Alabama A&M beats Tennessee State 30-3

Team pages: Tennessee State · Alabama A&M

Tennessee State0-33
Alabama A&M2-130Final
Sat, Sep 12 · Louis Crews Stadium, Huntsville, Ala. · Crowd 13,749SWAC TV

Alabama A&M beat Tennessee State 30-3.

We had Alabama A&M favored. It won.

Next: Tennessee State beat Florida A&M 29-26, Sat Sep 19

Next: Alabama A&M beat Bowie State 45-3, Sat Sep 19

How it swung

The turning point: Brown 61-yd TD pass to Williams, Alabama A&M goes ahead 7-0 (Q1, 8:44). Alabama A&M went from 37% to 66% to win.

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Alabama A&M a 66% chance, and the closing betting line (Alabama A&M was a 3.5-point underdog) put it at 39%.

Alabama A&M won by 27, after dipping to 37% in the first quarter.

Tennessee State never had better than a 63% chance.

FinalAlabama A&M 30-3 Tennessee StateAlabama A&M wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q493% at halfAlabama A&MWon30-31+29Scores
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q493% at halfAlabama A&MWon30-31Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q47% at halfAlabama A&MLowest 0%Lost3-301−29Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q47% at halfAlabama A&MLowest 0%Lost3-301Scores

The play that swung it

  1. 1Q1 8:44Brown 61-yd TD pass to Williams, Alabama A&M goes ahead 7-0Alabama A&M 37% → 66% (+29)

The play that swung it

  1. 1Q1 8:44Brown 61-yd TD pass to Williams, Alabama A&M goes ahead 7-0Tennessee State 63% → 34% (−29)
Alabama A&M’s chance to win after every play.
How to read this chartStarts from the pregame line (Tennessee State -3.5), at 47% for Alabama A&M (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.

Every drive

Alabama A&M scored on 6 of its 13 drives; Tennessee State on 1 of its 13.

Alabama A&M’s drives are teal, Tennessee State’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

own goalgoal lineQ1Alabama A&M: Punt, from 87 yards out to 69PuntTennessee State: Interception, from 66 yards out to 30InterceptionAlabama A&M: Touchdown, from 61 yards out to 0TouchdownTennessee State: Punt, from 59 yards out to 53PuntAlabama A&M: Touchdown, from 80 yards out to 0TouchdownTennessee State: Punt, from 70 yards out to 63PuntAlabama A&M: Punt, from 70 yards out to 70PuntTennessee State: Field goal, from 78 yards out to 20Field goalQ2Alabama A&M: Field goal, from 78 yards out to 17Field goalTennessee State: Fumble, from 75 yards out to 31FumbleAlabama A&M: Field goal, from 69 yards out to 10Field goalTennessee State: End of half, from 68 yards out to 69End of halfQ3Tennessee State: Interception, from 55 yards out to 38InterceptionAlabama A&M: Punt, from 88 yards out to 49PuntTennessee State: Punt, from 85 yards out to 52PuntAlabama A&M: Punt, from 80 yards out to 76PuntTennessee State: Turned over on downs, from 60 yards out to 51DownsAlabama A&M: Interception, from 49 yards out to 49InterceptionTennessee State: Turned over on downs, from 75 yards out to 23DownsAlabama A&M: Touchdown, from 77 yards out to 0TouchdownQ4Tennessee State: Punt, from 70 yards out to 70PuntAlabama A&M: Punt, from 65 yards out to 56PuntTennessee State: Punt, from 90 yards out to 99PuntAlabama A&M: Field goal, from 30 yards out to 4Field goalTennessee State: Turned over on downs, from 68 yards out to 52DownsAlabama A&M: Uncategorized, from 48 yards out to 35Uncategorized

Box score

Alabama A&M 30, Tennessee State 3

Alabama A&M covered +3.5 by 30.5. The total, 33, stayed under 49.5.

Tennessee State leaders

  • Passing Daylin Lee 19 of 41, 187 yds, 2 INT
  • Rushing Brenton Paul 12 for 40 yds; Zack Simmons-Brown 9 for 19 yds
  • Receiving Cam Bulluck 4 for 50 yds; Jayden Guy 4 for 44 yds

Alabama A&M leaders

  • Passing Cornelious Brown 24 of 38, 326 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
  • Rushing Kolton Nero 10 for 52 yds; Ty'Jarian Williams 5 for 50 yds
  • Receiving Jarel Williams 8 for 175 yds, 1 TD; Jaylan Bean 5 for 71 yds, 1 TD

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last two games

Tennessee State · 0-2

Rated 217th in our preseason ratings, 191st now, up 26 spots.

Two straight losses.

L 3-63 @ GeorgiaTop 25 #3 of 668

lost by 60 as a 49.5-point underdog

Tennessee State lost 3-63 at Georgia. Never had a real chance.

L 24-26 vs Jackson State #124 of 668

lost by 2 as a 12.5-point underdog

Tennessee State lost 24-26 vs Jackson State. Chance to win started at 23%, low 5%, high 62%.

Last two games

Alabama A&M · 1-1

Rated 189th in our preseason ratings, 213th now.

1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 38-23 vs Miles #307 of 668

Alabama A&M won 38-23 vs Miles. Chance to win started at 57%, low 55%, high better than 99%.

L 24-31 @ Howard #235 of 668

lost by 7 as a 1.5-point favorite

Week by week

Alabama A&M

Wk 1: L 24-31 at Howard▼7HowardWk 1: W 38-23 vs Miles▲15Miles
  • Wk 1Lat Howard24-31
  • Wk 1Wvs Miles38-23

Tennessee State

Wk 1: L 24-26 vs Jackson State▼2Jackson StateWk 1: L 3-63 at Georgia▼60Georgia
  • Wk 1Lvs Jackson State24-26
  • Wk 1Lat Georgia3-63

The series

Alabama A&M leads the series 5-4

9 meetings since 1977 · Alabama A&M won the last meeting

Alabama A&M wonTennessee State won1977: Tennessee State by 132003: Alabama A&M by 72004: Tennessee State by 352006: Alabama A&M by 72007: Alabama A&M by 262008: Tennessee State by 212009: Alabama A&M by 172010: Tennessee State by 132025: Alabama A&M by 219772025
  • 2025Alabama A&M 23-21
  • 2010Tennessee State 27-14
  • 2009Alabama A&M 24-7
  • 2008Tennessee State 34-13
  • 2007Alabama A&M 49-23

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on Alabama A&M’s chances here.

50-50Model · 66%Line · 39%Tennessee StateAlabama A&M

Tennessee State favored by 3.5 · Total 49.5

How games like this usually go

Tennessee State by 3.5, on the usual path until Q1 8:44

50%90%Q1Q2Q3Q450%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 377 games since 2025 with a favorite of 3.5 to 7.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 2 points toward Tennessee State.

opened +1.5now +3.5

Spread: +1.5 → +3.5

The books’ cut: 5.4%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Home-field advantage: Bottom third of FBS.

0% at home, 0% on the road against FBS opponents (0-0 home, 0-6 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +6.9 at home vs. away over 34 games — inside the ±11.3 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 96 miles to get here.

Where next