2018 Tennessee State Tigers football team

The 2018 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented Tennessee State University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by ninth-year head coach Rod Reed and played their home games at Nissan Stadium and Hale Stadium. Tennessee State finished the season 4–5 overall and 3–4 in OVC play to place fifth.

2018 Tennessee State Tigers football
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record4–5 (3–4 OVC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJeff Parker (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorGarry Fisher (2nd season)
Home stadiumNissan Stadium
Hale Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Jacksonville State $^   7 1     8 3  
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State ^   6 2     8 3  
Eastern Kentucky   5 2     7 4  
Murray State   5 3     5 6  
Tennessee State   3 4     4 5  
Eastern Illinois   3 5     3 8  
Austin Peay   3 5     5 6  
UT Martin   2 6     2 9  
Tennessee Tech   1 7     1 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

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OVC media poll

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On July 20, 2018, the media covering the OVC released their preseason poll with the Tigers predicted to finish in fourth place.[1] On July 23, the OVC released their coaches poll with the Tigers predicted to finish in sixth place.[2]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Jacksonville State 134 (14)
2 Austin Peay 114 (1)
3 UT Martin 96
4 Tennessee State 91
5 Eastern Illinois 83
6 Eastern Kentucky 64
7 Murray State 39
8 Southeast Missouri State 35
9 Tennessee Tech 19
Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Jacksonville State 126 (14)
2 Austin Peay 112 (4)
3 UT Martin 95
4 Eastern Illinois 73
5 Eastern Kentucky 69
6 Tennessee State 64
7 Southeast Missouri State 62
8 Murray State 24
9 Tennessee Tech 23

Preseason All-OVC team

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The Tigers had three players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.[3]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.Bethune–Cookman*ESPN+W 34–314,069
September 86:00 p.m.vs. Jackson State*FSS Cancelled[a]
September 155:00 p.m.at Hampton* Cancelled[b]
September 222:00 p.m.at Eastern IllinoisESPN+W 41–407,670
September 293:00 p.m.at Vanderbilt*
SECNL 27–3127,340
October 66:00 p.m.at Austin PeayESPN3L 34–4912,201
October 131:00 p.m.at Murray StateESPN+L 21–453,318
October 204:30 p.m.Tennessee Tech 
  • Nissan Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
ESPN+W 41–1417,283
November 31:00 p.m.at No. 25 Southeast Missouri StateESPN+L 21–383,481
November 102:00 p.m.No. 8 Jacksonville State
ESPN+L 14–416,718
November 172:00 p.m.UT Martin
  • Hale Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
ESPN+W 31–28 OT3,618
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
  1. ^ The Jackson State game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
  2. ^ The Hampton game was cancelled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Game summaries

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Bethune–Cookman

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 3 0 0 3
Tigers 14 7 3 10 34

At Eastern Illinois

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1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 13 13 15 41
Panthers 17 7 7 9 40

At Vanderbilt

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1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 13 7 7 27
Commodores 0 10 14 7 31

At Austin Peay

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1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 7 14 6 7 34
Governors 7 14 21 7 49

At Murray State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 14 0 0 7 21
Racers 3 21 14 7 45

Tennessee Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Eagles 0 0 0 14 14
Tigers 17 10 14 0 41

At Southeast Missouri State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 0 14 7 0 21
No. 25 Redhawks 3 21 14 0 38

Jacksonville State

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 8 Gamecocks 20 7 0 14 41
Tigers 7 0 0 7 14

UT Martin

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1 2 3 4OT Total
Skyhawks 0 3 7 153 28
Tigers 0 12 3 106 31

References

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  1. ^ "Media Pollsters Tab Jacksonville State as 2018 OVC Football Preseason Favorites".
  2. ^ "Jacksonville State Picked as 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Football Favorites".
  3. ^ "SEMO's Terry, JSU's Bridges Named OVC Preseason Football Players of the Year".