2012 Savannah State Tigers football team

The 2012 Savannah State Tigers football team represented Savannah State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). This was the second season under the guidance of head coach Steve Davenport. The Tigers played their home games at Ted Wright Stadium and they finished the 2012 season with a 1–10 record (0–8 in the MEAC) to finish last in the conference.

2012 Savannah State Tigers football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	1–10 (0–8 MEAC)
Head coach	Steve Davenport (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Terance Mathis (2nd season)
Home stadium	Ted A. Wright Stadium
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 22 Bethune–Cookman $^		8	–	0					9	–	3
Howard		6	–	2					7	–	4
North Carolina A&T		5	–	3					7	–	4
North Carolina Central		5	–	3					6	–	5
Delaware State		5	–	3					6	–	5
South Carolina State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Florida A&M		4	–	4					4	–	7
Hampton		3	–	5					3	–	7
Norfolk State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Morgan State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Savannah State		0	–	8					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Coaches and support staff

Name[1][2]	Type[1][2]	College	Graduating year
Steve Davenport	Head coach	Georgia Tech	1990
Greg Lester	Assistant head coach/Outside Receivers coach	Georgia Tech
Terance Mathis	Offensive coordinator/Inside Receivers coach	New Mexico	1990
Thomas Balkcom	Defensive backs coach	Georgia Tech
William Bell	Running backs coach	Georgia Tech
Mitch Doolittle	Linebackers coach	Presbyterian College	2006
Saeed Khalif	Defensive coordinator/defensive line coach	Georgia Tech	1988
Tony Haynes	Quarterbacks coach	Webber International	2005
Broderick Jones	Offensive line coach	Ole Miss	2005

Media

Radio flagship: WHCJ
Broadcasters: Toby Hyde (play-by-play), Curtis Foster (analyst)

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 pm	at No. 19 Oklahoma State*	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	FCS	L 0–84	55,784
September 8	6:00 pm	at No. 6 Florida State*	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	L 0–55	71,126
September 22	7:00 pm	North Carolina Central	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA		L 33–45	3,415
September 29	1:00 pm	at Howard	William H. Greene Stadium Washington, D.C.		L 9–56	2,955
October 6	7:00 pm	Morgan State	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA		L 6–45	1,978
October 13	6:00 pm	at Florida A&M	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL		L 3–44	12,561
October 20	2:00 pm	Edward Waters*	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA		W 42–35	4,269
October 27	2:00 pm	at Hampton	Armstrong Stadium Hampton, VA		L 13–21	5,500
November 3	2:00 pm	at Norfolk State	William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA		L 21–33	16,269
November 10	5:00 pm	Bethune-Cookman	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA		L 7–49	3,683
November 17	1:00 pm	at South Carolina State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		L 13–27	10,011
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Oklahoma State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Savannah State	0	0	0	0	0
Oklahoma State	35	14	21	14	84

at Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma

• Game time: 7 pm EST
• Game weather: Sunny, 21% humidity
• Game attendance: 55,784
• Referee: David Alvarez
• TV: Fox College Sports

Florida State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Savannah State	0	0	0	0	0
Florida State	35	13	7	0	55

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

• Game time: 6:00 pm EST
• Game weather: Rain, lightning delay, game was terminated
• Game attendance: 71,126
• Referee: Walter Davenpor
• TV: ESPN3

For their second game of the season, the Tigers traveled to Tallahassee, Florida to face the #6 ranked Seminoles of Florida State. This was the first meeting between these teams. Prior to the game, the Seminoles were installed as 70 1/2 point favorites, reportedly making Savannah State the biggest underdogs in any college football game ever.^[3][4]

The Seminoles held the Tigers scoreless, winning 55–0. Florida State scored 35 points in the first quarter, with a 61-yd touchdown pass from EJ Manuel to Rodney Smith, a 6-yard touchdown run from Chris Thompson, an 8-yd touchdown pass from E.J. Manuel to Greg Dent, a 9-yd touchdown pass from E.J. Manuel to Kelvin Benjamin, and a 5-yd touchdown run from Devonta Freeman. Florida State added another thirteen points in the second quarter as the result of a 19-yard touchdown run from James Wilder, Jr. and another 1-yd touchdown run from James Wilder, Jr. with a subsequent failed point-after-attempt from kicker Dustin Hopkins, ending his streak of 145 consecutive extra point attempts. Florida State scored another seven points in the third quarter as the result of a 19-yd touchdown pass from Jacob Coker to Kelvin Benjamin.

