TSU Tigers Set to Host No. 16 EKU for Senior Day

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  The Tennessee State football team will host No. 16 Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 1 for Big Blue’s Senior Day.

 

Scouting TSU
TSU is 4-5 on the season overall, and 1-4 in Ohio Valley Conference games. Big Blue has also lost the last four contests for only the second time in many of these seniors’ careers.

 

Scouting EKU
For EKU (7-1, 4-1 OVC), the Colonels enter today’s game nationally ranked and fresh off of a, 33-21, win over Southeast Missouri last Saturday.

 

Three Keys to the Game

 

Improve on Third Down
TSU enters Saturday’s contest 84^th in the FCS, having converted just 34 percent of third downs this season. Last week, the Tigers were just 3-of-13 (23 percent) on third downs against Eastern Illinois, its second-lowest output of the season. TSU averaged just 3.5 yards on those 13 tries put needed an average of 6.3. A more successful running game production on first and second down could dramatically help the Tigers on third down.

 

Control Mobley
EKU running back Dy’Shawn Mobley has been the best ball-carrier in the OVC this season and leads the league in yards (922), touchdowns (11), attempts (143) and yards per carry (6.4). On paper, Mobley is a sure-fire lock for OVC Offensive Player of the year, but he still has not faced TSU. The Tigers boast the second-best rush defense in the conference (140.7 yards per game) and the best total defense (123.8). However, TSU has had a problem with feature backs this year including giving up 130 yards to Shepard Little last week and 170 to Malcolm Cyrus against Alabama State. All eyes will be on Mobley, Saturday, so expect the Tigers to come up with a spirited game plan against EKU.

 

Win it for the Seniors
This year’s senior class has been one of the winningest in recent memory, posting 27 in the past 3.5 years. Should the Tigers win the next three contests, they will finish with three straight winning seasons, becoming the first group since 1984-86 to accomplish the feat. The class features some of the most prolific players to wear a Tiger uniform like Nick Thrasher who is second all-time in tackles and Mike German who is in the top-five of every passing category. Saturday marks their, and the 20 other graduating Tigers’, last game in front of their home fans.

 

The Tigers are 5-21 all-time against EKU, but have won the last two meetings in Nashville including 2012’s, 23-20, thriller at Hale Stadium.

 

Saturday’s game will kickoff at 2 p.m. and fans can watch all the action on ESPN3.com.

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

TSU Women's Basketball Media Guide Available Online

2014-15 TSU LADY TIGER MEDIA GUIDE POWERED BY ISSUU

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The 2014-15 Tennessee State University women's basketball media guide is now available online. The guide is a publication of the TSU Athletic Media Relations Office. Read up on this year's Lady Tiger team and coaches as well as recaps from last season.

For the full PDF version CLICK HERE
 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

13th-ranked XU Rush stretch win streak in openers to 19

NEW ORLEANS -- Senior guard Anthony Goode scored 20 points Wednesday to lead NAIA No. 13 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 93-82 men's basketball victory against Behaven.

It was the 19th consecutive season that the Gold Rush won the opening game.

Goode, who averaged 10.1 points last season, was 6-of-10 from the floor, 2-of-5 on 3-pointers and 6-of-7 from the line in 24 1/2 minutes. He had three assists and blocked two shots.

Jarvis Thibodeaux scored a career-high 17 points for the Gold Rush, and Troy Salvant -- a 26-year-old freshman guard who spent the past seven years in the Army -- scored 13.

Jordan Bedford made six 3-pointers and scored 26 points for the Blazers (0-1). Jerrial Dawson scored 14, and Kyle Patterson had 11.

Gary Smith's 3-pointer at 15:00 of the first half put the Gold Rush ahead to stay, 13-10. Xavier led 47-40 at halftime and held its biggest lead, 74-50, on Josh Freeman's free throw with 9:57 remaining.

Xavier outshot the Blazers 51.7 to 47.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 36-28. Belhaven made 11 3-pointers.

"It was an exciting game for the fans with all those points scored," XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "We probably had a few jitters. I'm glad we got this one behind us.

"What I liked most was that we showed the ability to put points on the board. Our two all-conference players (Sydney Coleman and Morris Wright) did not play well and we still put a lot of points on the board."

Xavier will play host to Carver College at 7 p.m. Friday. Belhaven's next game will be its home opener, 7 p.m. Monday against Xavier.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Update: Al Lawson blasts FAMU for firing Earl Holmes

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Former state Sen. Al Lawson, a Florida A&M alum whose name graces the university's state-of-the-art arena, pulled no punches in discussing his opinions on the firing of head coach Earl Holmes.

During a meeting of the 220 Quarterback Club on Wednesday, Lawson called athletic director Kellen Winslow Sr. "disrespectful" and said removing Holmes during the week of homecoming was "wrong."

"There's no one – not even in high school – that would interrupt homecoming," he said.

"A competent athletic director would have called someone in ... he wouldn't have sent a letter."

Lawson went on to say there is "no commitment" from the leadership of the athletic department.



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Florida A&M fires Holmes, promotes Fuller

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M football coach Earl Holmes slowly walked from the field house to his black SUV in the parking lot Tuesday afternoon, stopping to shake hands and share hugs with players.

Holmes also spoke briefly to the Democrat before driving away after he was informed he was fired by the university earlier Tuesday, four days before the Rattlers’ homecoming game.

“As a Hall of Famer — FAMU Hall of Fame and MEAC Hall of Fame — on homecoming weekend… I don’t know,” Holmes said while shaking his head.

“I’m amazed. Amazed.”

Holmes, 41, considered one of the program’s all-time great players, couldn’t duplicate that magic as the Rattlers’ head coach.

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Florida A&M fires coach before Spartans' visit

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Coach Pete Adrian said Tuesday's dismissal of Florida A&M coach Earl Holmes won't affect NSU's game plan when the teams meet Saturday.

Holmes, a former NFL linebacker and a member of the FAMU's Sports Hall of Fame, was fired after going 6-16 in less than two full seasons. The school confirmed the firing on Tuesday night.

Defensive backs coach Corey Fuller will be the interim coach.

"Regardless of who takes over, 80-85 percent will stay the same," Adrian said. "You don't have time to change anything."

The Tallahassee Democrat reported that Rattlers quarterback Damien Fleming said the players will not boycott Saturday's game, though there had been "speculation" they might.

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Registered Sex Offender Emerges as Star College Football

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado -- A registered sex offender has emerged as a star player on a top tier college football team, resuming his athletic career after being expelled from the Air Force Academy where he was court-martialed for sexual assault.

No NCAA rule prevents a person with a criminal conviction from playing college athletics, a spokesperson told ABC News. It is left up to the individual college or conference to determine eligibility.

Jamil Cooks, 23, enrolled at Alcorn State in Mississippi, a Division One NCAA school, after being found guilty in April 2013 of abusive sexual contact in a court martial proceeding at the Air Force Academy, which required him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Cooks' lawyer, Richard Stevens, says he is appealing the conviction.

The ability of Cooks to continue his football career despite being a sexual predator is only the latest example of distorted priorities that involve sexual violence, said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York.


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