Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, November 4
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
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University of Texas at El Paso
What to watch for against UTEP
11/3/2017 11:12:00 AM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – With a 3-5 overall record and 1-3 mark in Conference USA, Middle Tennessee is desperate for a turn of fate after its bye week.
That all starts Saturday, when the winless UTEP Miners (0-8, 0-4) make the trip to Murfreesboro to participate in MT's Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces game, co-sponsored by State Farm and Big O Tires of Murfreesboro.
HOW TO WATCH
Xfinity Comcast: 708
Direct TV: 620
Dish: 392
AT&T: 662 / 1662
"It's a great opportunity for us," head coach Rick Stockstill said at Monday's weekly press conference. "You can't win five games this Saturday, you can only win one. And that's got to be our mindset, that we're going to go out there and do whatever we can in preparation this week to get ready to play UTEP to find a way to get a win.
"I'm confident this team will go out and play really well this weekend."
Middle Tennessee fans may have thought at times this season the sky was falling around Floyd Stadium. But, they may want to count their blessings this weekend. The UTEP fans may have a little something to say about a lackluster season.
The Miners haven't won a ballgame, and after a Week 5 35-21 loss at Army fifth-year head coach Sean Kugler stepped down from his duties.
Mike Price, who was the head man at UTEP for nine seasons prior to Kugler's hiring in 2013, was rehired on an interim basis to finish the season.
While it may on the surface look like Middle Tennessee should roll through the Miners on its way to jumpstarting its season with four games left, Stockstill doesn't want his team to overlook UTEP.
"We can't overlook anybody," he said. "We're not good enough to overlook anybody. And that's what I told our team Sunday … you can look at records of anybody in any conference you play, anybody can beat anybody. This is a very even conference. You've got to play really well every Saturday to have a chance to win no matter who you play.
"So, I can promise you this team is hungry and they're not overlooking UTEP just because of their record."
Here's what to watch for on Saturday:
Who'll be the Blue Raider QB?
Redshirt sophomore John Urzua, who had been the starting quarterback since Week 3, will no longer be under center for Middle Tennessee. He suffered a concussion in the Blue Raiders' last game against Marshall, and after discussing his options with doctors, coaches and family, decided to end his career.
That means an opportunity could be available for redshirt freshman Kyle Banks, a North Paulding High School product out of Acworth, Georgia, to make his first collegiate start. It will all come down to whether or not redshirt junior Brent Stockstill, who owns several career school records including touchdown passes (65) and passing yards per game (296.7), is ready to suit up. He's been out since cracking his sternum in Week 2 against Syracuse, but an MRI this week showed he is progressing.
Banks, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander, has played in two games this season for Middle Tennessee, making late-game relief appearances for Urzua against Minnesota and Marshall. He's completed 6-of-11 passes for 49 yards.
Coming out of North Paulding, Banks was rated a three-star recruit by Scout and 247Sports. He threw for 6,211 yards and 61 touchdowns combined his junior and senior seasons, and he was also named a Georgia Brine National All-American in lacrosse his senior year.
UTEP bad on both sides of the ball
Thankfully for Banks for the Blue Raider offense, they'll face maybe the worst defense in C-USA on Saturday. The same could be said for MT's defense against the Miners' offense, also.
UTEP ranks last in the league in scoring offense (12.5 points per game), total offense (222.5 yards per game) and total defense (450.9 yards per game allowed) and 13th out of 14 teams in scoring defense (37 points per game allowed).
Offensively, Banks will likely lean on freshman running back Brad Anderson and sophomore receiver Ty Lee to help move the offense.
Anderson, who played sparingly the first three games, has come on strong in the Raiders' last five contests, racking up 392 rushing yards and 306 receiving yards over that span. Lee leads the team with 531 receiving yards and 43 receptions, and he and Anderson both have three receiving TDs apiece.
They'll have to be dynamic to help Banks in the passing game against the Miners' secondary, which may be the strong point of their defense.
"Their back-end, their secondary is good, their corners are long," Coach Stockstill said. "They do a lot of different things on defense."
Defensively, the Blue Raiders will have to find a way to be disruptive again, especially against the run.
After allowing just 85 yards rushing to FIU in Week 6, MT let UAB and Marshall the following two weeks go for 260 and 198 on the ground, respectively.
