Tennessee State football forces four turnovers, avoids 0-5 start, beating Bethune-Cookman
Tennessee State football can breathe a little easier. The Tigers avoided their first 0-5 start in over 30 years with a 41-17 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at Nissan Stadium.
Tigers coach Eddie George got a huge boost offensively with the return of quarterback Draylen Ellis whose ankle sprain kept him out of last week's overtime loss to Lane College. Ellis seemed unaffected by the injury. He was elusive and decisive and finished the game with a 27-yard touchdown run.
"You can see the difference that he makes," George said about Ellis' return. "He gets the ball out fast and makes good decisions. He's a problem when he gets going. When we get the chemistry right, this is a unit that could be pretty special."
Running back Devon Starling, who also missed last week's game, returned but didn't start. He got his first carry early in the second quarter and played the remainder of the possession. But their presence gave the Tigers' offense a boost that was lacking last week.
"It was good to see (the team) respond the way that they did," George said. "I couldn't be more proud of our seniors. They really stepped up with their leadership and credit our coaching staff. It was great complimentary football in terms of getting the win (Saturday)."
LOSING STREAK: Tennessee State has lost its last seven games dating back to the 2021 season.
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Tigers dominate the turnover battle
TSU's Michael Crawford blocked a field goal attempt by Bethune-Cookman (1-4) midway through the first quarter. It was Crawford's third blocked kick in the past two games. He blocked a punt and a field goal last week, and Saturday's block started a snowball effect as the Tigers (1-4) forced four turnovers in the first half.
Three of those turnovers were fumbles. Tre Boone III returned one 28 yards for a touchdown after the Wildcats punter bobbled and dropped the snap that gave Tennessee State a 21-3 lead with 9:11 left in the half.
Safety Josh Green jumped a Bethune-Cookman route and picked off Jalon Jones' pass and returned in 53 yards for a TD.
Give the Tigers defense its flowers
Aside from forcing three fumbles, one returned for a TD and an interception returned for a score, Tennessee State stopped Bethune-Cookman three times in the red zone in the second half. It did give up a 67-yard touchdown run to Jones with 11:26 left in the game, but the defensive came up big quickly after.
TSU muffed the ensuing kickoff giving the Wildcats the ball, first-and-goal, at the 6-yard line. The Tigers forced a fourth down and strung out Bethune-Cookman's run play that resulted in a one yard loss with less than 9 minutes left in the game. Bethune-Cookman was 1-of-5 on fourth down and TSU also added four sacks.
"Special teams really set the tone with the block field goal," George said, "Our defense played great situational football. We got fourth-down stops when we needed and offensively we were able to be balanced to some degree."
Kickoffs an issue
Tennessee State isn't going to complain about the amount of work its kickoff unit gets. The Tigers kicked to Bethune-Cookman five times in the first half, but the Wildcats had a lot of room to run. Darnell Deas had three returns for 102 yards in the first half with one going 41 yards. Bethune-Cookman had 131 returns yards in the first half and 177 yards in the game, averaging nearly 30 yards a return. Deas finished with 128 return yards.
Let the real season begin
Tennessee State may have been trying to avoid an 0-5 start but the reality is the OVC schedule is what's most important. The Tigers now enter next week's game against Tennessee Tech with confidence their defense is capable of holding its own. It's OVC opponents going forward so despite a 1-4 record, a conference championship is within sight.
Starling's pain management
Health will have a say how Tennessee State's season unfolds. Starling's turf toe will likely be a week-to-week issue for the rest of the season. He was able to make cuts and showed a burst of speed but his touches were limited as Jalen Rouse got the start and majority of carries. Rouse's 21-yard touchdown run with 3:38 left in the first half was the game's first TD. He finished with 19 carries for 87 yards.
The Tigers need Starling as close to 100% as possible. But the history of turf toe injuries makes that unlikely. However if Starling can provide enough early-game production to get TSU's offense rolling, the Tigers can hand the run game to players like Rouse and Boone.
WHAT EDDIE SAID: Why Eddie George said TSU's 0-4 record is as bad as it appears
Tennessee State football vs. Bethune-Cookman live score updates
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State football forces four turnovers, beats Bethune-Cookman
