Southeast Missouri State Redhawks at Tennessee State Tigers
· NCAA - Football
Draylen Ellis accounts for 3 TDs, Tennessee State beats SE Missouri State 28-21
The Redhawks (9-3, 6-2), No. 11 in the FCS coaches poll, and No. 25 Tennessee State (9-3, 6-2) finish the regular season tied atop the conference standings with Tennessee Tech and UT Martin. Southeast Missouri State won the tiebreaker to earn an automatic spot into the FCS playoffs — for the fifth time in program history and fourth time under coach Tom Matukewicz — while the Tigers must hope for an at-large berth.
Tennessee State has its most single-season wins since 2013 and clinched a share of its first conference title since the Tigers won the OVC crown in 1999.
Ellis was 20-of-31 passing for 232 yards with no interceptions.
CJ Evans returned the opening kickoff 47 yards to near midfield before Ellis, on third-and-5, threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jalal Dean to open the scoring. Meonta Kimbrough's strip-sack of Paxton DeLaurent was scooped up by Keandre Booker and returned 46 yards for a TD with 7:08 left in the first quarter and Evans caught a screen pass from Ellis and raced 57 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 with 2:35 until the second quarter.
DeLaurent threw TD passes of 31 yards to Dorian Anderson and 13 yards to Payton Brown to make it a 7-point game at halftime but Ellis ripped off a 42-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give SEMO a 28-14 lead.
Brown added a 1-yard TD run with about 6 minutes left to cap the scoring.
How To Watch
How can I watch Southeast Missouri State Redhawks vs. Tennessee State Tigers?
- TV Channel: Redhawks at Tigers 2021 College Football, week 13, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Scoring Summary
 |
TD | 1st Period 9:34 | Jalal Dean 7 Yd pass from Draylen Ellis (James Lowery Kick) |
|
TD | 1st Period 7:08 | Keandre Booker 0 Yd Fumble Return (James Lowery Kick) |
|
TD | 1st Period 2:35 | CJ Evans 56 Yd pass from Draylen Ellis (James Lowery Kick) |
 |
TD | 2nd Period 7:56 | Dorian Anderson 31 Yd pass from Paxton DeLaurent (DC Pippin Kick) |
|
TD | 2nd Period 0:52 | Payton Brown 13 Yd pass from Paxton DeLaurent (DC Pippin Kick) |
|
TD | 4th Period 14:45 | Draylen Ellis 42 Yd Run (James Lowery Kick) |
|
TD | 4th Period 6:56 | Payton Brown 1 Yd Run (DC Pippin Kick) |
Statistics
 SEMO |
 TNST |
|
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1st Downs | 19 |
| 5-16 | 3rd down efficiency | 5-14 |
| 2-3 | 4th down efficiency | 1-1 |
| 308 | Total Yards | 347 |
| 233 | Passing | 232 |
| 27/47 | Comp/Att | 20/32 |
| 5.0 | Yards per pass | 7.3 |
| 75 | Rushing | 115 |
| 24 | Rushing Attempts | 33 |
| 3.1 | Yards per rush | 3.5 |
| 7-53 | Penalties | 4-35 |
| 0 | Turnovers | 0 |
| 0 | Fumbles lost | 0 |
| 0 | Interceptions thrown | 0 |
| 28:17 | Possession | 31:43 |
Game Information
Location: Nashville, TN
Attendance: 1,536 · Capacity:
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