Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, October 18
Murfreesboro, TN
2:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
UAB
Raiders face UAB on Homecoming
10/17/2014 10:20:00 AM | Football
Kickoff set for 2:35 PM Saturday
MURFREESBORO – Coming off a tough game against powerful Marshall, Middle Tennessee's weary Raiders will face an Alabama-Birmingham team on Homecoming that has exceeded expectations so far this season.
Playing on their eighth consecutive weekend, three of the last four of which were on the road, MT will try to regroup for the last five games, a stretch drive that has become a trademark of Coach Rick Stockstill's teams over the years.
The first of the last five games will be Saturday afternoon at 2:30 PM on Horace Jones Field where the Blue Raiders (4-3 overall and 3-0 at home) will try to send the old grads home happy.
The game will be telecast live on Fox College Sports, as well as on the Blue Raider Network. Handling the play-by-play for BRN will be the Voice of the Blue Raiders, Chip Walters, with Dennis Burke providing expert analysis.
UAB has been one of the surprise teams in Conference USA this season under first-year coach Bill Clark. Picked to finish in the lower echelon of the league, the Blazers have won their last two games, and now trail MT in the C-USA's Eastern Division by half a game. After a loss to FIU at the end of September, the Blazers have come alive, beating Western Kentucky 42-39 in Bowling Green, then crushing North Texas, 56-21, this past weekend.
Quarterback Cody Clements has been the leader of the Blazers offensive explosion that has already topped 40 points four times this season. Against North Texas, Clements connected on 17 of 22 passes, for 316 yards and two touchdowns.
Clements ranks 4th in the country in completion percentage, and is 9th nationally in passing efficiency.
Not to be outdone, the Blazer defense scored three touchdowns against North Texas. This is not the same UAB team that the Blue Raiders edged 24-21 last fall in Birmingham. It is a much better team this year.
Blue Raider Head Coach Rick Stockstill, in his weekly press conference, called UAB a much improved team over last year.
"They are 2-1 in the conference, and are playing really well right now. They are coming off of a win at Western Kentucky and a win over North Texas when they played extremely well. When they lost to FIU, it was because they turned the ball over a bunch.
"They are a lot faster than they were last year, and more balanced. They are coming in here with a lot of confidence. They are well-coached, they play hard, and they are sound in all phases of the game.
"There is a lot at stake for both teams on Saturday. I know we will get their best effort, and they will get ours as well."
For the Blue Raiders, it will be their eighth consecutive game without a week off to rest and get healthy. MT is one of just 14 FBS programs playing this week who have not yet enjoyed a bye.
"I can't remember playing eight consecutive games without a week off at some point during that stretch," recalled offensive tackle Isaiah Anderson. "I know we will be ready for a break after this game the following weekend, before we play BYU here. We need to rest and give some of our guys a chance to heal some nagging injuries."
UAB will be making their second appearance in Murfreesboro, and their first since both teams became members of Conference USA. In last year's game in Birmingham, Middle Tennessee had to score 17 points in the last quarter to edge the Blazers 24-21.
Cody Clark's 18-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the game earned the win for MT. The Raiders reeled off three more wins without a loss to close the season with a flourish.
The win streak to end the regular season gained a berth in the Military Bowl in Dallas for MT, where the Midshipmen, with Roger Staubach looking on, cruised to a 24-6 win.
While it is too early and too premature to begin even thinking about the possibilities of a post-season appearance, a win over UAB would be a huge bargaining chip in the process of assigning teams to bowls that are affiliated with Conference USA.
MT is 4-3 overall, with a mark of 3-1 in league play. In addition to UAB, the Blue Raiders will have three more C-USA games remaining after the home game with BYU on November 1st. They will play at FIU, host FAU and then travel to UTEP to close the regular season.
Saturday's game will be the highlight of Homecoming activities for MT, which will feature the annual homecoming parade on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM, plus a host of other activities, including tours of the new $147 million Science Building that just opened.
