GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University football team is ready to put the spring 2021 season behind them when the Tigers meet Tennessee State in the Black College Hall of Fame Classic on Sunday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
Grambling State has spent the past few months preparing for the upcoming season opener and will finally have that opportunity on Sunday on the biggest stage when the Tigers meet TSU. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. central and fans will have the opportunity to watch the game live on the NFL Network.
In addition, Grambling State will broadcast and stream the game on the Grambling State Sports Radio Network. The game can be heard in Ruston (KRUS - Hitz 96.3) and in Monroe (KNNW - 103.1 FM). The Tigers' broadcast crew of Santoria Black and Ossie Clark will call all of the action.
"It's good to finally get to a football season in the fall," Grambling State head football coach
Broderick Fobbs said. "We've been fighting for this opportunity for a long time. We've had a really, really good summer and a really good training camp, which is what it takes in order to have a chance to be a really successful football team."
ABOUT THE GAME
- This will be the 42nd game between Grambling State and Tennessee State, but the first since 2002
- The game will be broadcasted live on the NFL Network, with Andrew Siciliano on the call, along with Charles Davis
- Both teams enter on losing streaks, dating back to the spring 2021 season
- Fobbs is entering his eighth season, TSU will be breaking in new head coach, Eddie George
GRAMBLING STATE NEWS & NOTES
- Fobbs will be seeking his second season-opening victory
- The last time the Tigers won a season opener was in 2016... The same year GSU won the Black College Football National Championship
- GSU brings back many players from the spring season, including starting quarterback
Elijah Walker
- New faces will be roaming the sidelines for the Tigers as Fobbs brought in three key position coaches -
Eric Marty (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach),
Bryant Ross (offensive line coach) and
Eric Rhodes (cornerbacks coach)
- GSU will spend the first month of the season on the road, playing a pair of neutral site contests and two true road games
- A win against TSU on Sunday would snap a five-game losing streak, which dates back to the 2019 season
TENNESSEE STATE NEWS & NOTES
- The Tigers welcomed new head coach Eddie George to the program as the former Heisman Trophy winner brought in offensive coordinator and former NFL head coach Hue Jackson
- Former GSU quarterback Geremy Hickbottom gets the nod as the starting quarterback for Tennessee State
- TSU had eight players selected to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) preseason teams
- The Tigers were picked fifth in the OVC preseason poll
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
- Tennessee State and Grambling State first met in 1950, with TSU picking up a 55-7 victory
- Grambling State has enjoyed a pair of five-game winning streaks in the series
- Grambling State and Tennessee State have met just once since the beginning of 2000 when GSU earned a 49-14 victory
- GSU head coach
Broderick Fobbs played in one of the matchups, a 33-28 Tigers win in 1993
LOOKING AHEAD TO WHAT'S NEXT
- Grambling State will have a short week to prepare for Conference USA opponent Southern Miss on Saturday
- The Tigers and Eagles will be meeting for the first time
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