UTEP will likely want to keep the ball on the ground, since it is going through another change at quarterback this week. After starting four of the first five games, Ryan Metz gave way to Zack Greenlee the last three contests, but Metz will take back over Saturday.
It hasn't really mattered who's been under center for the Miners – they've been poor offensively either way. They currently rank 13th out of 14 teams in C-USA in rushing (86.6 yards per game) and passing (135.9 yards per game).
"Offensively, I think with the coaching change, they're still trying to find their identity a little bit," Coach Stockstill said. "I think they're going to hang their hat on trying to run the ball and come in here and try and make this a physical game. They will try to shorten the game with their running attack, so we've got to be really good both offensively as well as defensively of getting off the field and staying on the field."
Raider goals still attainable
A 3-5 record after eight games may not be what Middle Tennessee was hoping for this season with some pretty lofty expectations. However, a lot of the Blue Raiders' goals are still attainable with four games left in the regular season.
Mathematically, MT still isn't eliminated from the C-USA East Division race, though it would need almost a miracle to win the title. Getting to six wins to reach bowl eligibility for the ninth time in 12 years under Stockstill is more of a realistic goal for the Blue Raiders, and something he wants his players to understand is still very much reachable.
"We haven't reassessed [our goals]," he said. "A lot of our goals are still attainable. This team has done a good job of blocking out the outside noise, and there is no noise on the inside and that shows the resiliency and the toughness of this team."
Start of an easy road
If Middle Tennessee wants to get to six wins, it will have to show up against some of C-USA's worst teams to finish the season.
Three of the Blue Raiders remaining four opponents – UTEP, Charlotte and Old Dominion – have a combined 3-21 record this season. The other team is MT's rival WKU, which sports a 5-3 record.
MT says, "Thank you," to veterans and armed forces
Saturday's contest will be Middle Tennessee's 36th annual Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces game, co-sponsored by State Farm and Big O Tires of Murfreesboro.
Honorary captains for the game will be children from local organization A Soldiers' Child Foundation, which serves the children of military personnel who have lost their lives on active duty.
In honor of A Soldiers' Child, the Blue Raiders will wear a special stripe on their helmets that will include the names of the children's military parents who have lost their lives on active duty.
There will also be events all day on campus. A veteran's memorial service at the MTSU Veterans Memorial (in front of the Tom Jackson Building) will be at 2:30 p.m., and MTSU will honor one of its fallen alums, James Van Howard.
Following the memorial service, a picnic will be held for all veterans and active service members on the lawn of the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame Building at 4 p.m., and at 5 p.m., the Dr. Joe Nunley Award will be presented in a ceremony at the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame.
Following is a list of names that will appear on the helmets Saturday:
SSGT Jason Faley, USAF
CPL Isaac E. Diaz
LT Col Sean Roche
SSG Leston Winters
SSG Kevin T. Archer
SSG MUDD
SSG Franklin Wadsworth
SFC LUKE E HORTENSTINE
SGT Antonio Rivera
SGT Dustin Von Loh
TSGT Mark Smith
SFC Joseph Ferlicka
SSG Anthony Schmachtenberger
SFC Jeffrey Rada
SGT Wesley J Durden JR
SGT John T Good
SGT Daniel Eshbaugh
SGT Levi Gregory Johnson
LTC Hunter Lindsey, Army
SGT Jason Denfrund
LCPL James Kimple
SSG Matthew Mackey
HM3 Travis Youngblood
MSG Brian Naseman
SSG Christopher Popham
SGT Brandon Maggart
SFC Shawn Dostie
PO3 Micah Hill
WO1 Shawn Thomas
CPL Stephan B Ayala USMC
SSGT Ryan J Thomas
SFC Charles "Chuck" Adkins
SPC Cody Krajefska
SPC Christopher Wyatt McCullough
SSG Kirk A Owen
SPC Jordan C Schumann
TRAFFIC UPDATE: This weekend the TDOT contractor for the Bridge over Broad project in Murfreesboro is planning to close the intersection at Old Fort Parkway/Memorial and Broad for paving work. The intersection will be closed from Friday evening through early Monday morning. Please allow a little extra time to get to the game, and we recommend avoiding the Broad/Memorial intersection using N. Thompson Lane and Northfield Blvd or Rutherford Blvd.
