Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Raiders focus on finishing against UT-Martin
9/3/2018 4:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – If there was one big takeaway from Middle Tennessee's season-opening loss at Vanderbilt, it was that the Blue Raiders need to do a better job of finishing.
As they look ahead to the home opener on Saturday, execution at the end of drives and in the second half will be a key focus.
"That's always the objective," head coach Rick Stockstill said at Monday's weekly press conference. "We just didn't execute as well as we needed to on either side in critical times in the game. We need to do a better job of executing … when you do that, things usually have a tendency to work out for you."
Not only did MT not finish well in the second half – it trailed just 14-7 early in the third quarter before losing 35-7 – but its offense had issues finishing drives all game long.
The Blue Raiders entered Vanderbilt territory six times on Saturday but only came away with one score. That has to change moving forward, and redshirt senior quarterback Brent Stockstill said it's on the whole offense to find pay dirt.
"We moved it ok, then we'd cross the 50 and get to the 35-45 range and we couldn't really push through that," he said. "That's where we have to do better. It's a group effort – you can't get complacent, and we have to finish those drives and put points on the board to help our defense."
Middle Tennessee (0-1) will get its first chance at finishing better against old Ohio Valley Conference rival UT-Martin (0-1), who'll make the short drive to Murfreesboro on Saturday for MT's home opener.
The Skyhawks, who are still a member of the OVC in the Division I FCS ranks, traveled to Missouri in Week 1 and were defeated soundly 51-14.
While they only scored 14 points against the Southeastern Conference school, Coach Stockstill and his defense know the Skyhawk offense is more potent than what they showed. The MT stop squad will also have to do a better job of finishing out the contest after giving up 257 total yards and 21 points in the second half to Vanderbilt, compared to just 89 yards and 14 points before the break.
"We just have to win on first down," redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "We didn't win on first down, and that's a direct correlation to third down. We started off fast, but we just have to finish through all four quarters."
One thing that could help the Blue Raiders immensely is a packed crowd at Floyd Stadium.
The home opener is just one of five chances Middle Tennessee fans will get to see their team at home, and it's critical to see them show out in force, according to the head ball coach.
"I hope they come," Coach Stockstill said. "We're not going to hide, and I hope our fans don't hide. I hope they come out to support this team, because this team deserves their support."
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.
As they look ahead to the home opener on Saturday, execution at the end of drives and in the second half will be a key focus.
"That's always the objective," head coach Rick Stockstill said at Monday's weekly press conference. "We just didn't execute as well as we needed to on either side in critical times in the game. We need to do a better job of executing … when you do that, things usually have a tendency to work out for you."
Not only did MT not finish well in the second half – it trailed just 14-7 early in the third quarter before losing 35-7 – but its offense had issues finishing drives all game long.
The Blue Raiders entered Vanderbilt territory six times on Saturday but only came away with one score. That has to change moving forward, and redshirt senior quarterback Brent Stockstill said it's on the whole offense to find pay dirt.
"We moved it ok, then we'd cross the 50 and get to the 35-45 range and we couldn't really push through that," he said. "That's where we have to do better. It's a group effort – you can't get complacent, and we have to finish those drives and put points on the board to help our defense."
Middle Tennessee (0-1) will get its first chance at finishing better against old Ohio Valley Conference rival UT-Martin (0-1), who'll make the short drive to Murfreesboro on Saturday for MT's home opener.
The Skyhawks, who are still a member of the OVC in the Division I FCS ranks, traveled to Missouri in Week 1 and were defeated soundly 51-14.
While they only scored 14 points against the Southeastern Conference school, Coach Stockstill and his defense know the Skyhawk offense is more potent than what they showed. The MT stop squad will also have to do a better job of finishing out the contest after giving up 257 total yards and 21 points in the second half to Vanderbilt, compared to just 89 yards and 14 points before the break.
"We just have to win on first down," redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "We didn't win on first down, and that's a direct correlation to third down. We started off fast, but we just have to finish through all four quarters."
One thing that could help the Blue Raiders immensely is a packed crowd at Floyd Stadium.
The home opener is just one of five chances Middle Tennessee fans will get to see their team at home, and it's critical to see them show out in force, according to the head ball coach.
"I hope they come," Coach Stockstill said. "We're not going to hide, and I hope our fans don't hide. I hope they come out to support this team, because this team deserves their support."
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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