Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
4-2 , 3-0
Southern Miss
2-4 , 0-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USM | 3 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 31 |
| Middle Tennessee | 10 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 37 |
Team Stats
USM 0, MT 3
MT - CLARK, Cody 40 yd field goal 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 1:43
USM 3, MT 3
USM - ACOSTA, Corey 25 yd field goal 6 plays, 16 yards, TOP 1:48
USM 3, MT 10
MT - TUCKER, Shane 1 yd run (CLARK, Cody kick), 4 plays, 36 yards, TOP 0:55
USM 9, MT 10
USM - PAYNE, George 1 yd run (ACOSTA, Corey kickblocked), 10 plays, 72 yards, TOP 3:21
USM 9, MT 17
MT - PETTIS, Terry 59 yd pass from GRAMMER, Austin (CLARK, Cody kick) 1 plays, 59 yards, TOP 0:19
USM 9, MT 24
MT - TUCKER, Shane 44 yd run (CLARK, Cody kick), 4 plays, 86 yards, TOP 1:31
USM 12, MT 24
USM - ACOSTA, Corey 26 yd field goal 10 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:49
USM 12, MT 31
MT - CLARKE, Devin 33 yd pass from GRAMMER, Austin (CLARK, Cody kick) 13 plays, 93 yards, TOP 6:05
USM 18, MT 31
USM - THOMAS, Michael 17 yd pass from MULLENS, Nick (MULLENS, Nick passfailed) 7 plays, 92 yards, TOP 2:19
USM 18, MT 37
MT - WHATLEY, Reggie 64 yd run (FRAZIER, D. passfailed), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:26
USM 24, MT 37
USM - THOMAS, Michael 17 yd pass from MULLENS, Nick (MULLENS, Nick passfailed) 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:32
USM 31, MT 37
USM - RICARD, M. 8 yd pass from MULLENS, Nick (ACOSTA, Corey kick) 13 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:13
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
MT stays on top in C-USA
10/4/2014 3:04:00 PM | Football
Blue Raiders top Southern Miss, 37-31
MT improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in C-USA, while USM dropped to 2-4, 0-2.
Grammer completed 21-of-26 passes for a career-high 332 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Blue Raiders' offense, which piled up 583 yards. That total represents the sixth-most offensive yards under Head Coach Rick Stockstill.
Shane Tucker led MT with six receptions for 78 yards, while Devin Clarke finished with four receptions for 106 yards and a score. Ed'Marques Batties had five receptions.
While the Blue Raiders were effective in their passing game, they also enjoyed success on the ground. MT finished with 239 yards rushing on 39 carries. Reggie Whatley led the way with 100 yards on 10 carries, including a touchdown, while Shane Tucker added 60 yards on five carries and two touchdowns behind a Blue Raider offensive line that was dominant up front.
Starting linemen Darius Johnson, Adam Stickel, Daniel Stephens, Josh Chester and Isaiah Anderson established themselves early in the game, giving Grammer ample protection and paving the way for a consistent ground attack.
Whatley also had a strong day in the return game with two returns for 84 yards. Both returns set up Blue Raider scores.
Middle Tennessee's defense gave up 537 yards total offense but the unit stiffened when needed and didn't allow Southern Miss to finish drives. Christian Henry and Xavier Walker led MT with nine tackles each. Jared Singletary, Trey Wafford and Cavellis Luckett all had seven tackles. Kevin Byard had an interception and a blocked extra point attempt for MT.
MT led 24-12 at the half. After a scoreless third quarter, the Blue Raiders scored a big insurance touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Grammer connected with Clarke for a 33-yard touchdown strike. Cody Clark's extra point provided Middle Tennessee with a 31-12 lead early in the fourth stanza. The scoring drive covered 93 yards in 13 plays and took 6:05 off of the clock. It was Clarke's first touchdown of the season.
The Grammer to Clarke connection proved even bigger when USM took the following drive and went 92 yards in seven plays and scored when Nick Mullens connected with Michael Thomas for a touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed and Middle Tennessee held on to a 31-18 lead with 10:07 remaining.
Whatley set up two Blue Raider scores with exceptional kickoff returns but he got into the scoring act himself with a long run in the fourth quarter. Whatley scored on a 64-yard scamper as he blew past the Golden Eagle defense and went untouched down the left sideline. It equaled the longest run of Whatley's career and staked the Blue Raiders to a 37-18 lead midway through the final quarter.
Southern Miss would not go quietly. Mullens threw another touchdown to Thomas on the following possession. The 2-point conversion failed and Middle Tennessee maintained its lead, 37-24, with 7:09 remaining.
The Golden Eagles added a late touchdown but the onside kick attempt went out of bounds and Middle Tennessee secured the victory.
Middle Tennessee led throughout the first half but the game was up for grabs into the second half.
Middle Tennessee controlled the first half despite allowing 253 yards total offense to Southern Miss. The Blue Raiders grabbed a 24-12 halftime lead because of a consistent offensive attack and a defense that may have allowed some yards but it also stood tall at the most opportune times.
