Tag: Tennessee State

Tale of the Tape: Notre Dame defense vs. Tennessee State offense

Like the Irish’s D?

Just as impressive as Notre Dame’s offense against Navy was its defense. Allowing only a late field goal to the Midshipmen, the Irish showed that the defense they’ve boasted about for many years will continue to be as lethal as it’s ever been. There’s little reason to believe otherwise, though the Midshipmen’s run-heavy offense might not have been the best one to measure against.

Now, the Irish get to deal with Tennessee State, a Football Championship Subdivision offense on a team coached by former All-Pro running back Eddie George. That association alone gives the Tigers’ offense legitimacy no matter who they play, at least when it’s up against another FCS team. Put a Football Bowl Subdivision defense against that unit, particularly one like Notre Dame, and one never can tell what’s going to happen. Most likely, it will be bad news for that offense.

Here’s a look at how the Irish’s defense through extremely limited Football Bowl Subdivision rankings matches up with the Tigers’ 2022 FCS rankings:

Paul Burmeister to do play-by-play for Notre Dame home opener on NBC

Jac’s not back yet.

When Jac Collinsworth became too ill to travel to Ireland for Notre Dame’s season opener, many figured he would be back for the home opener. Instead, he will be replaced in the NBC booth once again when the Irish play their first 2023 game at Notre Dame Stadium against Tennessee State. Pete Sampson of The Athletic has tweeted the following:

Burmeister already is employed by NBC Sports, so this decision had to have been an easy one. Irish fans used to watching games on TV but not listening to them on the radio will get a taste of what it’s like to experience the Irish when you can’t see the action. As great as Noah Eagle is, NBC needs him for its Big Ten Saturday Night coverage.

It’s not known as of this writing who will fill in for Burmeister on the radio. Still, the Notre Dame Radio Network has employed some great broadcasters over the years. Someone worthy surely will be chosen, even if for one day only.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Tale of the Tape: Notre Dame offense vs. Tennessee State defense

Can the Irish offense light up an FCS defense?

We now have an idea of what Notre Dame probably will do offensively this year. Granted, Navy might not have been the best opponent to make any such assessments. After all, the Irish were able to do literally whatever they wanted when they had the ball. The result was one of the most impressive offensive performances we’ve seen from this program in quite some time.

Tennessee State might not be the best opponent to judge the Irish’s offense against either. While the Tigers were decent on defense overall in 2022, the fact remains they’re the first Football Championship Subdivision to ever face the Irish. It’s not impossible for them to pull off the upset, but they would be lying to themselves if they said this would be easy. Few lesser-known opponents can say that’s been their experience at Notre Dame Stadium.

Here’s a look at how the Irish’s offense through extremely limited Football Bowl Subdivision rankings matches up with the Tigers’ 2022 FCS rankings:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through one game

The first of many updates this season.

Notre Dame looked like a team that was ready for the season against Navy. Hardly any weaknesses were on display. Now, we get to see if the Irish can repeat that performance or at least mimic it in their home opener against Tennessee State. To get you started for the week, here are the team’s statistical leaders after the first game:

Report: Oregon adds Tennessee State to 2023-24 basketball schedule

CBS Sports Jon Rothstein says Oregon has added Tennessee State to its 2023-24 non-conference schedule.

The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball schedule is slowly coming together.

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, head coach Dana Altman has been able to add Tennessee State to the 2023-24 non-conference schedule. The game has been slated for Nov. 17 at Matthew Knight Arena.

Coming to Eugene from Nashville, the Tigers finished 18-14 last season. They lost to Southeast Missouri State in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to end their year.

The Tigers are helmed by Penny Collins, who will be entering his sixth season as head coach.

This is the first of many announcements for the Ducks’ schedule in the upcoming season. Altman has had a hard time getting teams from the East and South to make the trip out West.

Middle Tennessee vs Tennessee State Prediction, Game Preview

Middle Tennessee vs Tennessee State game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 3 game on Saturday, September 17

Middle Tennessee vs Tennessee State prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 3, Saturday, September 17

Middle Tennessee vs Tennessee State How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 17
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium, Murfreesboro, TN
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: Middle Tennessee (1-1), Tennessee State (0-2)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
CFN Week 3 Expert Picks | Week 3 Schedule
NFL Expert Predictions | NFL Predictions
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Top 10 Coach Hot Seat List: After Week 2
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Middle Tennessee vs Tennessee State Game Preview

Why Tennessee State Will Win

Yeah, the Tigers are 0-2, but it’s a more-than-respectable 0-2 with a tough loss on the road to Eastern Washington and a good fight in a 16-3 loss to Deion’s Jackson State team.

The Tiger defense is playing well. It’s holding its own on third downs, it hasn’t been bad against the run, and now it should be able to make enough plays in the Middle Tennessee backfield to matter.

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 3

Why Middle Tennessee Will Win

Which Blue Raider team will show up?

Will it be the one that got trucked by James Madison when the running game didn’t go anywhere and the team came up with just 119 yards of total offense, or will it be the one that stuffed Colorado State and got the passing game going in a 34-19 win?

The Blue Raiders were able to force four takeaways last week, and they might have to do that to keep the Tigers from getting their offense going.

– Week 3 Schedule, Predictions, Game Preview

What’s Going To Happen

Middle Tennessee isn’t running the ball a lick, but the defense should hold on against the Tiger passing game. It’ll give up a few big shots down the field, but the Blue Raiders and QB Chase Cunningham will be methodical enough to keep up the scoring pressure.