The MTSU Alumni Association will host a parade-watching party at their headquarters on Middle Tennessee Blvd., right across the street from the President's home.
Playing on their eighth consecutive weekend, three of the last four of which were on the road, MT will try to regroup for the last five games, a stretch drive that has become a trademark of Coach Rick Stockstill's teams over the years.
The first of the last five games will be Saturday afternoon at 2:30 PM on Horace Jones Field where the Blue Raiders (4-3 overall and 3-0 at home) will try to send the old grads home happy.
The game will be telecast live on Fox College Sports, as well as on the Blue Raider Network. Handling the play-by-play for BRN will be the Voice of the Blue Raiders, Chip Walters, with Dennis Burke providing expert analysis.
UAB has been one of the surprise teams in Conference USA this season under first-year coach Bill Clark. Picked to finish in the lower echelon of the league, the Blazers have won their last two games, and now trail MT in the C-USA's Eastern Division by half a game. After a loss to FIU at the end of September, the Blazers have come alive, beating Western Kentucky 42-39 in Bowling Green, then crushing North Texas, 56-21, this past weekend.
Quarterback Cody Clements has been the leader of the Blazers offensive explosion that has already topped 40 points four times this season. Against North Texas, Clements connected on 17 of 22 passes, for 316 yards and two touchdowns.
Clements ranks 4th in the country in completion percentage, and is 9th nationally in passing efficiency.
Not to be outdone, the Blazer defense scored three touchdowns against North Texas. This is not the same UAB team that the Blue Raiders edged 24-21 last fall in Birmingham. It is a much better team this year.
Blue Raider Head Coach Rick Stockstill, in his weekly press conference, called UAB a much improved team over last year.
"They are 2-1 in the conference, and are playing really well right now. They are coming off of a win at Western Kentucky and a win over North Texas when they played extremely well. When they lost to FIU, it was because they turned the ball over a bunch.
"They are a lot faster than they were last year, and more balanced. They are coming in here with a lot of confidence. They are well-coached, they play hard, and they are sound in all phases of the game.
"There is a lot at stake for both teams on Saturday. I know we will get their best effort, and they will get ours as well."
For the Blue Raiders, it will be their eighth consecutive game without a week off to rest and get healthy. MT is one of just 14 FBS programs playing this week who have not yet enjoyed a bye.
"I can't remember playing eight consecutive games without a week off at some point during that stretch," recalled offensive tackle Isaiah Anderson. "I know we will be ready for a break after this game the following weekend, before we play BYU here. We need to rest and give some of our guys a chance to heal some nagging injuries."
UAB will be making their second appearance in Murfreesboro, and their first since both teams became members of Conference USA. In last year's game in Birmingham, Middle Tennessee had to score 17 points in the last quarter to edge the Blazers 24-21.
Cody Clark's 18-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the game earned the win for MT. The Raiders reeled off three more wins without a loss to close the season with a flourish.
The win streak to end the regular season gained a berth in the Military Bowl in Dallas for MT, where the Midshipmen, with Roger Staubach looking on, cruised to a 24-6 win.
While it is too early and too premature to begin even thinking about the possibilities of a post-season appearance, a win over UAB would be a huge bargaining chip in the process of assigning teams to bowls that are affiliated with Conference USA.
MT is 4-3 overall, with a mark of 3-1 in league play. In addition to UAB, the Blue Raiders will have three more C-USA games remaining after the home game with BYU on November 1st. They will play at FIU, host FAU and then travel to UTEP to close the regular season.
Saturday's game will be the highlight of Homecoming activities for MT, which will feature the annual homecoming parade on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM, plus a host of other activities, including tours of the new $147 million Science Building that just opened.
The MTSU Alumni Association will host a parade-watching party at their headquarters on Middle Tennessee Blvd., right across the street from the President's home.
Players Mentioned
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