The focus of HBCU football fans will shift to Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when Notre Dame takes on Tennessee State. Rust may play a role in this one for TSU. They have yet to play a game this season, while Notre Dame is coming off a win against Navy. These two teams don’t have any recent history, so they’ll be looking to make their presence felt from the jump.
Notre Dame (1-0 Overall)
The Fighting Irish come into this contest with a 1-0 record on the season. They’ve had no trouble putting up points so far this season, averaging 42.0 per contest. The Fighting Irish’s defense is conceding an average of 169 yards and 3.0 points per game.
Quarterback Sam Hartman will be leading Notre Dame in this one. Hartman has averaged 251.0 pass yards per game with season totals of four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Notre Dame’s offense is constantly looking to get their star receiver involved. Jaden Greathouse has been on the receiving end of 27% of the team’s passing yardage this season.
Notre Dame went 9-4 in 2022. They’ll want to capitalize on this opportunity, as this is the first time they’ve had home field advantage all year. This is Notre Dame’s only game against an FCS HBCU opponent.
Tennessee State (4-7 Overall in 2022)
The Tigers will come into this season after securing a 4-7 record in 2022. They averaged 18.3 points and 315 offensive yards per contest in 2022. The Tigers’ defense allowed an average of 24.7 points per game.
It’s the first game of the season for Tennessee State. Last season, Tennessee State’s offensive play selection split was 43% pass, 57% run.
Tennessee State enters after putting up a 4-7 campaign in 2022. They are no stranger to playing on the road, as they have yet to have the home field advantage this year. This is Tennessee State’s only game against an FBS Independent opponent this season.