Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, November 10
El Paso, TX
2:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
at
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UTEP
Looking ahead to MT and UTEP
11/9/2018 10:00:00 AM | Football
EL PASO, Texas – Two teams coming off emotional wins will meet in El Paso, Texas on Saturday.
Middle Tennessee (6-3, 5-1) and UTEP (1-8, 1-4) may look different in the win-loss column, but they're both riding a similar high.
The Blue Raiders beat their biggest rival WKU in 29-10 fashion on Friday night to snap a three-game skid in the series, and the next day the Miners scored their first win of 2018 against Rice 34-26, ending a 20-game losing streak that was the longest in the nation.
The Conference USA title race may not be on UTEP's radar any longer, but MT still has plenty to play for with one more win than FIU (6-3, 4-1), which beat Middle Tennessee on Oct. 13.
A long trip that includes a multi-hour plane ride against a team with momentum could be just what the Blue Raiders need to focus in and stay alive in the C-USA East Division race.
"It's a long trip, and we've got to be really good mentally with our focus," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "Kind of like last week, you can't look at their record. They got their first win Saturday against Rice, but if you look at their last six games, they've been really close.
"This is another team that is going to present a lot of challenges to us."
Where can you watch or listen?
TV: ESPN+, http://www.espn.com/watch/espnplus/?om-navmethod=topnav
Radio: 102.5 FM, 89.5 FM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM, 1450 AM
Search 'Middle Tennessee' on the TuneIn app.
Series history
Middle Tennessee leads the short series all-time 2-1, including two wins at home and a loss in El Paso.
After playing in both 2013 and 2014, there was a three-year break in the series until the teams squared off last season.
The Blue Raiders have outscored the Miners 78-20 in their two wins and lost 24-21 in 2014.
Last meeting
Needing three wins in their last four games to reach bowl eligibility and coming off two straight losses, the Raiders welcomed UTEP to Murfreesboro on Nov. 4, 2017.
After a bye week, MT was helped by the return of quarterback Brent Stockstill from an injury that kept him out six games. The southpaw combined with a dominant defense were just the shots in the arm the blue and white needed, leading to a 30-3 win.
The Blue Raiders scored the first 24 points of the game, only allowing UTEP a field goal in the third quarter and holding the Miners to 137 total yards of offense.
Brent Stockstill threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, hitting wideout Ty Lee six times for 80 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Brad Anderson and Tavares Thomas had 68 yards apiece.
Turnovers on turnovers
Middle Tennessee didn't force a turnover in last year's matchup with UTEP but didn't allow the Miners to generate hardly any yards. The reverse has been true of the Blue Raider defenders so far in 2018.
While it's allowed 415.2 yards per game, the Raiders stop squad has forced 16 turnovers, fourth most in Conference USA. That includes 14 in six C-USA games, the most in the league in conference action.
Second-year defensive coordinator Scott Shafer made it a priority in the offseason to try and get his defense to force more turnovers. It appears MT has turned a corner in that regard, with 10 interceptions and six fumble recoveries this year.
"Getting more turnovers was a goal of ours coming into this season," redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "It's gone well so far this season, but we've got to stay focused and keep going and doing the little things right."
UTEP has struggled at times taking care of the ball this season, coughing it up 16 times, including nine interceptions by quarterback Kai Locksley.
Locksley will present the Blue Raiders will a dual-threat element. He's rushed for a team-high 372 yards this year.
Bend but don't break
Shafer's defense has been great this season at forcing turnovers when teams get onto the Middle Tennessee side of the field, in particular the red zone.
MT has kept its scoring defense respectable at 25.9 points per game despite giving up high amounts of yardage. A lot of that has come from being terrific in the red zone.
Four times the Raiders have forced a turnover when opposing teams have reached the red zone, the most in the conference, and they've given up scores on just 18-of-28 red-zone attempts. Their 64.3 percent scoring rate given up is first in C-USA and third in FBS.
Teams have also made only two-of-five field goals against MT when entering the red zone.
Finding a consistent ground attack
Over the past two games when Middle Tennessee's defense got the ball for its offense, the Blue Raider attack was able to capitalize with a balanced attack.
Brent Stockstill and the passing game has been effective most of the season, leading to 17 touchdowns and 1,946 yards for the program's all-time leading passer. MT's rushing game had left some to be desired, though, until the last two weeks.
Against Old Dominion on Oct. 27, the Blue Raiders eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark for the first time in 2018 with 208. Then, on Nov. 2 against WKU, they bettered that mark with 246.
The MT rushing game was led by different players in both games, redshirt junior Terelle West reaching 120 yards and a touchdown against ODU and redshirt freshman Chaton Mobley setting a team season-high with 198 yards against WKU.
Mobley currently leads the team with 326 yards on the season. He and the Blue Raiders should have plenty of opportunity to see that grow against UTEP's conference 12th-ranked rushing defense (194.4 yards per game allowed).
"{UTEP does] a lot of good stuff, and they throw a lot of different things at you," Brent Stockstill said. "I played one of the worst games of my career against them last year. They do a lot of things well, and we'll have to be prepared."
On Crews control
The first year of taking over primary kicking duties didn't start the way redshirt sophomore Crews Holt wanted it to, but things have taken a turn for the better.
Holt, the 2015 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Kicker of the Year and 6A state finals Offensive MVP, made just one of his first four field goals through four games. Since, he's knocked home nine of 10, including a perfect 5-for-5 night against WKU that tied MT's single-game field goal record and established a new career long of 42 yards.
