History is beginning to take shape for the Tennessee State football team. With a conference record of 5-2, the Tigers are gearing up to face their biggest opponent yet. Southeastern Missouri has dominated the Big South-OVC standings for the majority of the season, with their only conference loss being to Lindenwood 24-12.

The game marks the Tigers' senior night and their final game of the regular season. Stakes are high for TSU, as they are in a three-way tie with UT Martin and Tennessee Tech for second place in the conference standings.

The last time Tennessee State won the conference title was in 1999. According to Big-South-OVC multiple ties tiebreaker rules: “If the tied teams played each other during the conference season, the team with the best cumulative record in games against the tied teams shall be declared champion. For example, if a team is 2-0 against the other tied teams, that team will be declared champion.”

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While Southeastern Missouri has clinched a share of the title the other half is up for grabs. In a quote from the Tennessean, Head Coach Eddie George says, “We've got a big game coming up against SEMO. I don't know how that game will affect the title, but if we take care of business, we will put ourselves into position to play in the postseason.”

Postseason is not far out of reach, Tennessee State football was ranked No. 25 in the latest FCS coaches poll released Monday. With an overall record of 8-3, the last time it won at least eight games in a season was in 2013. The Tennessee State Tigers also beat all of their HBCU opponents on their schedule this season.

The Redhawks and Tigers have a history dating back to 1997. While SEMO has walked away from the last five matchups as a winner, the Tigers are hoping to change that. Kick-off is slated for 3:30 CT in Nissan Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.