Tennessee State opens the 2026 season against Jackson State on Saturday, Aug. 29, in the John A. Merritt Classic at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. The Week 0 matchup is set as a season debut for both teams, with kickoff listed for 7:30 p.m. and the game information block placing it at 7:32 PM CT.
The game gives Tennessee State a chance to start 0-0 against an opponent it has seen often. The Tigers own a 30-23-2 edge in the all-time series, but Jackson State won the most recent meeting in 2022, 16-3. The last time the programs met in Nashville, on Sept. 10, 1988, they played to a 26-26 tie at Hale Stadium.
This one also carries a home-game wrinkle that reaches back decades. The 2026 John A. Merritt Classic will be Tennessee State's first game at Vanderbilt as the designated home team since Aug. 31, 1996, giving the opener a setting that is familiar in name but rare in practice.
Tennessee State's offense will have a new face in charge. Daylin Lee takes over at quarterback after three seasons at Winston-Salem State, where he arrived with 55 career touchdown passes and 15 rushing scores. In 2025, he completed 149 of 238 passes for 2,046 yards and 23 touchdowns with seven interceptions, hit 62.6 percent of his throws and added 89 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Lee will have support around him. Zach Simmons-Brown appeared in all 12 games last season and ran 101 times for 456 yards and two touchdowns, while Brock Montgomery steps in as the starting Z-receiver after appearing in all 12 games with seven starts. That gives Tennessee State a proven base as it tries to open a new season cleanly against a Jackson State team that comes in after a 9-3 finish and a 7-1 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
The opener now comes down to a simple question that the standings cannot answer yet: whether Tennessee State can turn a rare FirstBank Stadium home date into an early statement, or whether Jackson State leaves Nashville with the first result that matters in 2026.
