Tennessee State and Norfolk State are set to battle in an all-HBCU showdown for homecoming in Nashville on Saturday evening. These teams enter this one under different circumstances. TSU is riding high after their 27-20 victory over Kennesaw St., while Norfolk looks to recover from a loss to North Carolina A&T. These teams haven’t played in recent years, so things could get interesting in this one.
Tennessee State (3-2 Overall, 1-1 in OVC)
The Tigers’ defense has shown it can be a relative strength at times this season. They are allowing an average of 408 yards per game, with opposing offenses averaging 227 passing yards and 181 yards rushing. Attacking on the ground has netted opponents 4.6 yards per carry while passing attempts are gaining 7.1 yards on average.
Jordan Gant gears up after an impressive performance in Tennessee State’s last game. Gant rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s win.
Tennessee State loves to get their quarterback involved in the ground game, with 30% of their rush attempts coming from their signal caller.
The Tigers’ record sits at 2-1 for their last three games, averaging 21.3 points per game over that span. They’ve only had one home game this season, in which they put up 27.0 points to come away with the win. Tennessee State is 1-0 in FCS HBCU games.
Norfolk State (2-3 Overall)
At points in this season, the Spartans’ defense has outplayed their offense. Defensively, they’ve been conceding 249 rushing yards and 185 passing yards each game. More specifically, they’ve been holding opposing offenses to 4.5 yards per carry on the ground and 6.4 yards per attempt through the air.
Quarterback Otto Kuhns will be leading Norfolk State in this one. Kuhns has averaged 135.6 pass yards per game with season totals of 10 touchdowns and three interceptions thus far this season.
Norfolk State’s offense is constantly looking to get their star receiver involved. Andre Pegues has been on the receiving end of 29% of the team’s passing yardage this season.
The Spartans’ record sits at 1-2 for their last three games, averaging 359 offensive yards per game during those games. They are 2-1 on the road so far this year, averaging 20.3 points per game in those games. Norfolk State is 1-1 in FCS HBCU games, averaging 28.5 points per game in those games.
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