Heading into last week’s game against Charleston Southern, a hot Tennessee State was a possible contender for the FCS playoffs.
That all changed after the Tigers lost 35-21 to the Buccaneers to end its four-game winning streak and effectively lose a potential at-large bid to the postseason and shot at a Big South-OVC championship.
At 6-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play, the Tigers will try to finish the season strong, even if the playoff math is working against them.
“I’m not going to get into the arithmetic of the playoffs or whatever,” head coach Eddie George said during the Big South-OVC coaches’ media call. “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.”
Despite Tennessee State officially securing a winning season for the first time since 2017 — the players’ reaction to losing at Charleston Southern signaled to George that the group wants to achieve more.
“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.”
