On Thursday the Tusculum College Pioneers established two NCAA football defensive records by holding the College of Faith in Greeneville, Tennessee, to minus 100 total yards and minus-124 yards rushing.
During the Pioneers 71-0 rout of the Saints they also tied a NCAA Division-II record by scoring three times on safeties. The Pioneers offense generated the fourth highest single-game points total in the school’s history.
ESPN reported that Tusculum (1-0) smashed the previous defensive record for fewest total yards allowed of minus-69, set by Division II school Fort Valley State against Miles in 1993. The Saints managed to average only -2.0 yards per play against the stingy Pioneers defense.
Not everything was negative for Faith (0-2) thanks to quarterback Travis Singleton, who was able to complete 7 of his 12 passes for a plus 24 yards.
The day went quite a bit better for Singleton’s counterpart. In his collegiate debut, red-shirt freshman quarterback Malcolm Pendergrass went 9-for-14 for 96 yards and passed for three touchdowns in the first half.
The College of Faith knew it was in for a long day after the first kickoff of the game when Tusculum’s Justin Houston ran it back 65 yards for a touchdown. The Saints were down by 23-0 after the first six minutes of play.