That all starts Saturday, when the winless UTEP Miners (0-8, 0-4) make the trip to Murfreesboro to participate in MT's Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces game, co-sponsored by State Farm and Big O Tires of Murfreesboro.
HOW TO WATCH
Xfinity Comcast: 708
Direct TV: 620
Dish: 392
AT&T: 662 / 1662
"It's a great opportunity for us," head coach Rick Stockstill said at Monday's weekly press conference. "You can't win five games this Saturday, you can only win one. And that's got to be our mindset, that we're going to go out there and do whatever we can in preparation this week to get ready to play UTEP to find a way to get a win.
"I'm confident this team will go out and play really well this weekend."
Middle Tennessee fans may have thought at times this season the sky was falling around Floyd Stadium. But, they may want to count their blessings this weekend. The UTEP fans may have a little something to say about a lackluster season.
The Miners haven't won a ballgame, and after a Week 5 35-21 loss at Army fifth-year head coach Sean Kugler stepped down from his duties.
Mike Price, who was the head man at UTEP for nine seasons prior to Kugler's hiring in 2013, was rehired on an interim basis to finish the season.
While it may on the surface look like Middle Tennessee should roll through the Miners on its way to jumpstarting its season with four games left, Stockstill doesn't want his team to overlook UTEP.
"We can't overlook anybody," he said. "We're not good enough to overlook anybody. And that's what I told our team Sunday … you can look at records of anybody in any conference you play, anybody can beat anybody. This is a very even conference. You've got to play really well every Saturday to have a chance to win no matter who you play.
"So, I can promise you this team is hungry and they're not overlooking UTEP just because of their record."
Here's what to watch for on Saturday:
Who'll be the Blue Raider QB?
Redshirt sophomore John Urzua, who had been the starting quarterback since Week 3, will no longer be under center for Middle Tennessee. He suffered a concussion in the Blue Raiders' last game against Marshall, and after discussing his options with doctors, coaches and family, decided to end his career.
That means an opportunity could be available for redshirt freshman Kyle Banks, a North Paulding High School product out of Acworth, Georgia, to make his first collegiate start. It will all come down to whether or not redshirt junior Brent Stockstill, who owns several career school records including touchdown passes (65) and passing yards per game (296.7), is ready to suit up. He's been out since cracking his sternum in Week 2 against Syracuse, but an MRI this week showed he is progressing.
Banks, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander, has played in two games this season for Middle Tennessee, making late-game relief appearances for Urzua against Minnesota and Marshall. He's completed 6-of-11 passes for 49 yards.
Coming out of North Paulding, Banks was rated a three-star recruit by Scout and 247Sports. He threw for 6,211 yards and 61 touchdowns combined his junior and senior seasons, and he was also named a Georgia Brine National All-American in lacrosse his senior year.
UTEP bad on both sides of the ball
Thankfully for Banks for the Blue Raider offense, they'll face maybe the worst defense in C-USA on Saturday. The same could be said for MT's defense against the Miners' offense, also.
UTEP ranks last in the league in scoring offense (12.5 points per game), total offense (222.5 yards per game) and total defense (450.9 yards per game allowed) and 13th out of 14 teams in scoring defense (37 points per game allowed).
Offensively, Banks will likely lean on freshman running back Brad Anderson and sophomore receiver Ty Lee to help move the offense.
Anderson, who played sparingly the first three games, has come on strong in the Raiders' last five contests, racking up 392 rushing yards and 306 receiving yards over that span. Lee leads the team with 531 receiving yards and 43 receptions, and he and Anderson both have three receiving TDs apiece.
They'll have to be dynamic to help Banks in the passing game against the Miners' secondary, which may be the strong point of their defense.
"Their back-end, their secondary is good, their corners are long," Coach Stockstill said. "They do a lot of different things on defense."
Defensively, the Blue Raiders will have to find a way to be disruptive again, especially against the run.
After allowing just 85 yards rushing to FIU in Week 6, MT let UAB and Marshall the following two weeks go for 260 and 198 on the ground, respectively.
