Tennessee State vs. Florida A&M football: 5 things to watch

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- No. 24 Tennessee State (2-0) visits Florida A&M (1-1) — teams that have combined for 22 black college national titles — in the Tampa Football Classic at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday. Here are five things to watch:

A faster start

TSU, beaming with confidence after claiming a 17-10 win in the opener against FBS Georgia State, was expected to come out strong last week against Jackson State. That didn't happen. Especially on offense TSU was sluggish throughout the first half and had only a 10-9 lead. The offense was slightly better in the second half, but never did get into gear. It finished with 238 yards and only 11 first downs. TSU also started slow last year against FAMU, falling behind 14-7 before rallying for 30-14 win.

Dialed-in receivers

The Tigers' receivers had more drops last week than catches. Treon Harris completed just 5 of 17 passes. Only two receivers — Patrick Smith (3) and Stephen Newbold (1) — had catches. Tight end Mahlon Medley had the other. Coach Rod Reed challenged his deep group of receivers to play better this week. It will help if sophomore Chris Rowland is able to see more action. He was limited to returning kicks in the first two games while nursing an ankle injury.

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