Tennessee State ends OVC playoff drought

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – Tennessee State put an emphatic end to a 13-year drought for Ohio Valley Conference teams in the FCS playoffs, routing Butler, 31-0, in the first round Saturday.

Junior quarterback Michael German threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns to spark Tennessee State (10-3) into the second round at No. 2 seed Eastern Illinois next Saturday.

That game will guarantee the OVC another win. EIU (11-1), the OVC regular- season champion, won the regular-season meeting, 34-16.

OVC teams had lost 19 straight playoff games since 2000. But coach Rod Reed’s Tigers dominated a Butler squad making the first playoff appearance by a Pioneer Football League team. It was the Tigers’ first shutout since 2006, but the fifth time they limited an opponent to 10 or fewer points this season.

German, who completed 14-for-24 pass attempts, threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Mitchell to give Tennessee State a 7-0 lead with 1:38 left in the first quarter. Jamin Godfrey kicked a 45-yard field goal in the second quarter before German added a 17-yard TD pass to Wesley Samuels with 41 seconds left to push the lead to 17-0 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Daniel Fitzpatrick intercepted Butler quarterback Matt Lancaster and returned the ball 26 yards for a touchdown. He added another interception to give him an FCS-high seven this season.

Tigers backup quarterback Ronald Butler then threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell.

Lancaster was intercepted three times and finished 15-for-39 for 122 yards. He led Butler (9-4) with 74 rushing yards, while Trae Heeter added 64 on the ground.

Tennessee State, which turned the ball over three times on fumbles, had a 415-257 advantage in yards.

Categorized in: NCAA Football