Southeast Missouri State football team seeks first win at Tennessee State

~ Southeast will try to break the Tigers' four-game winning streak Saturday

Southeast Missouri State has struggled mightily on offense so far this year, averaging just 11.5 points and 288.5 yards per game. Both figures rank eighth in the nine-team Ohio Valley Conference.

The Redhawks will try to reverse those trends Saturday, but it won't be easy against what is statistically the OVC's top defense through the first several weeks of the season.

Tennessee State (4-1, 1-0 OVC) and its stingy defense will host the winless Redhawks (0-4, 0-1) in a 6 p.m. kickoff at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn.

TSU has won four straight games since a season-opening loss -- 12-9 to Bethune-Cookman -- while Southeast has suffered seven consecutive defeats dating back to last season.

"We really need to get this one and get back to 1-1 in the conference," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said. "You don't want to go 0-2."

Southeast will look for an upset in a stadium that has not been kind to the Redhawks since Samuel took over the program in 2006.

The Redhawks have lost all three meeting with TSU at LP Field -- home of the Tennessee Titans -- under Samuel, including a 55-3 shellacking during Southeast's last visit in 2011.

"The last time we went down there we stunk up the joint," said Samuel, whose 2012 squad fell to TSU 40-28 in Cape Girardeau.

Southeast's offense will try to get well against a unit that leads the OVC in scoring defense and total defense, allowing averages of 12.4 points and 252.8 yards per game. Those figures rank fourth and third in the nation, respectively.

The Tigers are also first in both rushing defense (120.6 ypg) and passing defense (132.2 ypg) while being tied for second with 12 quarterback sacks.

TSU also has a solid offense that is third in the OVC with an average of 35.2 points per game, although that number is inflated by last week's 73-6 rout of Division II Central State as the Tigers scored their most points since 1998. The Tigers tallied a season-high 539 yards in the romp, including 311 yards on the ground.

"We had a contest on Saturday. ... We just outmatched that team we played," said TSU coach Rod Reed, whose Tigers' only conference game to date was a 41-21 romp at Tennessee Tech.

The Tigers' offense has benefited from the return of junior quarterback Michael German, who missed the first two games of the season due to a team suspension for off-field transgressions.

German has completed 20 of 36 passes (55.6 percent) for 405 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. He threw for 2,751 yards last season after being named the 2011 OVC freshman of the year.

"He's a talented kid. He's a big kid, he's mobile, has a strong arm," Samuel said.

Freshman quarterback Ronald Butler performed well in German's absence and has continued to see action in every game since German's return.

Butler has completed 49 of 77 (63.6 percent) for 540 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Reed said the Tigers will continue to use both signal callers.

"I've been really pleased with the play of both our quarterbacks," said Reed, noting that the smaller Butler is the more athletic of the two. "We're going to play both of those guys. Whoever has the hot hand will finish the game."

The favorite target for TSU's quarterbacks is junior tight end A.C. Leonard, who has 17 receptions for a 14.4-yard average and three touchdowns. He caught 51 passes last year after transferring from Florida.

The Tigers' solid ground attack is headed by senior Tim Broughton, who leads the OVC in rushing yards with 454 and is second in yards per game with 90.8. He is averaging 5.0 yards per carry and has scored four touchdowns.

TSU always features at least several FBS transfers and this year's roster is no exception.

"They're a very good football team," Samuel said. "On film they look really good. We'll see when we play them."