfolk State completed a 34-yard pass down to the 1-yard line. The Spartans ran another quarterback sneak for a touchdown, and X'Zavion Evans completed the two-point conversion to tie the game at 17.
Tennessee State, finally pressured to move the ball, got back down the field behind Ellis' best drive. He capped off the possession with a touchdown to put the Tigers up 24-17. The two teams punted the ball back and forth for a while, but on their final chance, Norfolk State still couldn't muster enough positive offensive plays.
Otto Kuhns had a rough day, completing just 10 of his 27 passes for 129 yards and an interception. He had 12 carries for only 36 yards and two touchdowns. The leading rusher for the Spartans was Jason Wonodi, a receiver with just two carries for 48 yards on trick plays. Taron Biles-Walker led all receivers with two catches for 42 yards.
Tennessee State's ground game kept them in the lead for the entire game. Jordan Grant had 84 yards on his 21 carries, while Jalen Rouse took his 17 attempts for 68 yards. Draylen Ellis had 57 rushing yards on eight carries, including the game-sealing touchdown.
The aerial attack for the Tigers was suspect, to say the least. Ellis went 6/11 on passing attempts for 76 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Deveon Bryant completed four of his seven passing attempts for 55 yards and a touchdown. Gerand Turner led the Tigers' receiving corps with a single catch for 34 yards and a touchdown.
On Oct. 21, the 2-4 Spartans will travel to Washington, D.C. to face off against the 2-4 Howard Bison.
Tennessee State, now 4-2, will look to get their fifth win against the 0-7 Lincoln (CA) Oaklanders, also on Oct. 21.
