Tuskegee squandered away a six-point lead in the fourth quarter which eventually led to a 26-20 overtime loss in its season opener at Alabama State Saturday evening inside ASU Stadium in the annual Labor Day Classic. In game that TU never trailed, Hornets quarterback Darryl Pearson scored on nine-yard touchdown run with 5:09 left to play in regulation forcing OT.

It only took the The Golden Tigers 2:56 seconds to get on the scored board opening the game with an 8 play 65 yard drive capped off by a 13 yard Justice Owens TD run.  TU would hold onto the lead until the second quarter when ASU responded with a score of its own, a 68 yard completion to Tyrek Allen to tie the game at 7-7. In the same quarter, Jamarcus Ezell found Kenny Gant on a 35 yard touchdown pass give TU the lead back 13-7. The PAT failed.

The Golden Tigers dominated offensively generating 482 yards of total offense while holding Bama State to 292 yards. Ezell completed 13-of-19 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw a pair of interceptions. Niko McMillan led TU with five tackles including 1.5 TFL, Ricky Norris chipped in 4.5 tackles while Kahlil Gray added four stops of his own. Peyton Ramzy finished with a team-high 60 yards receiving while Kenny Gant and Steven Hodges added 41 and 31 yards receiving respectively. 

Skegee finished with 273 yards rushing with Owens leading the way with 12 carries for 97 yards and one touchdown while Gant rushed ror 81 yards on 22 carries. Freshmen Taurean Taylor carried the ball four times for 32 yards and one touchdown.

With the game tied at 13-13 in the third quarter, TU's Taylor scored on a 15-yard scamper capping off an 8-play 83 yard drive giving the Golden Tigers a 20-13 leading into the fourth quarter. The biggest turn of events came with 9:37 left to play when it appeared as if Tuskegee was going to put the game away for good however, Ramzy fumbled just as he was crossing the goal line after hauling in a 65 yard catch the would have given the Golden Tigers a two-touchdown lead. The fumble was ruled a touchback which gave the Hornets hope. Person forced OT for ASU after his 9-yard quarterback keeper.

In overtime, Christian Clark blocked Huskic Arnes' 43-yard field goal attempt in OT which led to Ezra Gray's 30-yard run to seal the deal 26-20