Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Photo by: Kaitlyn Hungerford/MT Athletic Communications
Looking ahead to MT and FAU
9/28/2018 9:00:00 AM | Football
Kickoff set for 6:06 PM Saturday
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Fresh off its bye week, Middle Tennessee will enter Conference USA play on Saturday, starting what head coach Rick Stockstill called, "a new season."
"This is where it starts now, for us," Stockstill said at Monday's weekly press conference. "Conference play is a great opportunity for us, and we're looking forward to getting started."
The Blue Raiders (1-2) don't get to ease back into their schedule. Defending C-USA champion Florida Atlantic (2-2) will make the trip to Murfreesboro for MT's Blackout Game, scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
Prior to the game, new members will be inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame at 3:30 p.m. on the lawn outside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame.
Where can you watch or listen?
TV: Stadium's Facebook page
Radio: 102.5 FM, 89.5 FM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM, 1450 AM
Search 'Middle Tennessee' on the TuneIn app.
Series history
Historically, Middle Tennessee has dominated the series against the Owls. That doesn't mean the games haven't been close, though.
After losing the first two meetings in the series in 2003 and 2004, the Blue Raiders have rattled off 11 wins in 13 matchups, including nine in a row from 2008-2016.
The teams know each other well, and that's created quite a few close games over the years. Saturday's contest will mark the 16th straight season they've met on the gridiron, and so far, nine out of 15 have ended with a margin of two scores or less. Seven of those were within seven points.
Middle Tennessee has won six in a row at home over FAU, and it's hoping an exciting weekend centered around its Blackout Game and Blue Raider Hall of Fame inductions will help make it seven. Expect a close one, though.
Last meeting
The Blue Raiders' nine-game winning streak in the series was snapped last season with a 38-20 loss on the road in Owls head coach Lane Kiffin's first season in Boca Raton.
Without quarterback Brent Stockstill, who's missed the last two matchups with FAU because of injuries, Middle Tennessee struggled to take care of the ball. Backup QB John Urzua had 359 yards passing and two touchdowns, but three interceptions halted key drives in the second and fourth quarters.
The second quarter was MT's downfall, as two of Urzua's interceptions in the final three minutes of the frame kept the Blue Raiders off the scoreboard, while the Owls scored with a touchdown and field goal in the quarter to widen the halftime lead to 24-6.
MT also had trouble limiting the FAU ground attack. Led by Devin "Motor" Singletary's 133 rushing yards and four touchdowns, the Owls racked up 252 yards rushing and averaged 5 yards per attempt.
Tough shutting down the 'Motor'
Singletary, last year's C-USA Offensive MVP and the 2018 Preseason C-USA Player of the Year, will again be the key player to focus on for Middle Tennessee's defense.
As a sophomore in 2017, the Third Team All-American rushed for a school-record 1,920 yards while setting school and C-USA records with 32 rushing and 33 total touchdowns, leading the nation in both.
He already owns the FAU career record in all-purpose yards (3,948) and rushing TDs (54) and is creeping toward the rushing yardage record. This season, he's racked up 341 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the nation in the latter category.
Singletary has loved playing Middle Tennessee the past two seasons, with 368 rushing yards and seven touchdowns combined. This season, he may have the best quarterback in front of him that he's ever had, too.
Former four-star Oklahoma recruit Chris Robison transferred to FAU in August of last year, and after sitting out due to the NCAA transfer rule, the redshirt freshman has taken the reigns of the Owls' offense. He's thrown for 923 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions this season, hitting redshirt junior Jovon Durante 27 times for 333 yards and two TDs.
"The main thing is their tempo," MT senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "They have a lot of good players on offense, starting with the running back … as we saw last year, he broke a lot of tackles against us. This off week, we tried to perfect tackling. That'll be big going into conference play."
Healthier Raiders?
To combat the explosive FAU offense, the Blue Raiders will hopefully trot out a healthier defense than it had before the bye week.
