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Three things to know about Week 1 Notre Dame opponent Tennessee State

On3 imageby: BGI Staff08/30/23
On3 image
Tennessee State coach Eddie George. (Jeremy Birmingham/Letterman Row)

Tennessee State enters Notre Dame stadium as an FCS team on the rise. The Tigers feel great about the direction of their program under third-year coach Eddie George.

Here are three things to know about Tennessee State.

Blue & Gold Illustrated managing editor Steve Downey contributed heavily to this report.

1. Eyeing A Move To The FBS Level

Last year, Tennessee State athletics director Dr. Mikki Allen publicly stated his plans to elevate the stature of his school’s football program. 

“I have a goal for this program to eventually become an FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision] program and to do that we have to make the enhancements in terms of our facility profile and our competition venues,” Allen told The Tennessean in February 2022. 

It would not be the first time that TSU has tried competing at that level. The Tigers were a Division I-A independent from 1977-79 before ultimately joining Division I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision), per The Tennessee Tribune. It is unclear right now how long it will take to make the move to the FBS, but the trip to South Bend will certainly move the program in the right direction. 

In addition to being afforded the exposure of a national television broadcast on NBC, Tennessee State will get a $1 million guarantee for its game at Notre Dame. That figure is considerably higher than what FCS schools usually receive for playing this type game. For comparison’s sake, TSU got $525,000 for a 2021 game against SEC opponent Mississippi State, which is in line with what HBCU and FCS schools ordinarily get for playing road games against FBS teams. 

“We continue to make investments not only in our football program but holistically in our student-athlete development programs and in all of our facilities; to advance our programs we know that we need support,” Allen said after the official announcement was made on April 6, 2022. “This game guarantee is something that will be special, but we’re also getting private funding. People in our big blue community are really buying into what we’re doing.” 

2. Limited Success vs. FBS Competition

Tennessee State has played only eight games against Football Bowl Subdivision competition dating back to 2006. The Tigers are 1-7 in those contests. 

Five of those games have been against FBS in-state foes. Tennessee State dropped all three games it has played against SEC-member Vanderbilt, getting blown out 38-9 in 2006 and 35-17 in 2016, before putting up more of a fight in a 31-27 setback in 2018. They are also 0-2 versus Middle Tennessee State of the Sun Belt Conference, losing 45-26 in 2019 and 49-6 in 2022. 

Tennessee State was also beaten badly by both Air Force of the Mountain West Conference (63-24 in 2011) and Mississippi State of the SEC (55-10 in 2021, George’s first season in charge). 

The lone victory for the Tigers came in 2017, when they knocked off Georgia State of the Sun Belt Conference 17-10 in the two teams’ season opener. 

3. Not Here To ‘Lay Down’ against Notre Dame

Tennessee State players, already talking about Notre Dame because it’s the Tigers’ first game of the season, have made it clear that they don’t intend on being doormats in South Bend. 

“People expect us just to go in there and lay over and be a cakewalk,” Tennessee State senior offensive lineman Romello Tarver told The Tennessean. “It won’t be that.” 

While coach George and his players know what simply playing this game can do for their program — notably, putting it on national television — the Tigers say they plan on entering Notre Dame Stadium and competing with the Irish. 

“They put helmets and cleats on just like we do. We’ve been working all summer,” linebacker James Green told The Tennessean. “We haven’t been waking up and running hills just to go to Notre Dame and lay down.” 

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