Tennessee State vs. Southeast Missouri: Five things to watch – Tennessean
Tennessee State (2-6, 1-3) returns from its bye week to face No. 21 Southeast Missouri (5-3, 3-1) on Saturday at Hale Stadium in the third of a four-game home stand.
Here are five things to watch:
Back-to-back ranked foes
TSU is coming off a 26-24 win over Austin Peay, which was ranked 19th at the time, and set to face SEMO, which moved from No. 24 to 21 after beating UT Martin 17-10 last week.
“Anytime you’re playing a nationally-ranked team there’s some extra adrenaline flowing,” Tigers coach Rod Reed said. “This is a good football team, we know that they’re a good football team. We think that we have a really good football team, although we have not shown it at times.”
SEMO’s struggles in Nashville
SEMO’s last win over TSU in Nashville came in 1996. The Redhawks pulled off a 24-21 win over the Tigers at Hale Stadium that year.
SEMO has lost its last 10 games against TSU in Nashville. The Redhawks have beaten the Tigers five times since 1996 in Cape Girardeau.
► Keep up with the Tigers: Get the latest local sports news on the Tennessean app
Injuries still a pain
Even with the week off, Reed said TSU’s defense remains hobbled by injuries. He said defensive end Makhi Brown, who has missed the last three games with a shoulder injury, is still questionable.
Starting safety Larry Wilhoite (leg injury) has been ruled out for the season. Dajour Nesbeth has moved from cornerback to safety.
Because of injuries, five freshmen — defensive back Kenyon Garlington from Brentwood Academy, defensive end Clint Dowty from Maplewood, defensive back Fondren Hollis, defensive back Josh Green and defensive tackle Terray Jones — are getting extensive playing time.
Dangerous receiver
SEMO’s wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson, a senior from Memphis, leads the Ohio Valley Conference and is eighth in the FCS in average yards per catch (22.5).
In a 24-21 win over nationally-ranked Jacksonville State two weeks ago, Wilkerson had three catches for 129 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown.
TSU is seventh in the OVC and 94th nationally in pass defense (254.4 yards).
Salvaging a home stand
TSU began this four-game home stand with a 31-17 loss to Murray State.
After beating Austin Peay, the Tigers still have the chance to salvage the home stand by beating SEMO Saturday and Eastern Illinois (0-9, 0-5) next week.
The Tigers can avoid posting a losing record by winning their last four games. They end the season at UT Martin (Nov. 16) and at Tennessee Tech (Nov. 23).
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
Published 6:29 AM EDT Oct 31, 2019
