Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Raiders riding momentum into conference opener
9/19/2016 2:32:00 PM | Football
Face LA Tech on Saturday for Blackout
MURFREESBORO - After a big 41-21 victory at Bowling Green in Week 3, Middle Tennessee (2-1) returns home Saturday to open conference play against Louisiana Tech (1-2).
The Blue Raiders are hoping to bring some key aspects into Saturday's matchup that they displayed last week. One thing they hope doesn't carry over is the wet and dreary weather conditions that plagued the game against Bowling Green.
"I'm really proud of our team, how they competed and how they played at Bowling Green against a really good football team and also some very difficult and adverse weather conditions," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said.
Against the Falcons, Middle Tennessee leaned on a heavy dose of its ground attack on offense led by redshirt senior running back I'Tavius Mathers (27 carries, 157 yards and three touchdowns).
Mathers also showed his multi-dimensional skill set by leading the team with 103 receiving yards and another score on four catches. He was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, alongside redshirt senior Shaquille Huff who was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week.
"Everybody knew that game was coming for him – he's been working hard and he was due for that one," redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill said.
The Blue Raiders hope Mathers can build off the momentum he gained against Bowling Green and have a good performance against a Bulldog defense that replaced eight starters from last year's team.
Last week against Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech struggled to contain the Red Raiders. The Bulldogs gave up 59 points and 666 total yards.
Though LA Tech has had to replace quite a bit of talent defensively and hasn't looked very good at times on that side of the ball, Coach Stockstill said they are better than they've shown against good competition. The Bulldogs have played two power five conference schools in Texas Tech and Arkansas.
"They had to replace a lot of people on their defense, but they signed or brought in a lot of graduate transfers," he said. "They replaced the guys they lost with some experience … it's a really good defense, in my opinion."
Louisiana Tech's defense isn't the only one that will have to step up on Saturday. Middle Tennessee's unit will also try to improve, most notably with its rush defense.
The Blue Raiders are giving up 209 yards per game on the ground compared to just 98.7 yards passing. Against Bowling Green they gave up 304 yards, but the Falcons took 61 carries to get there, good for a 5-yard average.
"I thought we did a nice job of not giving up big plays, explosive plays," Rick Stockstill said. "We have to do a better job of stopping the run than what we have the last couple of weeks."
MT's defense will go into Saturday riding momentum from shutting out the Falcons for more than two and half quarters in Week 3. After going up 21-14 with just over 13 minutes left in the second quarter, Bowling Green never scored again against the Blue Raiders.
"I feel like we have momentum on our side," junior linebacker DJ Sanders said. "We're feeling confident right now."
With both defenses showing some vulnerabilities so far this season, the game could be reminiscent of their last three matchups when the winning team scored over 40 points.
If a shootout occurs, Brent Stockstill said MT will have to keep away from scoreboard watching and focus on the actual gameplay.
"One thing [offensive coordinator Tony] Franklin always preaches is just don't watch the scoreboard," he said. "We just have to score one more point than the other team. I have great faith in our defense that they're going to come out and play a great game, but it's our job to score one more point than the other team, so that's what we're going to try and do."
No matter what kind of game shows up on the scoreboard, Coach Stockstill said he expects the game to be a fight for a full 60 minutes.
"They've got a really good football team," he said. "I expect a dog fight and a four-quarter game. We have to continue to improve ourselves and get ready for a good football team this weekend."
The Blue Raiders are hoping to bring some key aspects into Saturday's matchup that they displayed last week. One thing they hope doesn't carry over is the wet and dreary weather conditions that plagued the game against Bowling Green.
"I'm really proud of our team, how they competed and how they played at Bowling Green against a really good football team and also some very difficult and adverse weather conditions," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said.
Against the Falcons, Middle Tennessee leaned on a heavy dose of its ground attack on offense led by redshirt senior running back I'Tavius Mathers (27 carries, 157 yards and three touchdowns).
Mathers also showed his multi-dimensional skill set by leading the team with 103 receiving yards and another score on four catches. He was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, alongside redshirt senior Shaquille Huff who was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week.
"Everybody knew that game was coming for him – he's been working hard and he was due for that one," redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill said.
The Blue Raiders hope Mathers can build off the momentum he gained against Bowling Green and have a good performance against a Bulldog defense that replaced eight starters from last year's team.
Last week against Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech struggled to contain the Red Raiders. The Bulldogs gave up 59 points and 666 total yards.
Though LA Tech has had to replace quite a bit of talent defensively and hasn't looked very good at times on that side of the ball, Coach Stockstill said they are better than they've shown against good competition. The Bulldogs have played two power five conference schools in Texas Tech and Arkansas.
"They had to replace a lot of people on their defense, but they signed or brought in a lot of graduate transfers," he said. "They replaced the guys they lost with some experience … it's a really good defense, in my opinion."
Louisiana Tech's defense isn't the only one that will have to step up on Saturday. Middle Tennessee's unit will also try to improve, most notably with its rush defense.
The Blue Raiders are giving up 209 yards per game on the ground compared to just 98.7 yards passing. Against Bowling Green they gave up 304 yards, but the Falcons took 61 carries to get there, good for a 5-yard average.
"I thought we did a nice job of not giving up big plays, explosive plays," Rick Stockstill said. "We have to do a better job of stopping the run than what we have the last couple of weeks."
MT's defense will go into Saturday riding momentum from shutting out the Falcons for more than two and half quarters in Week 3. After going up 21-14 with just over 13 minutes left in the second quarter, Bowling Green never scored again against the Blue Raiders.
"I feel like we have momentum on our side," junior linebacker DJ Sanders said. "We're feeling confident right now."
With both defenses showing some vulnerabilities so far this season, the game could be reminiscent of their last three matchups when the winning team scored over 40 points.
If a shootout occurs, Brent Stockstill said MT will have to keep away from scoreboard watching and focus on the actual gameplay.
"One thing [offensive coordinator Tony] Franklin always preaches is just don't watch the scoreboard," he said. "We just have to score one more point than the other team. I have great faith in our defense that they're going to come out and play a great game, but it's our job to score one more point than the other team, so that's what we're going to try and do."
No matter what kind of game shows up on the scoreboard, Coach Stockstill said he expects the game to be a fight for a full 60 minutes.
"They've got a really good football team," he said. "I expect a dog fight and a four-quarter game. We have to continue to improve ourselves and get ready for a good football team this weekend."
Players Mentioned
A look back: 1965 and 1985 Undefeated Blue Raider Football Teams
Wednesday, September 17
MTSU Football at Nevada cinematic recap – 9/13/25
Tuesday, September 16
Derek Mason LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille Week 4 (Video)
Monday, September 15
MTSU Football Weekly Press Conference 9/15/25
Monday, September 15