– CFN Week 3 Predictions

Middle Tennessee vs Tennessee State Prediction, Line

Middle Tennessee 35, Tennessee State 17
Line: Middle Tennessee -21, o/u: 49
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Middle Tennessee vs Tennessee State Must See Rating (out of 5): 1.5

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

– Predictions of Every Game
– Bowl Projections | Rankings
– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

All-American running back says playing for Eddie George “… ain’t fun”

Ohio State legend Eddie George holds players to his same high standard of play… especially his running backs.

Eddie George is one of the most decorated running backs in Ohio State football history. He became a legend in Columbus after winning the Heisman trophy in 1995. George has had success at all levels of football including a nine-year run in the NFL, and now he’s making the transition to the sidelines as the head coach of Tennessee State University.

As the former Buckeye heads into year two with the TSU Tigers looking to improve on 5-6 season and a fourth-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference, George and his All-American running back, Devon Starling, sat down for questions at media day.

The question was asked, “How much fun is it to be coached by one of the greatest running backs of all time?” Starling’s response while chuckling… “It ain’t fun.” With everyone in the room starting to laugh, Starling was asked to expound on his statement, with Coach George sitting right next to him.

George’s prize pupil went on to explain that because his college coach excelled at such a high level, the expectations for all of his running backs are also high. He coaches them to do the little things well and that all the running backs in the room, whether All-American status or walk-on, are treated exactly the same.

Listen to Starling’s admiration for his head coach in his own words below.

Obviously, with the success that Eddie has had in his playing days, he knows what it takes to be great. And clearly, he wants his players to be great as well and is going to coach them and hold them to the exact same expectations he had of himself. Judging from his personal track record, his players would be wise to lock in on everything their head coach is teaching.

Tennessee State is picked to finish fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference for the second year in a row. However, if George and his star running back have anything to say about it, the Tigers could shock a few people along the way.

[mm-video type=video id=01g8c201tsqd2rq1xmft playlist_id=01eqbz0qtnjg5x7tc8 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g8c201tsqd2rq1xmft/01g8c201tsqd2rq1xmft-98090a61c4af3208041fc5656a52a55d.jpg]

[listicle id=93218]

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Brady Quinn is ticked Notre Dame scheduled Tennessee State

Do you agree with Brady?

Count Notre Dame great [autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag] among those not on board with the Fighting Irish ending their run of having never played an FCS opponent.  Quinn was discussing Notre Dame scheduling [autotag]Tennessee State[/autotag] on the FOX Sports podcast “2 Pros and a Cup of Joe” and he ripped the decision.

You can’t schedule this and go, ‘Well, it’s historic for this reason.’ I get all that. I don’t care about that. This isn’t about equity and all that stuff or trying to say hey, we’re helping out an HBCU school. It’s not about that. It’s about trying to win a National Championship…

This a no win scenario for Notre Dame, no matter what way you go about it. It does not help elevate their program. You’re not winning a recruit for this. You’re not winning in the eyes of the College Football Playoff Committee, or the AP, or whatever else want to talk about recruiting…

It’s just a dramatic departure from what it used to be and it it crushes me to see it. Notre Dame in this instance, when it’s always kind of been something of its own, is now really trying to almost blend in with everyone else. And that hasn’t been their MO.” – Brady Quinn

Personally, I’m not thrilled with the idea of playing an FCS opponent, even if it is a HBCU like Tennessee State is, but I’m missing where this hurts Notre Dame’s resume so badly.

Sure, recruits aren’t going to look at Tennessee State on Notre Dame’s schedule and see it as a reason to play football for the Irish but let’s be real, were any doing that when UMass, Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio), New Mexico, or plenty of others showed up at Notre Dame Stadium in recent years?

And can we get over the fear of Notre Dame being punished by the committee for this game?  I get it, it was fun to make fun of the SEC for their scheduling of FCS opponents and it’s not fun to have to give credit to USC for anything, and this leaves us now doing that, but does anyone in their right mind think Notre Dame playing Tennessee State instead of, say, an even middle-of-the-road MAC team make any difference?

Now is the time I give you the kind reminder that a trip to Clemson as well as home dates with both Ohio State and USC are on Notre Dame’s 2023 schedule as well.  Going 11-1 with that slate would make it incredibly difficult to keep Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff, Tennessee State or not.

Again, I’m not dancing in the streets for the fact this happened but I really feel a good chunk of Notre Dame fans have a misunderstanding of games that have been being scheduled for years.

[lawrence-related id=54716]

[lawrence-related id=39905]

[listicle id=54836]

Tennessee State’s all-time records against FBS programs

Get to know the Irish’s 2023 home opener opponent a bit.

Notre Dame has announced that its 2023 home opener will be played against Tennessee State, a Historically Black College and University. On the surface, it’s a great opportunity for a lesser-known program to receive national exposure. However, it also will be the first time the Irish have played a Football Championship Subdivision opponent. The reaction to this news within the fan base mostly has been lukewarm at best and outright negative at worst.

Notre Dame presently is the only Football Bowl Subdivision opponent the Tigers have scheduled for the future. That makes the decision either more of a headscratcher from the Irish’s point of view or it merely makes the Irish an outlier. Either way, the Tigers don’t get to play FBS schools very much, so you better believe they will be hyped for the opportunity. In the spirit of that, let’s take a look at how they have done against teams from college football’s top level:

Reaction to Notre Dame scheduling FCS Tennessee State

Does anyone out there like this?

Notre Dame football is doing something they’ve never done previously as they’ll host Tennessee State the first weekend of September next year.  It will be the home-opener for the Irish after they take on Navy in Dublin the week before.

Notre Dame is one of three teams to have never played an FCS program.  The other two are Los Angeles based as UCLA and USC are the only others that haven’t.  Notre Dame is headed towards leaving that incredibly small group and as you can probably guess, Fighting Irish fans were not happy when the news came out on Tuesday afternoon.

Take a look at just a few of the angry reactions below.