Tennessee State put together a six-play, 22-yard drive, culminating in a one-yard rushing touchdown late in regulation to give the Tigers a 24-20 win over Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon at St. Charles.
The Tigers improved to 4-2 on the year and 2-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play, while the Lions fell to 2-4 and 1-1.
“Resiliency is at the core of what we do,” TSU coach Eddie George told the Tennessean. “It’s really embedded into our foundation at this point. We had some tough games like that last year, but this group has shown something different. It’s like they’ve crossed a threshold thinking they can win these types of games. Now we’ve got to build on that confidence.”
Jaden McGill led all Tigers rushers with 63 yards in the contest, picking up 4.2 yards per carry. Jordan Gant also added 20 yards on the ground, averaging 4 yards per carry.
Cj Evans reeled in three catches for 74 yards and one score. Karate Brenson got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in three balls for 50 yards.
Spencer Roof showed out for the Tennessee State defense, collecting four tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Boogie Trotter added five tackles and one recovered fumble, and Jordan Helton had one recovered fumble in the win.
And for the first time today, TSU has the lead.
4Q | 7:21
TSU — 24
LIN — 20 pic.twitter.com/6gBroKaZmh— Tennessee State Football (@TSUTigersFB) October 5, 2024
“We’ve still got work to do,” George said. “Of course, you don’t want to make it hard like that. But you’ve got to win these types of games to build that championship grit. That’s what we’re doing.”
The Tigers won the turnover battle in Saturday’s game, forcing three turnovers while coughing the ball up one time, with Tennessee State turning those takeaways into 10 points.
Tennessee State’s defense held up against Lindenwood’s offense, allowing 280 total yards.
Tennessee State responded to an early 14-0 Lindenwood lead with a first-quarter touchdown to narrow the deficit to 14-7. Lindenwood increased its lead to 20-7, but the Tigers responded with a touchdown to narrow the advantage to 20-14.
Tennessee State got on the scoreboard again with 22 seconds left in the third quarter to narrow Lindenwood’s lead to 20-17. The Tigers then kept the momentum going with a one-yard touchdown run from Carter to take a 24-20 lead. Neither team scored again in the game.
Courtesy: Tennessee State Athletics
