Tennessee State vs. Notre Dame: Why playing an FCS foe for first time makes sense for the Irish

If there was ever a week for Notre Dame to face a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) foe for the first time in the program’s proud history, it’d be right now — seven days after the Fighting Irish played on Irish soil for just the third time ever. An opponent of lesser quality will be a welcomed sight for a jet-lagged Notre Dame team coming off a matchup versus longtime rival Navy that was much more than just a 60-minute tilt.

It was a taxing yet fortuitous expedition of epic proportions.

And if there was ever an FCS opponent for Notre Dame to face, ending its streak of never having played against an FCS foe, it would be these Tennessee State Tigers. Their head coach is legendary Ohio State 1995 Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, of course, also played his college ball in Columbus, Ohio.

The confluence of two Black head coaches with backgrounds stemming back to one of the all-time great powerhouses in the sport coming together at a hallowed venue as prestigious as Notre Dame Stadium cannot be ignored.

This isn’t Notre Dame being the reason for the largest migration of Americans to a single sporting event in human history like last week’s season opener versus Navy, and it isn’t Ohio State visiting South Bend for the first time since 1996 and just the third time ever on Sept. 23, but it is as monumental as a college football blue blood playing a program from a lower tier ever could be.

There is a first time for everything. Everyone involved will remember what it was like when Tennessee State went up against Notre Dame at “The House That Knute Rockne Built.” When David, led by a head coach who’s more of a Goliath in the context of the sport’s history, faced, well, Goliath.

This Goliath is a little more welcoming than the giant from the Book of Samuel.

“It’s a huge honor,” Freeman said. “I understand I’m a representation for many others and I think this game represents opportunities for all individuals. It’s a great honor, and I couldn’t be more grateful for [Notre Dame director of athletics Jack] Swarbrick and Father [John I.] Jenkins for putting this thing together.

“I take it with the utmost respect and utmost appreciation for this opportunity.”

‘Oh My Gosh’

Freeman’s quote is one that doesn’t come from a head coach unless something momentous is transpiring. And only at Notre Dame does a head coach get the chance to say such a thing two weeks in a row.

One week, Freeman is preparing his guys to play in Ireland. The next, he’s preparing them to be the first Notre Dame team that has ever played against an FCS opponent. And not just any FCS opponent; one led by one of the all-time great running backs in college football history.

George faced Notre Dame during his Heisman season in 1995. The seventh-ranked Buckeyes roughed up the No. 15 Irish 45-26 at Ohio Stadium in front of what was then a record-breaking crowd of 95,537. George finished with 207 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.

He has been the man in the arena. He’s taken his game to the highest level, and he has seen everything an opponent or venue can throw at him.

He’s still going to be in complete awe on Sept. 2.

When George was in South Bend in April 2022 for a press conference to announce the game, he danced out to the 50-yard line at Notre Dame Stadium and stood smack dab in the middle of the iconic interlocking “ND” logo.

Then he chuckled.

“Oh my gosh,” he said to himself. “I’m actually going to be coaching on the sideline at the stadium that Knute Rockne built.”

Like the legendary Notre Dame head coach who put the Irish on a path to greatness a century ago, George has a ‘been there, done that’ résumé in college football. In addition to his Heisman Trophy, he won the Doak Walker Award and was named a unanimous first-team All-American in the same season.

So how could a guy like that be so wowed by something as simple as an empty stadium? He used to put tens of thousands of folks on their feet in venues just like it, regularly. It’s because Notre Dame is Notre Dame, and his situation is totally different than it was 28 years ago as a player.

Sitting on a stage in South Bend after his waltz to the 50, the 48-year-old George looked as if he could still rush for 1,000-plus yards like he did twice at Ohio State and seven more times in the NFL. But he’s the head coach at Tennessee State now, as indicated by his striking blue suit, and come Sept. 2, he’ll forever be the man who led an FCS/Historically Black College and University (HBCU) program against mighty Notre Dame for the first time ever.

The Irish have been playing football since 1887. Never before have they faced a team like Tennessee State.

“It’s overwhelming to think I can help bring light to all the great things we’re trying to do — that we’re going to do — at Tennessee State University and expose our kids to this,” George said. “Playing in this building, this venue, this is the cathedral of sports venues.”

‘Not A Gimmick’

George watched his son play against the Irish for Vanderbilt in 2018. That was more of a celebratory event. A proud father watching his child play on a grand stage. Next year, George will be leading dozens of players into the same environment. Some will be playing their first ever college game. Others will begin their final year as a college player at one of the sport’s most revered locations.

Their performances, young and old, will ultimately fall on George’s shoulders with the world watching on NBC. There is obvious pressure to perform in that scenario. A demand to represent Tennessee State and HBCUs everywhere as best he can.

Tennessee State director of athletics Dr. Mikki Allen grew up a Notre Dame fan. A defensive back for the Tennessee Volunteers in the late 1990s, he knows what college football looks like at the top from his days watching the game as a kid and playing it as a young adult.

So Allen also knows how momentous an occasion this is for the athletics program he took charge of three years ago, aiming to get it back on track under a head coach whose name is synonymous with success in the sport.

Tennessee State isn’t at the height of its powers. It has won only one of its 12 Black College National Championships since 1983. The rest came before then. Sound familiar? Only one of Notre Dame’s 11 Division I national titles have come since 1978. Parallels exist even between two vastly different programs.

George went 5-6 in his first season in 2021 and 4-7 last year. This game is about more than wins and losses, though. It’s about more than numbers, even though the one that signifies how much Notre Dame paid Tennessee State to make it happen has to be substantial. Swarbrick made a quip about that a year and a half ago.

On paper, Notre Dame wins in a runaway. In optics and program positioning for the future, it’s hard to argue everyone involved won’t come out on the winning side of history.

“At the end of the day, it’s not a gimmick,” Allen said. “We want it to be real.”

“It’s all about the opportunity for us as the University of Notre Dame to get the chance to play an HBCU,” Freeman added. “And that’s extremely, extremely exciting.” 

Facts & Figures

Tennessee State Vs. Notre Dame

Date: Sept. 2, 2023

Site: Notre Dame Stadium

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET

Television: NBC/Peacock

Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates.

Series Facts: First meeting

Head Coaches: Tennessee State — Eddie George (9-13, 3rd season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (10-5, 2nd season).

Noting Tennessee State: The Tigers return 11 starters, five on offense and six on defense … Tennessee State finished tied for third in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 2-3 league record in 2022, behind 5-0 Southeast Missouri State and 5-0 Tennessee Martin … Starting quarterback Draylen Ellis started his career at Austin Peay before completing 153 of 279 passes for 1,807 yards with 8 touchdowns in his first season at TSU last fall … Tennessee State ranked 98th in the FCS in total offense in 2022 with 314.5 yards per game … The Tigers checked in at No. 50 in total defense, allowing 363.6 yards per game … Tennessee State has lost both of its season openers in the George era; 16-10 versus Grambling State in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic in Canton, Ohio, in 2021 and 36-29 at Eastern Washington last year … Tennessee State scored 3 defensive touchdowns in 2022; only 10 FCS programs had more … Tennessee State turned opponents over 20 times and had a turnover margin of plus-7.