UTEP will likely want to keep the ball on the ground, since it is going through another change at quarterback this week. After starting four of the first five games, Ryan Metz gave way to Zack Greenlee the last three contests, but Metz will take back over Saturday.
It hasn't really mattered who's been under center for the Miners – they've been poor offensively either way. They currently rank 13th out of 14 teams in C-USA in rushing (86.6 yards per game) and passing (135.9 yards per game).
"Offensively, I think with the coaching change, they're still trying to find their identity a little bit," Coach Stockstill said. "I think they're going to hang their hat on trying to run the ball and come in here and try and make this a physical game. They will try to shorten the game with their running attack, so we've got to be really good both offensively as well as defensively of getting off the field and staying on the field."
Raider goals still attainable
A 3-5 record after eight games may not be what Middle Tennessee was hoping for this season with some pretty lofty expectations. However, a lot of the Blue Raiders' goals are still attainable with four games left in the regular season.
Mathematically, MT still isn't eliminated from the C-USA East Division race, though it would need almost a miracle to win the title. Getting to six wins to reach bowl eligibility for the ninth time in 12 years under Stockstill is more of a realistic goal for the Blue Raiders, and something he wants his players to understand is still very much reachable.
"We haven't reassessed [our goals]," he said. "A lot of our goals are still attainable. This team has done a good job of blocking out the outside noise, and there is no noise on the inside and that shows the resiliency and the toughness of this team."
Start of an easy road
If Middle Tennessee wants to get to six wins, it will have to show up against some of C-USA's worst teams to finish the season.
Three of the Blue Raiders remaining four opponents – UTEP, Charlotte and Old Dominion – have a combined 3-21 record this season. The other team is MT's rival WKU, which sports a 5-3 record.
MT says, "Thank you," to veterans and armed forces
Saturday's contest will be Middle Tennessee's 36th annual Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces game, co-sponsored by State Farm and Big O Tires of Murfreesboro.
Honorary captains for the game will be children from local organization A Soldiers' Child Foundation, which serves the children of military personnel who have lost their lives on active duty.
In honor of A Soldiers' Child, the Blue Raiders will wear a special stripe on their helmets that will include the names of the children's military parents who have lost their lives on active duty.
There will also be events all day on campus. A veteran's memorial service at the MTSU Veterans Memorial (in front of the Tom Jackson Building) will be at 2:30 p.m., and MTSU will honor one of its fallen alums, James Van Howard.
Following the memorial service, a picnic will be held for all veterans and active service members on the lawn of the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame Building at 4 p.m., and at 5 p.m., the Dr. Joe Nunley Award will be presented in a ceremony at the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame.
Following is a list of names that will appear on the helmets Saturday:
SSGT Jason Faley, USAF
CPL Isaac E. Diaz
LT Col Sean Roche
SSG Leston Winters
SSG Kevin T. Archer
SSG MUDD
SSG Franklin Wadsworth
SFC LUKE E HORTENSTINE
SGT Antonio Rivera
SGT Dustin Von Loh
TSGT Mark Smith
SFC Joseph Ferlicka
SSG Anthony Schmachtenberger
SFC Jeffrey Rada
SGT Wesley J Durden JR
SGT John T Good
SGT Daniel Eshbaugh
SGT Levi Gregory Johnson
LTC Hunter Lindsey, Army
SGT Jason Denfrund
LCPL James Kimple
SSG Matthew Mackey
HM3 Travis Youngblood
MSG Brian Naseman
SSG Christopher Popham
SGT Brandon Maggart
SFC Shawn Dostie
PO3 Micah Hill
WO1 Shawn Thomas
CPL Stephan B Ayala USMC
SSGT Ryan J Thomas
SFC Charles "Chuck" Adkins
SPC Cody Krajefska
SPC Christopher Wyatt McCullough
SSG Kirk A Owen
SPC Jordan C Schumann
TRAFFIC UPDATE: This weekend the TDOT contractor for the Bridge over Broad project in Murfreesboro is planning to close the intersection at Old Fort Parkway/Memorial and Broad for paving work. The intersection will be closed from Friday evening through early Monday morning. Please allow a little extra time to get to the game, and we recommend avoiding the Broad/Memorial intersection using N. Thompson Lane and Northfield Blvd or Rutherford Blvd.
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