Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 SEPT. 2, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: TENNESSEE STATE well) and sophomore punter Bryce McFerson, who won the punting competition with Penn graduate transfer Ben Krimm. The Irish also ran a competition at the punt re- turn spot, and from Biagi's comments, senior wide receiver Chris Tyree seemed to be the favorite heading into the Navy game. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Ohio State running back Eddie George earned the Heisman Trophy in 1995, winning a relatively close race with Nebraska quarterback Tommie Fra- zier. In the final year of his Buckeye career, George rushed 328 times for 1,927 yards— including 207 in a 45-26 win over Notre Dame — and 24 touch- downs while leading Ohio State to an 11-2 record. After a nine-year NFL career, George went back to Ohio State and got his bachelor's degree, then earned his master's at Northwestern. He helped open a restaurant called Eddie George's Grille 27 in Columbus, Ohio, and which he still owns. George spent approximately 15 years out of football, but he returned in April 2021 when Tennessee State hired him as its head coach. Now in his third season, George is, by all ac- counts, a solid coach. He spent two weeks in May with the Chicago Bears during organized team activities as part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. According to the Chicago Tribune, George said he hopes to apply lessons from the Bears' organized team activities to his own coaching at Tennessee State. Tennessee State's administration definitely be- lieves in George. Tigers athletics director Mikki Allen all but confirmed back when the game was scheduled in April 2022 that excitement about George was a big reason they accepted an invita- tion to play Notre Dame. "When we hired Eddie George I knew we had someone that was a high-character individual with a football mind, but also someone that was really going to change the trajectory of our program and get us back to a championship level," Allen told The Tennessean. "This game is huge for our program." All that being said, Freeman has 12 more years of coaching experience than George does, as well as a more experienced, more expensive and more highly regarded staff. This one isn't close, either. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES There's a case to be made that Tennessee State has the advantage here, because it will enter South Bend with nothing to lose. But on the other hand, Tennessee State's players will likely walk into Notre Dame Stadium in disbelief about playing there. George himself had that feeling when the game was scheduled. "Oh my gosh," George said. "I'm actually going to be coaching on the sideline at the stadium that Knute Rockne built." There is zero doubt that George will have his team ready to play. But it's human nature to walk into a place like Notre Dame Stadium — some- where none of them would have dreamt of play- ing when they enrolled at TSU — and think more about the atmosphere than the player across the line of scrimmage. And on the other side, Freeman and his "one play, one life" mantra will ensure that the Irish don't take the Tigers lightly. They learned that lesson the hard way in last season's second game, although it should be noted that Marshall — who wound up finishing 9-4 — was a much stronger op- ponent than Tennessee State should be. Make no mistake, having Notre Dame on its schedule is undeniably a good thing for TSU. George said at that same press conference in April 2022 that the exposure of his players to a national stage, and the exposure of a national audience to Tennessee State, is awesome for his program. Not to mention a guaranteed buy game fee of $1 million. The game itself, however, will be decided quickly. Advantage: Notre Dame Senior defensive end Terrell Allen paced the Tigers in both tackles for loss (12) and sacks (4.5) in 2022. PHOTO COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE ATHLETICS