A 40-point first half for Tennessee State proved too much for Lindenwood to overcome, as the Tigers won its fourth straight game, 43-20 on Saturday.
Tennessee State got on the board, scoring on their first offensive possession when Jordan Gant took it in from four yards out to put the Tigers up early, 7-0.
Lindenwood struck back on their next possession when quarterback Carter Davis found Jeff Caldwell, and he did the rest, taking it 65 yards to the house to tie the game at 7.
TSU regained the lead the next time they had the football, ending a 13–play, 74-yard drive with a 35-yard field goal from James Lowery that put Tennessee back on top at 10-7. The following Tennessee State points came from the defense when Josh Green picked off a Davis pass and took it 15 yards for a score to give the Tigers a 16-7 lead.
An Ellis 13-yard scamper pushed the TSU advantage to 23-7 with 11:55 left in the first half. After a Lindenwood three-and-out, Tennessee State found themselves back in the end zone, this time coming on Da’Shon Davis’ 8-yard run to extend the lead to 30-7.
Draylen Ellis, who finished the day with 236 yards and a touchdown pass, connected with Da’shon Davis on a 91-yard scoring strike that extended the TSU lead to 37-7. Lowery’s second field goal of the afternoon gave the Tigers a healthy 40-7 lead they would take into halftime.
The Lindenwood offense could not move the ball, resulting in a 40-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by Darius Harper.
Big Play Dray for 6️⃣#RoarCity x #GUTS pic.twitter.com/4DdUXdI9YG
— Tennessee State Football (@TSUTigersFB) October 28, 2023
Tennessee State would turn that into points, tacking on three more to the lead at 43-7 with a 37-yard Lowery field goal.
Jared Rhodes’ 40-yard reception that ended in a tightrope down the right sideline gave the Lions their second score to make the score 43-14. Lindenwood added another touchdown later in the period after a 15-yard TSU punt set the Lions’ offense up at their 45-yard line. Seven plays later, Lions quarterback Tyler Kubat found Spencer Redd on a 21-yard touchdown pass.
Here were the factors that led to a Tennessee State win:
First-half offensive explosion
Tennessee State scored 40 points in the contest’s opening thirty minutes, allowing them to cruise to victory in the second half. The 40 points were the most the Tigers dropped in a first half since laying 43 on Central State en route to a 73-6 win over the Marauders in the 2013 Gateway Classic.
Da’Shon Davis’ big day hurts the Lions.
The senior wideout torched the Lions with five receptions for 200 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown.
Another solid day for Terrell Allen and the Tennessee State defense
Terell Allen had four sacks last week against Lincoln and followed that with another four sacks and two tackles for loss on Saturday. The Tennessee State defense forced three turnovers, two interceptions, and a fumble and held the Lions to 287 yards of offense. It was the third consecutive opponent the Tigers have held to under 300 yards of total offense.
With the win, Tennessee is assured of their first winning season since 2017, when they went 6-5. Tennessee State (6-2, 2-1) will look to extend its winning streak to 5 next Saturday when they hit the road to face Charleston Southern.
