How will Eddie George motivate Tennessee State football now that playoffs are a longshot?
In the aftermath of last week's loss, Tennessee State football has gone from having a shot at qualifying for the FCS national playoffs to being a longshot. A very longshot.
The Tigers (6-3, 2-2 Big South/OVC) slipped into a four-way tie for fourth in the conference with only two regular season games left including Saturday (noon, ESPN+) at Eastern Illinois (6-3, 2-2).
While the Tigers could still win the Big South/OVC title they no longer control their own destiny making the automatic berth into the playoffs unlikely. The 31-25 loss to Charleston Southern (4-5) also seriously hurt Tennessee State's chances for receiving one of the 14-at large bids into the playoffs.
But that hasn't changed the message coach Eddie George has preached to his team since the season began. The Tigers are still in position to show significant improvement over each of the first two seasons (5-6 in 2021 and 4-7 in 2022) under George and he is determined not to let that goal slip away.
"I'm not going to get into the arithmetic of the playoffs or whatever," George said. "If we get to that point we need to be battle ready. It doesn't matter if we barely get in or not. We've got to overcome some things and find a way to win ball games and if we're in it, we're in it. And if we're not, we're not and I'm perfectly fine with that."
There was not much George was happy with on the field after losing to Charleston Southern. He did, however, take some solace in the manner in which his players responded after the setback.
"There were a lot of kids crying at the end of that game because it means so much to them," George said. "Whereas a couple of years ago I don't know if there were any tears. So the buy-in is definitely there. The next phase for us is how do you work through the discouragement, the disappointment and find the resolve to muster up the energy and fight another battle?"
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That battle will come against EIU, a 33-17 loser to TSU last season but a team, like the Tigers, which has improved this season. The Panthers, who were picked eighth in the conference in the preseason, are one of the teams tied at fourth with TSU after winning back-to-back games over Bryant (25-24 overtime) and Lindenwood (16-10).
The Panthers are No. 3 in the conference in total offense (374.3 yards) but second-year EIU coach Chris Wilkerson said the unit hasn't faced a defensive player as dominant as TSU defensive end Terrell Allen, who leads the nation in sacks (1.61 per game), tackles for loss (2.7) and forced fumbles (5 total).
"In my opinion he's the best defensive player we've seen certainly this year, he may be one of the best defensive players I've ever seen," Wilkerson said. "He's got a great motor. He's strong, he's twitchy, he can bend. I went back and watched last year's tape and he had two or three sacks against us and just really demoralized one of our offensive tackles."
Allen has recorded a total of 9.5 sacks in the last three games.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Eddie George's message to Tennessee State football about FCS playoffs
