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Tennessee State displays potent offense in loss to no. 12 Eastern Washington

Lightning nearly struck twice when Tennessee State traveled to Eastern Washington.

A weather delay paused the game and TSU nearly stole it from EWU, but it came up a bit short of an upset, losing 36-29 to the 12th-ranked team in FCS Football.

Tennessee State head coach Eddie George knows his team was very close to a big win. 

“We fought. Really I’m still kind of raw, trying to process all that happened. The difference in the ball game is that we gave it over too many times in terms of – in our own end zone that led to scores. You can’t do that with a great team.”

No one can fault the effort of Tennessee State’s Devon Starling in the loss. He rushed for 207 yards and one touchdown.

“We’ve just gotta finish. That’s the one thing we’ve got to work on – just finishing,” Starling said. “I feel like we’ve got all the tools and players to be great.” 

TSU’s secondary was a different story, allowing the Eagles’ offense to rack up 7.6 yards per pass attempt. In addition, the O-line was not in sync, allowing four sacks.

Gunner Talkington led Eastern Wash.’s aerial attack with 348 yards and five touchdown passes. The Eagles piled up 474 yards in an efficient offensive performance. Despite the win, Eastern Wash. will have areas of emphasis next week in practice. Shoring up mental mistakes and unforced penalties will go a long way as the season continues.

Eastern Wash. starts the year with a 1-0 record. The Eagles will hit the road for their next test, a Sept. 11 matchup against Oregon. Unfortunately for Tennessee State, they’ll have to recover from this start to their year. They will look to rebound in their next game against Jackson State on Sept. 10 in the Southern Heritage Classic. 

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