Tennessee State football win streak snapped in 35-21 loss to Charleston Southern
Tennessee State football's hopes of rallying for a win against Charleston Southern were dashed Saturday when the Tigers committed their fourth turnover in the final five minutes deep in Buccaneers' territory.
Tigers quarterback Deveon Bryant fumbled at the CSU 18 and Buccaneers defensive end Darrius Bell returned it to the Tigers' 18. Two plays later CSU quarterback Isaiah Bess tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Will Kakavitsas for the go-ahead touchdown.
Charleston Southern added an insurance TD with 2:16 remaining to claim a 35-21 home victory.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Tigers (6-3, 2-2 Big South/OVC). Charleston Southern (4-5, 2-2) had lost its previous two games.
"We're not going to lick our wounds, it hurts now but I think we still have the chance to finish off the season strong," Tennessee State coach Eddie George said. "We've got a tough game next week at Eastern Illinois so we can't have a pity party for too long."
Tennessee State rally goes awry
Charleston Southern jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and was up 21-7 at the half.
TSU tried to rally in the second half and tied the score at 21-all when Bryant score on a 2-yard keeper with 7:53 remaining.
TSU defensive end Terrell Allen, who leads the FCS in sacks, took down Bess at the Bucs' 1-yard line on third down forcing a punt. The punt was fielded by TSU's Dayron Johnson in CSU territory and he returned it to the 31 with 5:22 remaining.
After getting the ball into the red zone, however, Johnson was flagged for a personal foul. That moved it back to the 28 and Bryant fumbled on the next play.
"We get momentum back with a good punt return but then the penalty and the turnover was when the wheels fell off," George said. "But at least we showed a resilient spirit. A year ago that game could have turned out to be 35-0. We still had a chance to win this game."
Tennessee State’s offensive line collapses
Through the first eight games TSU’s offensive line was by far the most improved element on the team. The line was the weakest link in 2022 and on Saturday went back to being a big problem.
The line played a role in each of Charleston Southern’s first three touchdowns.
On TSU’s first offensive series the line allowed quarterback Draylen Ellis to be sacked for a 17-yard loss which meant the Tigers had to punt from deep in their own end zone. Jason Foster’s punt landed at Tigers’ 35 giving CSU’s offense prime field position.
The Bucs scored their first touchdown four plays later.
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On TSU’s second possession the line broke down again and Ellis was hit while trying to scramble out of the pocket. Ellis fumbled and Charleston Southern recovered at the Tigers’ 24. The Bucs scored in five plays this time to go up 14-0 in the first quarter.
TSU’s offense was finally clicking on its fifth possession but the line again let down and Ellis, heavily pressured again, was hit as he tried to throw the ball and fumbled. Charleston Southern safety Dominic Pagano scooped it up and ran 33 yards for a touchdown.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State win streak snapped in loss to Charleston Southern