The Blue Raiders recovered a fumble and hauled in an interception to halt two drives and hold Southern Miss at bay. Middle Tennessee also blocked an extra point in the opening half.
Grammer was sharp from the outset. He completed 8-of-10 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in the first half. His play was complimented by the ground attack of Shane Tucker, Reggie Whatley and Jordan Parker, who combined for 80 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground.
Middle Tennessee never trailed in the game. After holding the Golden Eagles to three-and-out on their opening possession, Middle Tennessee received the ball on the Southern Miss 24 following a 7-yard punt by Tyler Sarrazin.
The Blue Raiders took advantage of the good field position and went on top 3-0 following Cody Clark's 40-yard field goal with 11:36 remaining in the first quarter.
Corey Acosta answered with a 25-yard field goal to tie the game, 3-3, late in the first quarter but the Blue Raiders quickly regained the lead for good. Tucker's first touchdown of the afternoon capped a four-play, 36-yard drive. Reggie Whatley set the Blue Raiders up in great starting field position with a 59-yard kickoff return to the Golden Eagle 36.
Tucker was involved in all four plays on the scoring drive. He caught a 17-yard pass from Grammer, threw a 12-yard pass to Grammer and had two running plays, including a 1-yard touchdown run. Tucker's pass completion was the first of his career. Clark's extra point pushed the lead to 10-3 with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter.
It appeared Southern Miss was on the verge of tying the score after George Payne scored on a 1-yard run with 14:22 remaining in the first half, but Kevin Byard blocked the extra point attempt and the Blue Raiders held on to a 10-9 lead. Byard also had an interception in the first half to turn back the Golden Eagles. Byard hauled in the interception at the Blue Raider 1 to curtail the drive. It was Byard's 13th career interception and fourth of the season.
Middle Tennessee needed just one play to score after the Golden Eagles had closed to within 10-9. Once again, Whatley had a strong return to give Middle Tennessee possession at their 41. On the first play from scrimmage, Grammer connected with Terry Pettis for a 59-yard touchdown pass. Clark added the point after to extend the lead to 17-9 with 14:03 remaining in the half.
Another big play and quick scoring drive aided the Blue Raiders' cause late in the half. Tucker picked up his second touchdown of the half when he burst through the line and went 44 yards untouched for the score. Clark's kick gave Middle Tennessee a 24-9 lead with 5:12 remaining.
Acosta added a 26-yard field goal to pull the Golden Eagles to within 24-12 just before halftime.
First place in the C-USA standings will be on the line when Middle Tennessee travels to Marshall Saturday.
MT POSTGAME NOTES
CAPTAINS: Today's game captains were WR Chris Perkins, LB Cavellis Luckett, WR Marcus Henry.
BYARD WITH 13TH: Junior Kevin Byard stopped an early USM scoring drive with his team-leading fourth interception of the season. Byard ran his career total to 13 which ties him with Don Griffin for fourth place on the MT all-time list. Byard needs four more to tie James Griffin for the career record of 17.
SCORING MACHINE: RB Shane Tucker definitely has a nose for the endzone. With his two touchdown runs today against USM, Tucker has now scored 13 touchdowns in 11 career games played. He has 11 on the ground and two through the air. Also, the sophomore has scored at least one TD in eight of his last nine regular season games.
BLOCKED KICKS: Middle Tennessee registered its fourth blocked kick of the season when Kevin Byard rejected an extra point attempt in the second quarter. It was the first career blocked kick for Byard. The Blue Raiders have two blocked field goals, a blocked punt and now a blocked PAT on the season. Under Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders have now blocked 32 kicks in 106 games (16 FGs, 12 punts, 4 PATs).
DOUBLE NICKEL: Today's win over Southern Miss was win No. 55 for Head Coach Rick Stockstill. Stockstill, MT's third all-time winningest coach, also picked up his 41st conference win and his ninth C-USA victory.
TUCKER SETS MARK: RB Shane Tucker set a new personal-best in receptions by hauling in six passes for 78 yards against USM. Tucker leads all MT backs with 15 receptions on the season.
GRAMMER 6 IN A ROW: QB Austin Grammer topped the 200-yard passing mark for the sixth straight time this season with 332 yards against Southern Miss. Grammer's six consecutive 200-yard passing games shares the FBS record for Middle Tennessee with Clint Marks who accomplished the feat in 2004.
90-YARD DRIVES: Middle Tennessee recorded its second 90-plus yard drive of the season when it went 93 yards in 13 plays against Southern Miss. It went down as the second longest of the season (95 vs SSU) and was the 18th under Rick Stockstill. The 93 yarder equaled the 13th longest drive under Stockstill.
GRAMMER CAREER HIGH: QB Austin Grammer enjoyed a career day against the Golden Eagles. Grammer threw for 332 yards which is a career high and marked the first time the quarterback has surpassed the 300-yard mark. Grammer was 21-of-26 for 332 yards and two touchdowns. Over the last two games, Grammer has completed 46-of-56 passes.
