NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 18, 2025) – On a day when the Howard University defense played another outstanding game, the offense was unable to complement it as the football team fell, 24-7, at Tennessee State University (TSU) in a nonconference game at Nissan Field.
Both teams came into the game trying to avoid a losing streak: the Bison had dropped two in a row and the Tigers five. TSU (2-5) did not look like a team that came into the game on a skid.
Following the kickoff, Tennessee State embarked on a strange drive that covered 79 yards in six plays. Byron McNair connected with Snap Reed for the score from 10 yards to cap off the drive at the 10:59 mark.
Two of the big plays in the drive came on long plays of 48 and 40 yards on third-&-long against the vaunted Buffalo Soldier defense.
Meanwhile, the Bison were unable to get anything going offense with minus 10 yards on 12 of their first offensive plays. But the nationally ranked Buffalo Soldier defense began to take charge and forced punts on three and outs.
For the game, Howard (3-4), ranked first against the pass nationally and Top 10 in total defense, shut down the Tigers statistically, holding them to a total of only 183 yards on offense, including only 67 yards on the ground.
Despite its woes on offense, TSU capitalized on Howard mistakes with three scores following Howard turnovers or mistakes.
Then, the offense was able to charge and pit together nine play, 32-yard drive with sophomore running back
Anthony Reagan Jr. (Woodbury, N.J.) bolting in from two yards out to tie the score, 7-7, with 7:04 on the clock before intermission.
Both teams exchanged turnovers on their ensuing possessions, but it was an interception that gave thwarted Tigers field possession at the Howard 32 with a little under two minutes.
The Tigers got three TD passes from McNair, a big one coming just before the half following a Howard interception. McNair connected with Connor Ruth from six yards with just 24 seconds before intermission.
The Tigers added an insurance score near the end of the third quarter when McNair found DeVaughn Slaughter from 10 yards out. Freddie Perez would tack on a 34-yard field goal to close out the scoring.
Reagan had his streak of over 100 yards games come to an end as he finished with 44 yards and a TD. Billy Robeson II (Lake Orion, Mich.) has come on strong of late with another solid game, tallying 28 tough yards rushing and another 30 on three catches.
The defense was led by
Judah McJimpsey (seven total tackles & 1.5 sacks) and
Cam Dyson (seven total tackles).
NEXT UP: Howard finally gets to play in Greene Stadium when it hosts Morgan State for homecoming and the MEAC opener Saturday (Oct. 25) at 3:30 p.m.
For more information, visit the official Howard Athletics website
www.hubison.com.
