For the first time in nearly a decade, the Tennessee State Tigers find themselves among the elite FCS programs in the country.
The Tigers claimed a spot in the Stats Perform FCS Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 25 in the rankings released on Monday. It is the first time since 2017 that TSU has been ranked.
TSU is one of two teams from the Big South-OVC to appear in the poll and one of two HBCUs (North Carolina Central) to do so.
Tennessee State is the hottest team in FCS HBCU football, coming off of crashing Howard’s homecoming in a 27-14 win on Saturday.
It marked their fourth straight win, improving their overall record to 6-2 and matching their win total from last season.
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Heading into a bye week, Tennessee State returns to the football field for back-to-back games against teams that are currently a half-game behind them in the Big South-OVC standings (UT Martin and Western Illinois).
With four games remaining, TSU is second in the Big South-OVC behind Southeast Missouri (whom they play in their season finale), with a 3-1 conference record.
For the first time since 2013, the Tigers have secured a winning season in consecutive years. They are aiming for their first conference championship since 1999.
