Tigers Prepare For 2021 Season Finale Saturday Afternoon At Alabama State

Football 11/19/2021 10:15:00 AM TSU Sports Information

• Texas Southern prepares for its 2021 season finale Saturday afternoon as they’ll travel to Alabama State for a 1 p.m. kickoff at ASU Stadium.

• TSU suffered another heartbreaker last weekend as Alabama A&M scored in the final minute and survived a game-tying field goal attempt in a 52-49 loss last weekend.

• TSU will face ASU for the first time since 2019 and first time in Montgomery, Ala. since 2018. The 2019 contest in Houston came down to the final quarter as ASU won 27-21.

• TSU quarterback Andrew Body needs 146 yards to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark passing for the first time since Riko Smalls (2,172) in 2011. He has already set a TSU freshman record for passing yardage.

• Saturday’s contest will feature live audio on KTSU 90.9 FM and broadcast on ESPN+.

•  TSU is looking for its fourth win of the season as the Tigers haven’t won four games since 2016.

•  TSU’s last win over ASU was in Montgomery on Sept. 24, 2016

• The SWAC opted for a spring schedule due to uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 last fall. TSU could only get two games in due to COVID-19 protocols surrounding the opposing team or at TSU. The contest against Baylor marked the first time TSU played back-to-back weekends since the final two weekends of November 2019.

• Alabama State is in the midst of transition as the Hornets replaced head coach Donald Hill-Eley several weeks ago and have turned to Travis Pearson as the interim. Pearson is 0-2 with losses to Prairie View A&M and Mississippi Valley State.

• ASU is undefeated at home this season and ranks 10th in total offense and seventh in defense amongst SWAC teams. Picked fourth in the SWAC West, ASU is led by running back Ryan Nettles‘ 10 touchdowns and 1,192 passing yards along with preseason All-SWAC running back Ezra Gray. Jeremiah Hixon is the top receiver with 37 receptions for 501 yards and four touchdowns. Irshaad Davis is the top tackler with 57 stops.

• TSU’s roster is a full of youth in key areas as 58 players are either true or redshirt freshmen.

• The Tigers feature a third-year head coach in Clarence McKinney. A Houston native, McKinney attended high school across the street at Jack Yates High School and played collegiately at Montana State and the University of Mary. He also served as head coach at Yates before joining the staffs at Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona.

• Clarence McKinney is the 17th head coach in the history of Texas Southern Football. McKinney has a task ahead as the program has only had 28 winning seasons in 75 years of existence and hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2000.

• McKinney won as a student at Yates High School and helped the University of Mary post three winning seasons as a student-athlete in college which made school history. As head coach at Yates, McKinney posted a mark of 30-8 over three years before moving on to the collegiate ranks as an assistant. As an assistant at Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona, McKinney has only experienced three losing seasons in his 11 years of collegiate coaching.