QUICK HITTERS: MT won the coin toss for the fifth straight game … RB Shane Tucker attempted and completed the first pass of his career today when he hit QB Austin Grammer … OL Jonah Sells made his first collegiate start today at center … Shubert Bastien, Christian Henry and Leighton Gasque played in their team leading 43rd career game today… Isaiah Anderson, Kevin Byard and Darius Johnson all made their 31st straight start to lead the Raiders … WR Marcus Henry has now caught at least one pass in 19 straight games which leads the Raiders … WR Terry Pettis scored the first touchdown of his career when he hauled in a 59-yard pass from Austin Grammer in the second quarter … DT Pat McNeil registered his third career sack … Christian Henry had his first career fumble recovery in the second quarter … Reggie Whatley's 64-yard touchdown run matched the longest run of his career … Whatley registered the fourth 100-yard rushing game of his career … MT had 583 yards total offense against USM. It represents the sixth highest offensive output under Rick Stockstill.
MT POSTGAME QUOTES
Coach Stock
On 3-0 start in C-USA play
"Getting a win was the objective coming in. I'm really proud of our team. We were really good, I thought, at times and then other times I don't think we played as efficiently as we need to. I thought our defense played really physical, we knocked a bunch of balls loose. There were several situations where we held them to field goals. We played a little softer in the fourth quarter. Probably played too soft and it gave them some scores then. Offensively in the first half we didn't have many at-bats there. I think we had maybe 23 plays and a couple of possessions. We weren't very good, but at times we played really well. Overall I'm really proud of our team. I wish we could've put them away a little better. We had a lot of guys get hurt and a lot of guys who didn't play because of injuries. So we were down 3 lineman in the fourth quarter and also a couple cornerbacks too. We have to get healthy real quick here down the stretch."
On players getting hurt
"Shane (Tucker) got hurt and had to come out. He was playing really well. And Austin (Grammer) was able to finish but he's okay. Somebody just stepped on his toe on the kneel to finish the game."
On defensive and special teams performance
"We came with some pressure. He got the ball out really quick. They did a nice job with routes. You got to give them credit even though sometimes we didn't execute as well as we'd like to on defense, but the bottom line is we won and I'm extremely happy about that as we sit here at 4-2 and 3-0 in our conference. I told our team to enjoy this because this was a good football team that we beat this afternoon. I thought we played good in the kicking game other than the first punt. We didn't cover kickoffs as good in the first half. It's hard to win football games but we did what we needed to do to win it. I'm proud of this football team."
On injuries to the offensive line and defensive secondary
"Jonah Sells started for the first time in his career. Daniel Stephens got hurt in practice and wasn't able to go. Then David Adams got hurt and had to come out. Then (Adam Stickel) got hurt in the fourth quarter and had to come out so we were down 3 lineman right there. Pat Hughes did a good job filling in for those guys. Chris Sharpe is still down. Khari Burke is still hurt and didn't play. Then Jamarcus Howard gets hurt in the first quarter, so we were down 3 corners before the first quarter was even over. I thought Alex Dale got in there and did an okay job. He had a chance for an interception on that last drive but we did a good job of keeping the ball in front of them. I thought we tackled really well and were very physical defensively. We made it too easy the last two possessions and have to get a little better from that standpoint."
On Marshall game and early start time
"It's going to be a heck of a challenge and we look forward to going up there to play. I thought our players did a great job of handling this early start. You get up at 6:30 for pregame meal and that was the first time in a while for that. You have to create your own energy for this one and I thought our guys did it. At least we'll be on Eastern Time next week."
Kevin Byard
On team win vs Southern Miss
"It was a great win. Southern Miss is definitely an improved team from last year. We knew it was going to be a fourth quarter game and it was a great win. We competed the entire game. I was really proud of the offense today. Grammer played well, the offensive line blocked well, and the running backs just picked their holes."
On defensive effort
"We really have to start finishing games with the defense more. The small stuff adds up. But I'm proud of our effort today. We laid some hits today and I'm proud our defense."
On getting another interception
"It's a great testament to the coaches and we're just going to keep fighting and keep playing hard and making plays. Let James (Griffin) know I'm coming for the 17!"
Austin Grammer
On first 300 yard game
"It feels great. They handed me the stat sheet and I thought I was around 250 again because when I'm out there I really don't think about it, I just go out and have fun, but when I saw 332 I just thought it was crazy. My dad always harps on me all the time saying "When are you getting your 300?" so now I can say I got one. I wouldn't mind having -100 yards as long as we win. I love this team."
On offensive domination in the third quarter
"We came out with a great mindset to run the ball and press the tempo. When we do that we're a great team and it's hard to stop us. Later on the Terry (Pettis) touchdown, we weren't even using him as a read. He was supposed to be a pick guy and then it kind of worked out so he was wide open. And for Devin (Clarke)'s I was so happy for him because he's such a hard worker. It was funny because I told him prior to the play that it was his if he won the battle on the line of scrimmage."
On getting hurt and the offensive line's injury
"I'm fine, I just took a couple hits. People don't realize that was a great defensive line for Southern Miss and I thought my o-line did a great job. Jonah Sells did absolutely fabulous and David Adams had to play a lot. I thought those guys did fantastic as a unit."
