Raiders, Monarchs set for Friday night

Friday, September 26

Norfolk, VA

7:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Old Dominion

Photo by: Kaitlyn Hungerford/MT Athletic Communications

9/25/2014 6:00:00 AM | Football

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By: @MTAthletics

NORFOLK - Middle Tennessee's (2-2) football team hopes that a short week and a change of scenery might be what are needed to erase last week's loss at Memphis as the Blue Raiders go on the road to face Old Dominion.

Game Time is 7:00 PM CDT (8 PM EDT), and the game will be televised live on Fox Sports One. Locally, it will also be broadcast over the Blue Raider Network with veteran Voice of the Blue Raiders, Chip Walters, describing the action, and former MT linebacker Dennis Burke providing color commentary.

This will be the first trip to Norfolk for Middle Tennessee, but Coach Rick Stockstill has already given his team a report on what to expect. This is only the sixth year of football for Old Dominion, but will be the 38^th consecutive sellout for the fledgling program. It is also the first Friday night game in ODU history.

Stockstill was very impressed by what he has seen of ODU senior quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

"He will be awfully hard to stop. Not a lot of people have had any success stopping him in his four years at ODU," pointed out Stockstill. "We will need to get a lot of pressure on him, keep the ball in front of us, and not give up the explosion plays that he is so capable of making."

Heinicke, who passed for 4,022 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior, torched defending Conference USA champion Rice last week, passing for 430 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 36 more yards and a touchdown in the Monarch's 45-42 win.

Middle Tennessee will counter with sophomore quarterback Austin Grammer, and the league's best stable of running backs in Jordan Parker, Reggie Whatley, Shane Tucker and Jeremiah Bryson. For Parker and ODU's Heinicke, it will be a reunion. Both played football at Collin's High School in Suwanee, Ga.

Grammer continues to impress as he gains valuable experience. While he does not have the same number of snaps under his belt as does his Old Dominion counter-part, Grammer will, nevertheless, be a major factor in the game.

The 6-2, 204-pound Grammer is faster than he might appear to the average fan because of his size. His touchdown run of 59 yards in the triple overtime win over Conference USA rival Western Kentucky (one of three that he scored in that game) verifies that. For the season, Grammer is second on the team in rushing with 160 yards on 43 carries. His yardage is second only to Whatley's 264 yards.

Grammer has also completed 78 of 118 passes for 960 yards and three touchdowns, with a passing efficiency rating of 231.2.

Defensively, the Blue Raiders are led by linebackers T.T. Barber and Trey Wafford. Barber, an All-Conference USA performer, is the team's leading tackler with 36 total tackles (23 solo tackles and 13 assists.).

Offensively, Stockstill stated that the Blue Raider running game was not where it needed to be.

"Give Memphis credit because they did a great job of stopping our running game, and they did a great job last year as well. We struggled at Memphis, especially in the first three quarters. We only had 88 yards on 34 carries.

"They had us backed up the whole time. We have got to stay on blocks better. We have to give our running backs and our offensive line a chance to execute better from a coaching standpoint."

Senior offensive tackle Isaiah Anderson echoed Stockstill's diagnosis of the problem in the running game, and pointed out that the one less day to prepare for Old Dominion would only compound the problem.

"I think we have to be more focused. We have one less day to prepare this week, and we have to be more mature as a team," said Anderson. "Like Coach Stock said, you have to take care of your body, you have to get in the film room, and you have to study more. I think that is the biggest thing. We just have to be more mature players in situations like this."

Anderson believes that his team in general and the offensive linemen in particular, "will have to lock in. Memphis was a really good team, and their defensive front was as good as we'll play all year long."

"But we just have to focus on the little things, and I think we'll be fine."

Anderson likes the idea of playing on Friday night in some respects.

"For one thing, there is only one game on TV on Friday night, so a lot of folks are watching you. I think it's going to be a big-time game. Old Dominion has a good team. We haven't been there for a game, so it's going to be fun."

For Old Dominion, it will be the first Friday night game in school history. It is also "White-Out" Night for the Monarchs and their fans.