Blue Raiders Meet Aggies in Key SBC Matchup

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After a five-game win streak that saw the Blue Raiders race up and down the gridiron, light up scoreboards, post offensive numbers that ranked among the nations highest, and generally have their way with the opposition, the sky-high crew from Middle Tennessee has come back to earth. The Blue Raiders enter this weekend's contest against New Mexico State on a two-game skid that has seen them drop games to North Texas and Ole Miss. To make things even more challenging for MT, the Aggies come into this weekend's game as the hottest team in the Sun Belt Conference bringing with them perhaps the most potent weapon of all - momentum. After dropping contests to such national powers as Texas, Oregon State and Kansas State, the Aggies bring a three-game win streak to Murfreesboro and a perfect record in the conference. They've also had a week to prepare for their visit to Murfreesboro following a 46-39 victory over Idaho on Oct. 13. "They are coming in here undefeated in the conference," reiterated MT head coach Andy McCollum, whose team was picked as this year's conference champion. "They are in the driver's seat, and in first place. It's a big challenge for us, but we're looking forward to it." They are also looking forward to being back at home. The road was certainly not kind to the Blue Raiders. Thankfully, however, Floyd Stadium has become to Middle Tennessee what "The Swamp" is to Florida. Under McCollum, the Blue Raiders are 10-2 at home, with a current 8-game win streak are averaging an unbelievable 62.0 points per game this season. It's going to take the typical MT point production to put a halt to what has become a rather proficient Aggie offensive machine. Led by senior quarterback K.C. Enzminger, New Mexico State piles up the numbers through the air and on the ground. Fullback Keon Johnson and tailback Kenton Keith are heavily called upon weapons. Throughout his career, Enzminger has been responsible for 37 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing TD's. "The offense starts with him," said McCollum of this weekend's opposing quarterback. "He's a great player and makes things happen. He's very elusive and they like him running the ball. He does some great things for their football team." Like help his team score 22 points in the fourth quarter which the Aggies did two weeks ago in their victory over Idaho. Defensively, New Mexico State, who will be making their first appearance against MT and has never played a game this late in the season east of the Mississippi River, is playing take-away at an alarming rate. Against the Vandals, the Aggies forced six turnovers, intercepting five passes and recovering a fumble. Their defense is ranked first in the Sun Belt in creating turnovers. The Blue Raiders will have to be aware of that as they have not taken good care of the football during the previous two games. But there could be a new wrinkle to the MT offensive package this week. Quarterback Jason Johnson logged time against Ole Miss last weekend with some success, throwing a touchdown pass. McCollum mentioned that both he and starter Wes Counts will likely see plenty of playing time. "The one that gives us the best chance to win will be in the game, which has always been the case at Middle Tennessee," McCollum said. That may be the case, but New Mexico State head coach Tony Samuel is preparing for the potential one-two Blue Raider punch. "They are both very mobile," he said. "The quarterbacks do a lot of things similar. The main preparation will come down to what their offense does. They do a great job with their no-huddle offense and they give you a lot of looks." The big picture however, is that MT needs this contest if it is to secure any hopes of taking the inaugural Sun Belt crown and playing in the Dec. 18 New Orleans Bowl. With a 3-1 mark in the SBC, the Blue Raiders find themselves in a must-win situation. "This is big," said McCollum. "We need an edge and I would hope we could get the stadium loud and full of fans for this game. We have two more conference opportunities and this is the first one. We have back-to-back games here. We've got to do our job on the field, but it would be nice to come into the stadium on Saturday after being on the road so long and have an atmosphere like we had at Ole Miss. That was a sell-out crowd and a great atmosphere for their team. We had a great following there and it was exciting to see so many Blue Raider fans in attendance. It would be great to see a stadium full of Blue on Saturday." Kickoff is scheduled for 2 PM.

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Players Mentioned

Wes Counts

Jason Johnson

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics