Tennessee State football dominated by No. 2 North Dakota State in 52-3 loss

The Tennessee State football team's hopes of going 2-0 for the first time in six years were dashed Saturday when No. 2 North Dakota State clobbered the Tigers 52-3 at the Fargodome.

The Tigers (1-1) could have gained some rare early season momentum coming off a 41-21 win last week over Mississippi Valley State, which marked coach Eddie George's first season-opening win at TSU.

But NDSU (1-1) dominated the game wire to wire and claimed its 26th straight home-opening victory. It lost in its season opener to Colorado last week 31-26 in Boulder.

"This is a great lesson for us to learn and grow," George said. "This is what we want to be, that's the type of team we want to become. How do we get to that place? They really took it to us today."

It was TSU's biggest loss since falling at Notre Dame 56-3 in the 2023 season opener.

It wasn't a perfect game for North Dakota State but it was close

TSU was never in the game after the Bison played a near-perfect first half before they started subbing starters.

NDSU scored touchdowns on each of its five possessions. It did not punt in the first half and committed no penalties until an offensive holding call on its first possession of the second half.

Quarterback Cam Miller , a four-year starter who has thrown for more than 6,000 career yards, led the Bison's offense with relative ease against a TSU defense, which had no answers. Miller completed 81% of his passes (13 of 16) in the first half and accounted for four of five touchdowns (three passes, one run).

George said TSU missed the chance to get in the game when it failed on several offensive possessions early to pick up first downs.

"Right around the second quarter when it got to be (21-0) I kind of sensed it was getting away from us," George said. "Up to that point we had our chances on offense to convert some third downs. You miss those opportunities against a team like that and they'll take advantage of you like they did. If you convert those third downs it will probably change the momentum of the game."

TSU's offense, which again couldn't get its ground game going, did not cross the 50-yard line in the first half. The unit didn't reach 100 total yards until early in the third quarter. Things didn't get any better in the second half. Against mostly backup defenders, the Tigers coughed up three fumbles in an 11-minute stretch.

Quarterback Draylen Ellis, who was under heavy pressure throughout the game, completed 17 of 25 passes for 128 yards and led the Tigers in rushing with just 27 yards on 11 carries.

TSU penalties were a pain

One of the few complaints George had after the first game was the number of penalties (10 for 102 yards) the Tigers committed against Mississippi Valley State.

On Saturday, TSU committed a delay of game penalty on its first play from scrimmage. It was a sign the Tigers, who committed the second-most penalties in the Big South/OVC in 2023, have failed to fix the problem.

Late in the first quarter, TSU starting cornerback Jalen McClendon was flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on running back Barika Kpeenu and ejected from the game.

"It was frustrating to lose one of our best corners that early and that was another one of those points in the game where we might could have shifted the momentum," George said. "The penalty came on third down so we would have had the chance to stop them but instead they ended up with a first down."

The Tigers' secondary was already struggling against Miller, and it got only worse after McClendon left.

TSU finished with seven penalties for 60 yards.

Tennessee Vols transfer Malik Ganaway provided one of TSU's few highlights

TSU cornerback Malik Ganaway, a Tennessee Vols transfer, came up with one of the few big plays for the defense.

The sophomore from Trenton, Tennessee intercepted backup NDSU quarterback Cole Payton in the end zone in the third quarter. It stopped a Bison drive at the TSU 27 and marked the first time in the game in which NDSU did not score.

Ganaway finished with five tackles, three of them solo.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State football dominated by No. 2 North Dakota State in 52-3 loss