At 4-4 overall, a three-game losing streak in the Ohio Valley Conference, Tennessee State enters O’Brien Field tied with Murray State for the worst conference record at 1-3.

For Eastern coach Kim Dameron that means absolutely nothing. Despite their three straight losses, the Tigers sport the OVC’s No. 1 defense that is also ranked No. 3 in the entire FCS.

“You better not look at their last three weeks as far as their record and you better not look at some of the things that maybe they haven’t done as well this year that they have in the past,” Dameron said. “They are athletic, they play hard. They are a very formidable opponent and we are looking forward to seeing their best effort because I’m sure it’s coming.”

Where Tennessee State lacks in a running game offensively, it makes up defensively. The Tigers have allowed an average of three yards per carry, which is the lowest in the OVC and teams are rushing for 121.5 yards per game, which is the second lowest behind Jacksonville State (110).

The Tigers are in the middle of the pack with seven forced turnovers in their four conference games, but the Tennessee State defense has the second most sacks in conference play, with 11. Overall, the Tigers have 30 sacks this season, No. 1 in the OVC. The second highest total is 17 by Eastern Kentucky.

“They put a lot of pressure on you,” Dameron said. “They have 30 sacks. They’re really good up front. They’re really good on the back end. I can’t figure out where they’re not really good.”

The Tigers have the top-three sack getters in the conference. Junior Gabe Terry leads the trio with 8.5, followed by senior Anthony Bass, with six and fellow senior Samquan Evans, who has four total sacks.

Although Eastern is at the bottom in sacks allowed overall, the Panthers’ offensive line has only surrendered three sacks in their three OVC games that are the fewest in the conference.

Jalen Whitlow’s running ability has enabled him to escape from pressure and has led to long runs for the junior.

The Eastern quarterback has capitalized on his running ability, leading to big gains through the ground. In three games, Whitlow ranks No. 2 in rushing yards per game at 100. He also has six rushing touchdowns, which ranks him No. 2 as well behind Eastern Kentucky’s Dy’Shawn Mobley.

Tennessee State coach Rod Reed is well aware of the dual-threat quarterback.

“You rewind a couple weeks back to Jacksonville State and (Whitlow) is as good if not better than Eli Jenkins,” Reed said. “We all know how good Jenkins is. Whitlow has done a really good job of running the offense and he can beat with his feet and he can beat you throwing the ball.”

The Eastern quarterback has thrown six touchdowns in OVC play, completing 65.9 percent of his passes (58-of-65) and has the best passing efficiency in the league at 150.3. Whitlow is the only starting quarterback that has not thrown an interception in conference games so far this season.

“He’s not a one-dimensional guy,” Reed said. “I watched the kid throw an 18-yard comeback from the wide side of the field. Anytime you have that kind of arm strength, you’re dangerous throwing the ball.”

Eastern has the No. 1 offense in the OVC, averaging 49.3 points and 561.7 yards per game. Dameron said the Panthers couldn’t let the Tennessee State defense control the tempo of the game Saturday.

The Tigers are only allowing 280.8 yards of offense per game in OVC play – the only team not surrendering more than 300 yards per game.

“Their defense is an All-Star group and we have to make sure offensively that we don’t turn it over,” Dameron said.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.