Tennessee State football vs. UT Martin: Scouting report, score prediction
The Tennessee State football team must win its remaining two games to match coach Eddie George's first season record of 5-6 in 2021.
That will be a challenge for the Tigers (3-6, 2-2) with reigning Ohio Valley Conference champion UT Martin (5-4, 3-0) coming to Nissan Stadium on Saturday (4 p.m., ESPN+).
TSU is coming off a 42-0 loss last week to Southeast Missouri. The Skyhawks, who are tied for first in the OVC with Southeast Missouri, fell out of the FCS top 25 after losing to Kennesaw State 44-27.
Scoring slump
TSU has gone eight consecutive quarters without scoring a touchdown.
The Tigers lost to Murray State 19-3 on Oct. 29 before being shut out last week.
The Tigers lost to Jackson State 16-3 earlier, meaning they have had three games in which they failed to score a touchdown. They scored only one touchdown in a 49-6 loss at Middle Tennessee State.
TSU is ranked next-to-last in the OVC and 99th nationally in scoring (19.6 points). UT Martin is second in the OVC and 14th nationally in scoring (36.4 points).
EDDIE'S MESSAGE: What message does Eddie George have for Tennessee State's football players coming off back-to-back losses?
TITLE HOPES DASHED: Tennessee State football's OVC championship hopes end with loss to Southeast Missouri
EDDIE'S CELEBRITY: How Eddie George is handling his celebrity and being Tennessee State's football coach
Senior Day
It's TSU's final home game and Senior Day.
A total of 22 seniors will be honored prior to kickoff.
The starting seniors include defensive end Terray Jones, wide receiver Cam Wyche, safety Gleson Sprewell, linebacker K'Vaughan Pope, defensive lineman Tadarrius Patterson, linebacker James Green, linebacker Jahsun Bryant, wide receiver J.J. Holloman, linebacker Terry Straughter, wide receiver Zack Dobson, cornerback Cory Gross Jr., linebacker Darius Harper, linebacker Michael Crawford, kicker Kaleb Mosley, offensive lineman Christopher George, defensive lineman Davoan Hawkins, offensive lineman Robert Lacey, offensive lineman Brandon Jones and tight end Josh Truehart.
Zak attack
TSU's defense struggled to stop the OVC's leading rusher, SEMO's Geno Hess, last week and will face a similar challenge against UT Martin running back Zak Wallace.
Wallace is the second-leading rusher in the conference behind Hess with 844 yards on 135 carries and 15 touchdowns.
Wallace rushed for 123 yards on 14 carries and scored twice against TSU last season.
Prediction
UT Martin 38, TSU 10: UT Martin's balanced offense (284.0 passing yards, 182.2 rushing yards) is capable of giving TSU's defense trouble and the Tigers' offense with its issues with getting into the end zone isn't good enough to make up the difference.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State vs. UT Martin: Scouting report, score prediction
