Justin Swift reached out and snagged the interception, changing the complexion of the game in an instant.
Less than a minute into the second half, the Southeast Missouri State linebacker hauled in an under thrown pass near the goal line, and the offense did the rest, driving down the field for a touchdown and a 17-point lead.
Before Swift's pick, Tennessee State had a chance to the cut the lead to single digits after a long run set them up inside the SEMO 10-yard line. Instead, the Tigers never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way as No. 24 SEMO cruised to a 38-21 win over the Tigers in front of 3,481 fans at Houck Field on Saturday.
"That was the sequence that turned the game," Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said. "That's basically a 14-point swing."
SEMO (7-2, 5-1 Ohio Valley Conference) extended its winning streak to five as TSU (3-4, 2-3) suffered its fourth loss in the last five games.
Marquis Terry rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown, eclipsing 1,000 yards on the year with two regular-season games left. The senior now has over 2,000 yards in his Division I career after spending his first two years at a junior college.
Kristian Wilkerson had three touchdowns and 129 yards on eight receptions, his second straight multi-touchdown and 100-yard plus game, and Daniel Sancaterina threw for 306 yards and four scores.
TSU came in averaging 33 points a game, third in the conference, and moved the ball with 508 yards of offense, but SEMO held them to 21 points on five red-zone trips.
"We had a rough start to the season," Hall said of the defense. "But we're starting to come along as far as takeaways and getting off the field."