TUSKEGEE, Ala. – The Benedict College Tigers committed a pair of turnovers, including an interception in the end zone in the final minutes, as Tuskegee University knocked off the 15
th-ranked Tigers 20-17 in a nationally televised SIAC matchup on Thursday night.
The Tigers, now 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SIAC, took a 17-13 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter after a short touchdown run by
Christopher Johnson.
Tuskegee, now 2-2 overall and 2-0 in the SIAC, scored the go-ahead touchdown on a deep 31-yard touchdown pass with 5:53 left in the game. Benedict got the ball and started the drive with a nine-yard run by
David Smith, then Johnson bowled over the Tuskegee defenders for an 18-yard gain.
After back-to-back passes from
Jett Peddy to
Tamyrion "TJ" Hatch, the Tigers attacked on the ground again, with Johnson picking up gains of 9 and 11 yards to give the Tigers a first down at the 10-yard line. After a three-yard pickup by Johnson, Peddy threw an incomplete pass on second down. His third down pass to
Reece Dobard in the end zone was tipped in the air and intercepted with 1:45 left in the game.
Tuskegee was able to run out the clock and clinch the victory.
"I've got to do a better job as a coach of putting us in better situations to win the game," Benedict head coach
Ron Dickerson Jr. said. "We gave up a big play on defense that we shouldn't have, and we gave up a turnover late in the game on offense. And so I've got to do a better job of putting the team in the right situation to be successful."
Benedict scored a season-low 17 points, after coming into the game averaging 30 points a game. The Tigers also missed a short 23-yard field goal on their first offensive possession after having a first-and-goal from the six-yard line.
The Benedict defense forced five Tuskegee turnovers – three interceptions and two fumbles - and held the Golden Tigers out of the end zone on four consecutive running plays on a huge defensive series late in the first half after Tuskegee had a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. But the Tigers also gave up several big plays, including a 42-yard pass play on Tuskegee's opening drive that started as a short screen pass to the left side of the field, and then the receiver reversed to the opposite side for the big gain. Tuskegee also converted on third-and-three with a 31-yard touchdown pass for the final score with 5:53 remaining in the game.
"We've been playing very sporadically," Dickerson said. "The defense does a good job, then the offense comes out and we can't do something. The offense does something good and the defense struggles a little bit. We've got to be able to play true team ball for four quarters.
"I'm not going to take anything away from Tuskegee. Tuskegee played a great home opener, and they were ready to play, and every opportunity they had, they took advantage of it, and we didn't take advantage of some of our opportunities."
Peddy completed 15-of-35 passes for 211 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Hatch was his top receiver with five catches for 95 yards. The Tigers attempted a season-low 31 rushing attempts and gained 178 yards.
"The offense struggled a lot," Dickerson said. "We missed a lot of throws. I'm going to go back and I'm going to look at it, and I'm going to figure out what's going on and we'll get it right. Our kids, they played hard. We've just got to do a better job of putting them in situations where they can be very successful. And this team is, like I said, we're resilient."
The Tigers will return home for the first time in more than a month when they host Clark Atlanta on Oct. 3 at 2 p.m.