Safeties Jovante Moffatt and Reed Blankenship could be in line to make starts, and on the outside, cornerback O.J. Johnson appears closer to returning. Moffatt, MT's leading tackler last year, hasn't played yet this season, while Johnson saw the field limitedly against Georgia and Blankenship missed Week 3.
The defense will need everyone it can get against the high-flying Owls, and the bye week should have helped that.
"The first three games took a toll on us from a physical standpoint," Rick Stockstill said. "We came back [after the bye] with a great mindset, refreshed mentally and ready to go."
This year's matchup with FAU will also look different for the Blue Raider offense in the fact that Brent Stockstill is healthy.
The redshirt senior didn't play in the last two meetings with the Owls because of injuries, but he'll be under center for his hometown school on Saturday.
Veteran linebackers
Brent Stockstill's presence under center usually means good things for the Blue Raiders. He'll have to be particularly sharp Saturday against one of the conference's best linebacking corps.
FAU was the only school in the nation last year to have a conference offensive and defensive MVP, with Singletary and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Al-Shaair is back as a senior this year and already owns the school record with 386 total tackles.
Al-Shaair, the Preseason C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, led the league with 147 tackles in 2017, and this year he's recorded 32, five behind team leader and fellow linebacker Rashad Smith's 37. The two have combined for 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks through four games, and Smith has picked off two passes to lead the team.
"They're the leaders of the defense, and they're sideline-to-sideline guys," Brent Stockstill said. "We'll have to hit it north and south; it's hard to get it east to west on them."
Transfer U
Now in his second year at FAU, Kiffin has created a bit of a transfer hub in Boca Raton.
On the Owls' active roster, 33 players have transferred to FAU after starting their collegiate careers elsewhere. That includes three graduate transfers.
Some of FAU's notable players who've transferred in and made contributions this season include Robison, Durante, defensive ends Tim Bonner and Kain Daub and defensive tackle Ernest Bagner.
Special captains
In honor of Coach to Cure MD week, the Blue Raiders will have special captains against FAU. The coaches will also wear a special patch.
Garrett Sap, a local boy fighting against muscular dystrophy, will be an honorary captain alongside Colton Sheets, a local cancer fighter who's been an honorary captain twice for MT.
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.
"This is where it starts now, for us," Stockstill said at Monday's weekly press conference. "Conference play is a great opportunity for us, and we're looking forward to getting started."
The Blue Raiders (1-2) don't get to ease back into their schedule. Defending C-USA champion Florida Atlantic (2-2) will make the trip to Murfreesboro for MT's Blackout Game, scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
Prior to the game, new members will be inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame at 3:30 p.m. on the lawn outside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame.
Where can you watch or listen?
TV: Stadium's Facebook page
Radio: 102.5 FM, 89.5 FM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM, 1450 AM
Search 'Middle Tennessee' on the TuneIn app.
Series history
Historically, Middle Tennessee has dominated the series against the Owls. That doesn't mean the games haven't been close, though.
After losing the first two meetings in the series in 2003 and 2004, the Blue Raiders have rattled off 11 wins in 13 matchups, including nine in a row from 2008-2016.
The teams know each other well, and that's created quite a few close games over the years. Saturday's contest will mark the 16th straight season they've met on the gridiron, and so far, nine out of 15 have ended with a margin of two scores or less. Seven of those were within seven points.
Middle Tennessee has won six in a row at home over FAU, and it's hoping an exciting weekend centered around its Blackout Game and Blue Raider Hall of Fame inductions will help make it seven. Expect a close one, though.
Last meeting
The Blue Raiders' nine-game winning streak in the series was snapped last season with a 38-20 loss on the road in Owls head coach Lane Kiffin's first season in Boca Raton.
Without quarterback Brent Stockstill, who's missed the last two matchups with FAU because of injuries, Middle Tennessee struggled to take care of the ball. Backup QB John Urzua had 359 yards passing and two touchdowns, but three interceptions halted key drives in the second and fourth quarters.
