By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — What once looked like it might be a special season ended in disappointing fashion Saturday for the Tennessee State University Tigers.
On Senior Day the Tigers delivered their worse performance since the opener at Notre Dame.
They fell behind by 14 in the first five minutes and things went downhill from there.
The final result was a 35-0 defeat to Tennessee Tech. The loss was the first at Nissan Stadium for the Tigers.
They ended the season 6-5, their first winning mark since 2017 and first under Eddie George.
But they closed the year losing their final three games, two to teams with losing records. Tennessee Tech finished the year 4-7, but were dominant against the Tigers.
The Golden Eagles gained 230 yards on the ground. Marcus Knight had 95 yards and two touchdowns, while O.J. Ross added 96.
The Tigers gained only 79 yards passing and 78 rushing, with just nine first downs. Tennessee Tech controlled the ball over 33 minutes.
The Tigers can point to their victory over Gardner-Webb, who will be the Big South/OVC representative in the FCS playoffs, as a season highlight, as well as posting a three win improvement.
Now the focus shifts to basketball. The men’s team is off to a 3-1 start, the women 1-3.
The men played Midway Monday and face Mercer Friday. The women’s team played William & Mary Wednesday.