GRAMBLING, La. – Texas Southern won its third straight game and first at Grambling State in over a decade after a hard-fought 21-20 win Saturday night.
TSU has played Grambling State 13 times for Homecoming since 1989 but wins have been hard to come by with homecoming wins in 1997 and 1999. TSU's last win in Grambling State occurred in 2013 as the last time the teams played a night game in Robinson Stadium was in 2009.
Grambling State recorded an interception on TSU's first drive and used the momentum to jump ahead 6-0 at the 8:49 mark as they recorded a pair of third-and-long conversions during the process. The Tigers attempted a two-point conversion but fell short as the score remained the same. After a TSU punt, Grambling State was on the verge of adding to its lead but safety Daylen Booker knocked the ball out of the quarterback's hand as Edric Whitley recovered at the TSU 8.
TSU bounced back with a time-consuming 16-play, 92-yard drive to open the second quarter as Xavier Phipps caught a seven-yard pass from KJ Cooper. TSU dodged a bullet as the ensuing kickoff was returned for a huge gain but GSU was whistled for holding. However, GSU's Tre Bradford opened the drive with a 76-yard run but committed another fumble on its next play as Michael Akins recovered the ball at the TSU 16. Both teams traded punts but TSU would pad its lead as Athean Renfro broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left. However, TSU allowed Grambling State to record a big return on the ensuing kickoff and Grambling State used a big play to get into scoring position as Byron Eaton, Jr. scored from one yard out with 28 seconds left to trail 14-13 entering halftime.
Special teams would haunt TSU again to open the second half as GSU opened with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 20-14 lead. TSU's Chaunzavia Lewis returned the ensuing kickoff to the GSU 50 and the TSU running attack used a pair of big runs from Renfro and Jacob Washington to fight back ahead 21-20 with 11:54 left in the third quarter.
From that point, it was about the punters as both teams combined for four punts to open the fourth quarter. TSU would come up with a big defensive stop as Whitley recorded an interception early in the fourth quarter but TSU couldn't capitalize and was forced to punt.
Grambling State made a bold move late with a quarterback change and it worked out early as C'zavian Teasett led the Tigers down the field to the TSU 4 while eating a significant amount of clock time. But once again, the TSU defense made a move when it counted as Grambling State fumbled and Demarcus Thompson pounced on the ball for a game-saving recovery.
Kordell Rodgers would catch a tough third down pass from Cooper for a huge first down to extend its next drive. TSU faced another third and long conversion at its own 18 but Kerien Charlo made the play of the game as his run was marked inches beyond the first down line. Grambling State challenged the spot and the play was upheld by video review as Grambling State lost its final timeout which led to TSU running the clock out for the huge win.
Renfro had another monster game with 152 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Jacob Washington ran for 69 yards on 11 carries while Charlo caught five passes for 48 yards. Whitley led TSU with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery.
With the win, TSU has claimed multiple wins over GSU for the first time since the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
TSU is back in action on Saturday against Virginia University of Lynchburg for Homecoming 2025 next Saturday inside Durley Stadium at 1 p.m.