The second quarter was MT's downfall, as two of Urzua's interceptions in the final three minutes of the frame kept the Blue Raiders off the scoreboard, while the Owls scored with a touchdown and field goal in the quarter to widen the halftime lead to 24-6.
MT also had trouble limiting the FAU ground attack. Led by Devin "Motor" Singletary's 133 rushing yards and four touchdowns, the Owls racked up 252 yards rushing and averaged 5 yards per attempt.
Tough shutting down the 'Motor'
Singletary, last year's C-USA Offensive MVP and the 2018 Preseason C-USA Player of the Year, will again be the key player to focus on for Middle Tennessee's defense.
As a sophomore in 2017, the Third Team All-American rushed for a school-record 1,920 yards while setting school and C-USA records with 32 rushing and 33 total touchdowns, leading the nation in both.
He already owns the FAU career record in all-purpose yards (3,948) and rushing TDs (54) and is creeping toward the rushing yardage record. This season, he's racked up 341 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the nation in the latter category.
Singletary has loved playing Middle Tennessee the past two seasons, with 368 rushing yards and seven touchdowns combined. This season, he may have the best quarterback in front of him that he's ever had, too.
Former four-star Oklahoma recruit Chris Robison transferred to FAU in August of last year, and after sitting out due to the NCAA transfer rule, the redshirt freshman has taken the reigns of the Owls' offense. He's thrown for 923 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions this season, hitting redshirt junior Jovon Durante 27 times for 333 yards and two TDs.
"The main thing is their tempo," MT senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "They have a lot of good players on offense, starting with the running back … as we saw last year, he broke a lot of tackles against us. This off week, we tried to perfect tackling. That'll be big going into conference play."
Healthier Raiders?
To combat the explosive FAU offense, the Blue Raiders will hopefully trot out a healthier defense than it had before the bye week.
Safeties Jovante Moffatt and Reed Blankenship could be in line to make starts, and on the outside, cornerback O.J. Johnson appears closer to returning. Moffatt, MT's leading tackler last year, hasn't played yet this season, while Johnson saw the field limitedly against Georgia and Blankenship missed Week 3.
The defense will need everyone it can get against the high-flying Owls, and the bye week should have helped that.
"The first three games took a toll on us from a physical standpoint," Rick Stockstill said. "We came back [after the bye] with a great mindset, refreshed mentally and ready to go."
This year's matchup with FAU will also look different for the Blue Raider offense in the fact that Brent Stockstill is healthy.
The redshirt senior didn't play in the last two meetings with the Owls because of injuries, but he'll be under center for his hometown school on Saturday.
Veteran linebackers
Brent Stockstill's presence under center usually means good things for the Blue Raiders. He'll have to be particularly sharp Saturday against one of the conference's best linebacking corps.
FAU was the only school in the nation last year to have a conference offensive and defensive MVP, with Singletary and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Al-Shaair is back as a senior this year and already owns the school record with 386 total tackles.
Al-Shaair, the Preseason C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, led the league with 147 tackles in 2017, and this year he's recorded 32, five behind team leader and fellow linebacker Rashad Smith's 37. The two have combined for 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks through four games, and Smith has picked off two passes to lead the team.
"They're the leaders of the defense, and they're sideline-to-sideline guys," Brent Stockstill said. "We'll have to hit it north and south; it's hard to get it east to west on them."
Transfer U
Now in his second year at FAU, Kiffin has created a bit of a transfer hub in Boca Raton.
On the Owls' active roster, 33 players have transferred to FAU after starting their collegiate careers elsewhere. That includes three graduate transfers.
Some of FAU's notable players who've transferred in and made contributions this season include Robison, Durante, defensive ends Tim Bonner and Kain Daub and defensive tackle Ernest Bagner.
Special captains
In honor of Coach to Cure MD week, the Blue Raiders will have special captains against FAU. The coaches will also wear a special patch.
Garrett Sap, a local boy fighting against muscular dystrophy, will be an honorary captain alongside Colton Sheets, a local cancer fighter who's been an honorary captain twice for MT.
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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