Two days after his father died, Tennessee State football coach Reggie Barlow celebrated his 100th career win and the Tigers' second win of the 2026 season.

TSU rallied in the third quarter and then pulled away from Morgan State for a 25-16 homecoming victory at Nissan Stadium in front of 11,347 fans on Oct. 17.

Barlow's father, Clemmon Barlow Jr., a longtime on-air radio disc jockey also known as "Spider Man," was 78 when he died. After back-to-back third-quarter scores put TSU up 25-16, some of the Tigers' players started flashing the iconic Spider-Man web-shooting hand gesture.

"I lost my dad a night ago, and our guys knew that was tough on me, so I appreciate the way that they rallied around me throughout that time and, of course, in today's game," Barlow said. "You might have seen the guys doing the Spider-Man sign out there, but I had to stop them because I didn't want to get a penalty or anything like that."

Barlow, in his second season at TSU (2-5), entered the game against Morgan State (5-2) with 99 career victories on the college and professional (UFL) levels.

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"I think we hit 100 wins as a coach and to do it on a day like today, homecoming after losing my pops, it was just really big," Barlow said. "It was a big win for our program, a signature win against a really good team, so I'm definitely proud of them."

TSU took care of the football

TSU had blown second-half leads in three games — UT Martin (Oct. 10), Western Illinois (Oct. 3) and Jackson State (Aug. 29) — and lost each one.

Late-game turnovers were usually to blame, and that's why Barlow and his staff put an extra emphasis on ball protection in practice this week.

What did Barlow say to his players about the importance of holding on to the ball?

"I don't know if I can say those words in public," he said. "Obviously, we preach it. (Offensive coordinator Matt) Leone and the offensive staff does ball security drills at the beginning of every practice. Obviously, with the quarterback (Daylin Lee), he knew he had to do a better job of taking care of the ball."

Lee threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in the last game against UT Martin. He threw two interceptions the week before against Western Illinois. In the Morgan State game, Lee completed 17-of-34 passes for 220 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for a team-high 63 yards.

"I just tried to be smart with the ball and play our game," Lee said. "I put a lot of emphasis on taking care of the ball, running it and throwing it."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSU football coach Reggie Barlow gets 'signature' win, two days after father's death

Source: Yahoo Sports