Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Column: “A short view back to the past” and a look ahead to the future
10/17/2021 4:00:00 PM | Football, General
Despite a 2-4 record, the positives of the season have the Blue Raiders set up for a strong second half
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Like many beat writers on an off week, I turned to some other pastimes during the week that I normally would spend on game prep. Volleyball reporting, disc golf, visiting family, and, in the case of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, binging a series on Netflix.
The series, for those looking for something new to watch, is a spectacular view into the world of international motorsport. The first two seasons had me spending Sunday mornings up at 7 a.m central to watch races out of Russia and Austria, and the third season only strengthened my resolve. It was in the midst of a YouTube crawl of years of F1 interviews after finishing the latest season that I stumbled across perhaps the best press conference moment in the racing competition's history.
The clip, of course, almost speaks for itself, as the reporter offers a rambling, very nearly incoherent question about a very technical part of racing a Formula 1 car, that somehow seems too generic once the reporter is finished with the question.
But it's the turn of phrase at the very beginning, "Gentlemen, a short view back to the past," that catches my ear every time. The earnestness with which it's delivered I think is what's made it an enduring meme in F1 since the question was posed in 2014. But this week, the short view back to the past felt especially prescient given where the Middle Tennessee football team is heading into a game at UConn this Friday.
The first view, of course, is the record. A mediocre 2-4 never is much to write home about. But not all 2-4 records are made equal. Of the six teams MT played in the first half of the season, three were non-conference opponents, including the ACC's Virginia Tech and a resurgent Liberty. And the three C-USA opponents will likely be right there at the end of the year fighting for a berth in the conference title game (heck, UTSA was even ranked for the first time in program history after shutting out Rice this weekend).
This team will be the first to tell you that their record should be better. But with home dates against FIU, Southern Miss, and Old Dominion, three C-USA teams currently with no wins in conference play on deck in the second half, plus road games at 2-4 Western Kentucky and 3-3 FAU, the back five of the C-USA schedule sets up much more favorably for the Blue Raiders than the front half. And that's not even including the last non conference game of the year against a UConn team that had to hold on tight for their first win of the season over Yale this past weekend.
"This second half, it's on," Rick Stockstill said after his team's loss at Liberty. It's that attitude that will help propel this team forward, as well as the building blocks in place from tremendous performances from the first half.
Sure, the No. 3 mark in the nation for takeaways (17, just three shy of No. 1 Iowa's 20), and the No. 1 mark in turnover margin (+11) standout after six games. But one only needed to look at the MT_FB twitter feed to see how impressive some of our players have been.
Jordan Ferguson leading the conference in sacks entering last weekend, Jarrin Pierce hauling in a catch for 27 consecutive games, Chase Cunningham finishing the first half of the season in the top 20 in passing touchdowns, despite only starting the last three games. All just some of the examples of how this team has the capability of a strong second half within them.
So, with that short view back to the past, and a long view forward to the future, the second half is upon us in Murfreesboro.
Let's see how "on" the Blue Raiders are come Friday.
The series, for those looking for something new to watch, is a spectacular view into the world of international motorsport. The first two seasons had me spending Sunday mornings up at 7 a.m central to watch races out of Russia and Austria, and the third season only strengthened my resolve. It was in the midst of a YouTube crawl of years of F1 interviews after finishing the latest season that I stumbled across perhaps the best press conference moment in the racing competition's history.
The clip, of course, almost speaks for itself, as the reporter offers a rambling, very nearly incoherent question about a very technical part of racing a Formula 1 car, that somehow seems too generic once the reporter is finished with the question.
But it's the turn of phrase at the very beginning, "Gentlemen, a short view back to the past," that catches my ear every time. The earnestness with which it's delivered I think is what's made it an enduring meme in F1 since the question was posed in 2014. But this week, the short view back to the past felt especially prescient given where the Middle Tennessee football team is heading into a game at UConn this Friday.
The first view, of course, is the record. A mediocre 2-4 never is much to write home about. But not all 2-4 records are made equal. Of the six teams MT played in the first half of the season, three were non-conference opponents, including the ACC's Virginia Tech and a resurgent Liberty. And the three C-USA opponents will likely be right there at the end of the year fighting for a berth in the conference title game (heck, UTSA was even ranked for the first time in program history after shutting out Rice this weekend).
This team will be the first to tell you that their record should be better. But with home dates against FIU, Southern Miss, and Old Dominion, three C-USA teams currently with no wins in conference play on deck in the second half, plus road games at 2-4 Western Kentucky and 3-3 FAU, the back five of the C-USA schedule sets up much more favorably for the Blue Raiders than the front half. And that's not even including the last non conference game of the year against a UConn team that had to hold on tight for their first win of the season over Yale this past weekend.
"This second half, it's on," Rick Stockstill said after his team's loss at Liberty. It's that attitude that will help propel this team forward, as well as the building blocks in place from tremendous performances from the first half.
Sure, the No. 3 mark in the nation for takeaways (17, just three shy of No. 1 Iowa's 20), and the No. 1 mark in turnover margin (+11) standout after six games. But one only needed to look at the MT_FB twitter feed to see how impressive some of our players have been.
Jordan Ferguson leading the conference in sacks entering last weekend, Jarrin Pierce hauling in a catch for 27 consecutive games, Chase Cunningham finishing the first half of the season in the top 20 in passing touchdowns, despite only starting the last three games. All just some of the examples of how this team has the capability of a strong second half within them.
Ferg's tied for first in @ConferenceUSA with five sacks and second with nine tackles for loss.
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) October 12, 2021
And his sack celebrations are also best in the league. 🕺@JoFerg__ | #EATT pic.twitter.com/ASNREWBz1P
2️⃣7️⃣ consecutive games with a catch for JP. 🤯
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) October 13, 2021
That's tied for 6th best in program history and tied for the 11th longest active streak.@jarrinpierce3 | #EATT pic.twitter.com/EfFW3kKi5A
One of the top TD passers in the country? Our very own Chase Cunningham.@Chase_C_5 | #EATT pic.twitter.com/ICKfwG3BC2
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) October 15, 2021
So, with that short view back to the past, and a long view forward to the future, the second half is upon us in Murfreesboro.
Let's see how "on" the Blue Raiders are come Friday.
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