Weeks after scheduling a game against Notre Dame, Tennessee State head coach Eddie George said he is intrigued by the possibility of a game against a familiar FBS traditional power.
George, on the cusp of starting his second season as head coach, has his eyes set on a future Tennessee State-Ohio State matchup.
“I would love that,” George told the Tennesseean. “That would be a wonderful thing: if I could come back in the stadium where I played, to coach (there) now. To grace the sidelines at Ohio Stadium as a coach would be phenomenal. I think it will be a great thing for the fans to see.”
George, who won the Heisman Trophy while at Ohio State, said he asked current Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith about the two schools playing each other during a recent visit to Columbus.
Also read: Tennessee State scheduled to play at Notre Dame in 2023
The inquiry is just another in a series of moves the program is making to position itself to one day jump to the FBS — something George and athletic director Mikki Allen had been candid about.
Tennessee State is slated to play at Notre Dame in 2023.
“It means a lot, because if we want to be the best we’ve got to play the best,” George said. “We have to be trained to get beat by the best. I’m not saying we’re going to lose; I’m saying what we’re going to do is compete. And that’s on all levels.”
George explained that TSU playing bluebloods gives the program a look at what it wants to be in the not too distant future.
“We get to see how things are done here at Ohio State and at Notre Dame,” he said. “It’s done with detail; it’s first-class personified. We can definitely do that at Tennessee State within our budget. My motto is we’ll play anybody anywhere. That’s what I live by and that’s what we’re going to do.”
