Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders eager for long-awaited season opener
8/31/2020 5:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It's been a long, unique offseason for Middle Tennessee, but the Blue Raiders are finally in the final stretch before taking the field for the first time in 2020.
The first game week of the season included the team's first press conference on Monday. If there was one standout theme from the morning, the team is obviously ready to finally kick off the campaign, the 105th in program history.
"Everything was different this year, and I commend our players for buying in, and they've done a really, really nice job of getting to this point," said head coach Rick Stockstill, who's starting his 15th season at MT. "We've had a great August … and we're playing a really good football team in Army."
The Blue Raiders didn't find out until Aug. 10 they would open the season at Army on Sept. 5. Despite the short timeframe to prepare, Stockstill praised his team's focus on getting ready to travel to West Point.
"Obviously, it was different … and I wished we would've had more time to prepare for it, but that's not an excuse," he said. "Our players … have done a really good job of studying Army and working on Army.
"In a normal situation, we start game preparation about 10 days out. … We really started implementing some Army stuff about two or three days after they announced that we were going to play. We've gotten a little more time, but we have to have a good week of practice this week."
Army presents plenty of challenges for every opponent, namely because of its offense.
The Black Knights run a triple option that annually gives them one of the best statistical rushing attacks in the country. They ranked third in the FBS in 2019, averaging 297.2 yards on the ground per game.
The Blue Raiders haven't faced a triple option since they played Navy in the 2013 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.
"You have to do your job," senior safety Reed Blankenship said. "You can't play all over the field like you can in other games. You just have to read your keys, and if you don't do your job, they can break one for 50 or 60 [yards]."
Middle Tennessee's rushing game is also a point of interest heading into the opening week.
Through the first couple of weeks of fall camp, it appeared graduate transfers Martell Pettaway and Amir Rasul were going to inject some veteran legs into the running backs group. However, both opted out of the season, meaning the Blue Raiders will lean on seniors Jayy McDonald and Brad Anderson, redshirt junior Chaton Mobley and freshman Frank Peasant to handle the load.
Redshirt junior quarterback Asher O'Hara is the team's leading returning rusher. Last season, he became the second quarterback in program history to rush for 1,000 yards, finishing with 1,058 and nine touchdowns to add to 2,616 passing yards and 20 more scores.
While O'Hara's legs are undoubtedly a weapon, he has a host of talented receivers to lean on in the passing game. The Raiders are also hoping for a bigger contribution this year from the running backs so he can focus a little more on getting the ball down the field through the air.
"I've been trying to trust my receivers … and the offensive line has done such a good job of making me feel comfortable this year," O'Hara said. "I was watching some film from last year, and I noticed how often I would just tuck it and run. While it works sometimes, it's not something I should rely on all the time because I have such good athletes around me that I can use."
Traveling to Army may not have the allure of some of Middle Tennessee's most recent road openers, such as Michigan's Big House, the Syracuse Carrier Dome or Bryant-Denny Stadium at Alabama. Stockstill still wants his players to realize the significance of going to West Point, though.
"They are football players, but they have, I guess, another occupation outside of that," senior linebacker DQ Thomas said. "Their day is a lot different from mine. I just look up to them for that."
The first game week of the season included the team's first press conference on Monday. If there was one standout theme from the morning, the team is obviously ready to finally kick off the campaign, the 105th in program history.
"Everything was different this year, and I commend our players for buying in, and they've done a really, really nice job of getting to this point," said head coach Rick Stockstill, who's starting his 15th season at MT. "We've had a great August … and we're playing a really good football team in Army."
The Blue Raiders didn't find out until Aug. 10 they would open the season at Army on Sept. 5. Despite the short timeframe to prepare, Stockstill praised his team's focus on getting ready to travel to West Point.
"Obviously, it was different … and I wished we would've had more time to prepare for it, but that's not an excuse," he said. "Our players … have done a really good job of studying Army and working on Army.
"In a normal situation, we start game preparation about 10 days out. … We really started implementing some Army stuff about two or three days after they announced that we were going to play. We've gotten a little more time, but we have to have a good week of practice this week."
Army presents plenty of challenges for every opponent, namely because of its offense.
The Black Knights run a triple option that annually gives them one of the best statistical rushing attacks in the country. They ranked third in the FBS in 2019, averaging 297.2 yards on the ground per game.
The Blue Raiders haven't faced a triple option since they played Navy in the 2013 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.
"You have to do your job," senior safety Reed Blankenship said. "You can't play all over the field like you can in other games. You just have to read your keys, and if you don't do your job, they can break one for 50 or 60 [yards]."
Middle Tennessee's rushing game is also a point of interest heading into the opening week.
Through the first couple of weeks of fall camp, it appeared graduate transfers Martell Pettaway and Amir Rasul were going to inject some veteran legs into the running backs group. However, both opted out of the season, meaning the Blue Raiders will lean on seniors Jayy McDonald and Brad Anderson, redshirt junior Chaton Mobley and freshman Frank Peasant to handle the load.
Redshirt junior quarterback Asher O'Hara is the team's leading returning rusher. Last season, he became the second quarterback in program history to rush for 1,000 yards, finishing with 1,058 and nine touchdowns to add to 2,616 passing yards and 20 more scores.
While O'Hara's legs are undoubtedly a weapon, he has a host of talented receivers to lean on in the passing game. The Raiders are also hoping for a bigger contribution this year from the running backs so he can focus a little more on getting the ball down the field through the air.
"I've been trying to trust my receivers … and the offensive line has done such a good job of making me feel comfortable this year," O'Hara said. "I was watching some film from last year, and I noticed how often I would just tuck it and run. While it works sometimes, it's not something I should rely on all the time because I have such good athletes around me that I can use."
Traveling to Army may not have the allure of some of Middle Tennessee's most recent road openers, such as Michigan's Big House, the Syracuse Carrier Dome or Bryant-Denny Stadium at Alabama. Stockstill still wants his players to realize the significance of going to West Point, though.
"They are football players, but they have, I guess, another occupation outside of that," senior linebacker DQ Thomas said. "Their day is a lot different from mine. I just look up to them for that."
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