Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
2-2
Bowling Green
0-4
Team Stats
BGSU 0, MT 7
MT - BRUCE, Jocquez 4 yd run (ROOKER, Canon kick), 11 plays, 83 yards, TOP 5:05
BGSU 7, MT 7
BGSU - MILLER, Scott 60 yd pass from DOEGE, Jarret (SUDER, Jake kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:56
BGSU 7, MT 14
MT - LEE, Ty 1 yd pass from URZUA, John (ROOKER, Canon kick) 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:33
BGSU 10, MT 14
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 25 yd field goal 13 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:57
BGSU 10, MT 21
MT - ANDERSON, Brad 64 yd pass from URZUA, John (ROOKER, Canon kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:11
BGSU 13, MT 21
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 25 yd field goal 7 plays, 28 yards, TOP 2:31
BGSU 13, MT 24
MT - ROOKER, Canon 41 yd field goal 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 3:39
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Young guns lead Blue Raiders to 24-13 triumph
9/23/2017 9:56:00 PM | Football
Close non-conference slate
"I'm really happy, pleased and proud of our team," MT Head Coach Rick Stockstill said. "We played a lot of young guys … a lot of guys who had really never played college football before. I'm really proud of their effort and how we played tonight."
The Blue Raiders (2-2) had a heyday against a Bowling Green defense. They racked up a season-high 533 total yards (243 rushing, 290 passing) against the Falcons (0-4).
The offensive explosion was precisely what Middle Tennessee had been searching for. In its first three games, it averaged just 269.3 total yards per game and 63 yards on the ground.
"It's definitely a momentum swing for our team," freshman running back Brad Anderson said. "We felt like we had to get back to the basics of our running game because we couldn't get stuff established and get stuff going. For us tonight to be able to have a running game like that, it means a lot for us."
MT's offensive success came without several key weapons. Quarterback Brent Stockstill, who missed Week 3's contest at Minnesota with a sternum injury, missed his second straight game. He was joined on the sidelines by ailing wide receivers Richie James and Patrick Smith and guard Chandler Brewer, the Raiders' most experienced lineman.
With their leaders out, a host of young Blue Raiders picked up the baton. Every player who recorded a pass, rush or reception was either a freshman or sophomore.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback John Urzua connected on 24-of-32 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Anderson ended with 104 yards rushing, 98 yards receiving and TD, and redshirt sophomore Jocquez Bruce added 115 yards rushing and a TD on 16 carries. Sophomore Ty Lee also had seven catches for 80 yards and a score.
"We have depth," Urzua said. "We have good players, players who've stepped up tremendously not only in the offseason but in these past few weeks. The ability to have the kind of confidence we do in [the young guys] is huge, and we can take that throughout the rest of the season."
Middle Tennessee came out of the gates hot offensively.
Urzua completed his first eight passes, while Anderson, Bruce and Lee did damage both out of the backfield and flanked out wide.
A 64-yard strike from Urzua to Anderson with just over 5 minutes left in the second quarter, Urzua's second TD pass of the first half, put MT up 21-10 at halftime.
From there, it was all up to the Blue Raider defense to hold tough.
Holding onto the 11-point halftime advantage, Middle Tennessee came out in the second half a little sluggish offensively, but its stoppers stepped up. The Falcons managed just 20 yards and three points in the last two frames, and were forced to punt on four of five possessions.
In total, Bowling Green gained 284 total yards, and only 1 yard came via the run on 29 attempts.
"We dominated them," Coach Stockstill said. "They had 1 yard rushing, and that's tremendous.
"We harassed the quarterback unmercifully … it was just relentless with our pressure. Any time you can rush the ball for more than 200 yards and they have 1 yard rushing, I'd bet on that win every time."
The Blue Raiders were led in the tackle department by junior safety Jovante Moffatt (eight). Redshirt junior linebacker Darius Harris added six tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup, while redshirt sophomore Khalil Brooks had five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Charvarius Ward and Chris Melton both had a sack.
Middle Tennessee's strong defensive play its shown through four games will have to continue moving forward with strong Conference USA offenses on the docket.
"We're playing pretty good," Harris said. "We have some minor things we need to work on going forward into conference play … but as a whole, we know what we have to do."
The Blue Raiders start C-USA play Sept. 30 at FAU. The Owls (1-3) fell 34-31 at Buffalo on Saturday.
POSTGAME NOTES
CAPTAINS: Today's game captains were LB Darius Harris, LB Malik Hawkins and OL Robert Behanan.
BIG THREE A NO GO: Three of Middle Tennessee's most important offensive players did not suit up for the Blue Raiders on Saturday. QB Brent Stockstill, record-setting receiver Richie James and star offensive lineman Chandler Brewer all had to sit out with injuries.
BRUCE ON THE BOARD: Sophomore Jocquez Bruce, who recently moved from receiver to running back, scored his first collegiate touchdown in the first quarter against BGSU. Bruce hit paydirt on a 4-yard run. Bruce went on to rush for a career-best 115 yards on 16 attempts. It was the first 100-yard effort of the season for the Blue Raiders.
ANDERSON STEPS UP: True freshman running back Brad Anderson made the most of his first collegiate start with a career performance. Anderson notched a personal-best 104 rushing yards while also collecting six receptions for a career-high 98 yards.
100-YARD DUO: Bruce and Anderson are the first duo to rush for over 100 yards each in the same game since I'Tavius Mathers rushed for 213 and Richie James rushed for 207 against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 26, 2016.
URZUA HAS CAREER DAY: Sophomore signal-caller John Urzua, who made his fifth career start tonight, threw for a career-high 290 yards on 24 completions. Urzua's previous high was a 250-yard effort at Charlotte last year when he had 26 completions.
FOUR STRAIGHT FOR DEFENSE: Middle Tennessee's defense has now held the opposition to under 400 yards of total offense in four straight games to start the year. MT held Bowling Green to 284 total yards while also collecting eight TFLs and three sacks. The last time the Blue Raiders held opponents to less than 400 yards in five or more games in a row was 2014. That year they accomplished the feat in the team's final five games of the season. The Raiders had seven straight games in 2007.
RUN-STOPPING DEFENSE: Middle Tennessee's defense held Bowling Green to just one yard rushing on the evening on 29 attempts. The last time the Blue Raiders held an opposing offense to single-digit rushing yards was Oct. 1, 2016, when MT held North Texas to five yards on the ground.
QUICK HITTERS: DB Mike Minter made his team-leading 29th straight start … PK Canon Rooker played in his team-high 43rd game tonight … The TD pass from John Urzua to Brad Anderson for 64 yards went down as the longest play of the season for MT … LB Chris Melton recorded his first sack of the season early in the third quarter … WR Isiah Upton recorded a career long 26-yard reception in the fourth quarter … PK Canon Rooker's fourth quarter field goal was his sixth straight made three-pointer and the 18th of his career