He's also hit 29-of-31 PAT attempts this year, including 24 in a row.
For his efforts against the Hilltoppers, Holt was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee (6-3, 5-1) and UTEP (1-8, 1-4) may look different in the win-loss column, but they're both riding a similar high.
The Blue Raiders beat their biggest rival WKU in 29-10 fashion on Friday night to snap a three-game skid in the series, and the next day the Miners scored their first win of 2018 against Rice 34-26, ending a 20-game losing streak that was the longest in the nation.
The Conference USA title race may not be on UTEP's radar any longer, but MT still has plenty to play for with one more win than FIU (6-3, 4-1), which beat Middle Tennessee on Oct. 13.
A long trip that includes a multi-hour plane ride against a team with momentum could be just what the Blue Raiders need to focus in and stay alive in the C-USA East Division race.
"It's a long trip, and we've got to be really good mentally with our focus," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "Kind of like last week, you can't look at their record. They got their first win Saturday against Rice, but if you look at their last six games, they've been really close.
"This is another team that is going to present a lot of challenges to us."
Where can you watch or listen?
TV: ESPN+, http://www.espn.com/watch/espnplus/?om-navmethod=topnav
Radio: 102.5 FM, 89.5 FM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM, 1450 AM
Search 'Middle Tennessee' on the TuneIn app.
Series history
Middle Tennessee leads the short series all-time 2-1, including two wins at home and a loss in El Paso.
After playing in both 2013 and 2014, there was a three-year break in the series until the teams squared off last season.
The Blue Raiders have outscored the Miners 78-20 in their two wins and lost 24-21 in 2014.
Last meeting
Needing three wins in their last four games to reach bowl eligibility and coming off two straight losses, the Raiders welcomed UTEP to Murfreesboro on Nov. 4, 2017.
After a bye week, MT was helped by the return of quarterback Brent Stockstill from an injury that kept him out six games. The southpaw combined with a dominant defense were just the shots in the arm the blue and white needed, leading to a 30-3 win.
The Blue Raiders scored the first 24 points of the game, only allowing UTEP a field goal in the third quarter and holding the Miners to 137 total yards of offense.
Brent Stockstill threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, hitting wideout Ty Lee six times for 80 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Brad Anderson and Tavares Thomas had 68 yards apiece.
Turnovers on turnovers
Middle Tennessee didn't force a turnover in last year's matchup with UTEP but didn't allow the Miners to generate hardly any yards. The reverse has been true of the Blue Raider defenders so far in 2018.
While it's allowed 415.2 yards per game, the Raiders stop squad has forced 16 turnovers, fourth most in Conference USA. That includes 14 in six C-USA games, the most in the league in conference action.
Second-year defensive coordinator Scott Shafer made it a priority in the offseason to try and get his defense to force more turnovers. It appears MT has turned a corner in that regard, with 10 interceptions and six fumble recoveries this year.
"Getting more turnovers was a goal of ours coming into this season," redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "It's gone well so far this season, but we've got to stay focused and keep going and doing the little things right."
UTEP has struggled at times taking care of the ball this season, coughing it up 16 times, including nine interceptions by quarterback Kai Locksley.
Locksley will present the Blue Raiders will a dual-threat element. He's rushed for a team-high 372 yards this year.
Bend but don't break
Shafer's defense has been great this season at forcing turnovers when teams get onto the Middle Tennessee side of the field, in particular the red zone.
MT has kept its scoring defense respectable at 25.9 points per game despite giving up high amounts of yardage. A lot of that has come from being terrific in the red zone.
Four times the Raiders have forced a turnover when opposing teams have reached the red zone, the most in the conference, and they've given up scores on just 18-of-28 red-zone attempts. Their 64.3 percent scoring rate given up is first in C-USA and third in FBS.
Teams have also made only two-of-five field goals against MT when entering the red zone.
Finding a consistent ground attack
Over the past two games when Middle Tennessee's defense got the ball for its offense, the Blue Raider attack was able to capitalize with a balanced attack.
Brent Stockstill and the passing game has been effective most of the season, leading to 17 touchdowns and 1,946 yards for the program's all-time leading passer. MT's rushing game had left some to be desired, though, until the last two weeks.
Against Old Dominion on Oct. 27, the Blue Raiders eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark for the first time in 2018 with 208. Then, on Nov. 2 against WKU, they bettered that mark with 246.
The MT rushing game was led by different players in both games, redshirt junior Terelle West reaching 120 yards and a touchdown against ODU and redshirt freshman Chaton Mobley setting a team season-high with 198 yards against WKU.
Mobley currently leads the team with 326 yards on the season. He and the Blue Raiders should have plenty of opportunity to see that grow against UTEP's conference 12th-ranked rushing defense (194.4 yards per game allowed).
"{UTEP does] a lot of good stuff, and they throw a lot of different things at you," Brent Stockstill said. "I played one of the worst games of my career against them last year. They do a lot of things well, and we'll have to be prepared."
On Crews control
The first year of taking over primary kicking duties didn't start the way redshirt sophomore Crews Holt wanted it to, but things have taken a turn for the better.
Holt, the 2015 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Kicker of the Year and 6A state finals Offensive MVP, made just one of his first four field goals through four games. Since, he's knocked home nine of 10, including a perfect 5-for-5 night against WKU that tied MT's single-game field goal record and established a new career long of 42 yards.
He's also hit 29-of-31 PAT attempts this year, including 24 in a row.
For his efforts against the Hilltoppers, Holt was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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