The Seminoles totaled 413 yards of offense in the game, with 167 rushing yards and 246 passing yards while holding Savannah State to just 28 total yards of offense. The victory improved Florida State's all-time record against the Tigers to 1-0.

The game was delayed by lightning in the area in the second quarter and later called with 8:59 left in the third quarter, again due to weather.^[5]

North Carolina Central

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
North Carolina Central	3	7	28	7	45
Savannah State	7	7	6	13	33

at Ted Wright Stadium, Savannah, Georgia

• Game time: 7 p.m.
• Game weather: Clear
• Game attendance: 3,415
• Referee: Darrell Davis

Howard

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Savannah State	0	3	6	0	9
Howard	7	21	28	0	56

at William H. Greene Stadium, Washington, D.C.

• Game time: 1 p.m.
• Game weather: Partly Sunny
• Game attendance: 2,955
• Referee: Donnell Leathers

Morgan State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Morgan State	7	7	24	7	45
Savannah State	6	0	0	0	6

at Ted Wright Stadium, Savannah, Georgia

• Game time: 7 p.m.
• Game weather: Partly Sunny
• Game attendance: 1,978
• Referee: Kelvin Thorpe

Florida A&M

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Savannah State	3	0	0	0	3
Florida A&M	13	10	14	7	44

at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

• Game time: 6 p.m.
• Referee: Flemon Williams

Edward Waters

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Edward Waters	14	7	7	7	35
Savannah State	14	14	7	7	42

at Ted Wright Stadium, Savannah, Georgia

• Game time: 2 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 4,269
• Referee: Andre Lowe

Antonio Bostick threw for four touchdowns and ran for two as the Tigers defeated NAIA Edward Waters College for the first win of the season. Bostick finished the game with 319 yards passing.^[6]

Hampton

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Savannah State	3	0	7	3	13
Hampton	0	14	7	0	21

at Armstrong Stadium, Hampton, Virginia

• Game time: 2 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, Windy & Rain
• Game attendance: 5,500
• Referee: Clement Hall

Norfolk State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Savannah State	0	21	0	0	21
Norfolk State	17	7	6	3	33

at Price Stadium, Norfolk, Virginia

• Game time: 2 p.m.
• Game weather: Partly sunny
• Game attendance: 16,269
• Referee: D. Leathers

Bethune-Cookman

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bethune-Cookman	7	28	7	7	49
Savannah State	0	0	7	0	7

at Ted Wright Stadium, Savannah, Georgia

• Game time: 5 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, Fair
• Game attendance: 3,683
• Referee: Steve Kinny

South Carolina State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Savannah State	7	0	6	0	13
South Carolina State	10	3	7	7	27

at Dawson Stadium, Orangeburg, South Carolina

• Game time: 1 pm
• Game weather: Cold and Windy
• Game attendance: 10,011
• Referee: Andre Lowe

South Carolina State defeated the Tigers 27-13 in the season finale for both teams. The Bulldogs led 13-7 at halftime and pushed the lead to 20-7 with 6:21 left in the third quarter.^[7] The Tigers scored on a 10-yard pass from Victorian Hardison to Dylan Cook with 1:39 left in the third to pull the Tigers within a score, 20-13, but missed the extra point.^[7] The Bulldogs blocked an SSU punt which put them in scoring position from the Tigers 20-yard line to seal the victory for the bulldogs.^[7] The Tigers defense was led by Wayne Burden who had 11 tackles (10 solo) and 3 tackles for loss.^[7]