• Texas Southern returns to action after an off weekend with a trip to Itta Bena, Miss. to face Mississippi Valley State on Saturday at 4 p.m.
• Saturday's contest will feature live audio on KTSU 90.9 FM and will be shown live on SWAC TV.
• TSU has not faced Mississippi Valley State since the 2019 campaign due to the SWAC schedule format.
• Mississippi Valley State features a new head coach in Terrell Buckley. Buckley was a former NFL defensive back prior to his coaching career as he followed a path similar to TSU's Cris Dishman.
• Something will have to give on offense as both TSU and MVSU enter with the least amount of points scored in the SWAC. The teams have combined for 66 points total and rank 11th (MVSU) and 12th (TSU), respectively in scoring offense. Defensively, TSU ranks fifth (29.3) in scoring defense while MVSU ranks last (49.7).
• The kick return game has been a bright spot for TSU as they rank first in the SWAC with 29.6 yards per return. Trent Leary and Kerien Charlo rank 2-3, respectively.
• TSU has three players (Isaiah Bogerty, Charles George and Matthew Cooks) rank amongst the top six in the SWAC in tackles. Bogerty leads the league with 32 total.
• TSU had three players earn preseason All-SWAC Second Team honors in Trent Leary (WR), Damarcus Thompson (DE) and Jeremy Ramirez (P).
• After several years of offseason changes to the coaching staff, the Tigers finally had stability this offseason with no changes.
• TSU was picked to finish fourth in the SWAC during the annual SWAC Preseason Poll. TSU returns four offensive starters and two on defense.
• Injuries took a major toll for TSU last year as several key players return after season-ending injuries suffered during the Labor Day Classic in linebacker Jacob Williams and quarterback KJ Cooper. Two years ago, Williams was TSU's first 100-plus tackler since 2004 while Cooper led TSU to a Labor Day Classic win in 2024.
• Cris Dishman is the 18th head coach in the history of Texas Southern Football. Dishman inherits a tough task as the program has only had 28 winning seasons in 78 years of existence and hasn't recorded a winning season since 2000.
