Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
COLUMN - “It wasn’t enough”: Blue Raiders left regretting missed chances
11/21/2021 5:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — DQ Thomas has a smile that can light up a room all on its own. It was one of the very first things I noticed about him when I started on the beat here, mostly because he's very willing to flash that smile at all times.
He'd been in post game interviews three times this year prior to Saturday, twice after wins (at UConn, vs. Southern Miss) and once after a loss (at Liberty), and while it was clear he shined ever brighter after the wins, he kept that positive persona even after the tough road loss in Lynchburg.
But after the Blue Raiders fell 24-17 against Old Dominion in the team's home finale, Thomas' smile was still there, but the hurt of the close loss was still evident. After holding ODU to just 10 points through three quarters, the two late touchdowns that gave the Monarchs the win had taken their toll on the captain, to say nothing of the fact it was Thomas' last home game in the Royal Blue of Middle Tennessee.
"They just wanted it more," Thomas said. "We weren't making plays when we're supposed to, and they capitalized on it."
His answers were short, quick, to the point. Truthful and informative, to be clear, but matter-of-fact as well. And with a player like DQ, who normally is so full of life in these interview situations that it jumps out at you, it just made the press conference all the more heartbreaking.
"Every chance is good," Thomas said of the late fourth down stop that gave MT the ball with just over two and half minutes. "But we came up short, so it wasn't enough."
There were plenty of chances for MT to turn the game around. Two field goal attempts in the red zone were foiled — one a straight up miss, the other a botched snap. Those two alone would've given MT just needing a field goal to win in the closing minutes instead of a touchdown.
The two TDs ODU scored in the fourth quarter, one set up by a deflected pass that Ali Jennings took 60 yards to set up a four yard rush for a touchdown. The other? Just a missed assignment filling the B-gap resulting in a 45-yard touchdown run.
And in many metrics, the Blue Raiders played better for most of the game, getting 25 first downs to the Monarchs' 11, converting a higher percentage of third downs in the process.
"We've been watching on film that a lot of the inside zone runs didn't work on them, so we wanted to get the edge. And that's what we were pretty good at in the past," said Jaylin Lane, who had 10 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, including a cut back on a jet sweep catch that went for 33 yards. "It almost felt like a punt return, and I'm used to doing that. They over played it a lot, so I knew the cut back was there, so I just went."
But in the end, an explosive ODU offense, averaging nearly two yards a play more than Middle Tennessee, was too much to overcome, though no one is putting the blame on anyone else for why the game was lost.
"I told the team afterwards that we'll find a way to bounce back," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "It's disappointing, it hurts, it's a gut punch."
"We left a lot of points on the board," Lane said when asked about the team's missed field goals. "I'm not going to put it on our special teams, because as an offense, we've just got to put the ball in the endzone, so that's on us."
"You try not to put it on each other," Thomas said of missed tackles in the open field that led to the explosive plays. "It's stuff we fix before we even play (again), so we'll just go back to work and fix all that."
Now, Middle Tennessee faces a must win game against Florida Atlantic on the road to get to six wins for the first time since 2018, and the bowl eligibility that comes with that. Of course, after the Owls blowout loss at WKU this weekend, FAU also enters the game with a 5-6 record, and thus in need of the same thing.
And, Lane pointed out, the chance to fix the hurt of this year's seniors.
"We just have to keep our heads up, practice harder than we've ever practiced," Lane said. "We need this win to become bowl eligible. That's what hurt me. It was the last home game for them. So that hurt me a lot."
He'd been in post game interviews three times this year prior to Saturday, twice after wins (at UConn, vs. Southern Miss) and once after a loss (at Liberty), and while it was clear he shined ever brighter after the wins, he kept that positive persona even after the tough road loss in Lynchburg.
But after the Blue Raiders fell 24-17 against Old Dominion in the team's home finale, Thomas' smile was still there, but the hurt of the close loss was still evident. After holding ODU to just 10 points through three quarters, the two late touchdowns that gave the Monarchs the win had taken their toll on the captain, to say nothing of the fact it was Thomas' last home game in the Royal Blue of Middle Tennessee.
"They just wanted it more," Thomas said. "We weren't making plays when we're supposed to, and they capitalized on it."
His answers were short, quick, to the point. Truthful and informative, to be clear, but matter-of-fact as well. And with a player like DQ, who normally is so full of life in these interview situations that it jumps out at you, it just made the press conference all the more heartbreaking.
"Every chance is good," Thomas said of the late fourth down stop that gave MT the ball with just over two and half minutes. "But we came up short, so it wasn't enough."
There were plenty of chances for MT to turn the game around. Two field goal attempts in the red zone were foiled — one a straight up miss, the other a botched snap. Those two alone would've given MT just needing a field goal to win in the closing minutes instead of a touchdown.
The two TDs ODU scored in the fourth quarter, one set up by a deflected pass that Ali Jennings took 60 yards to set up a four yard rush for a touchdown. The other? Just a missed assignment filling the B-gap resulting in a 45-yard touchdown run.
And in many metrics, the Blue Raiders played better for most of the game, getting 25 first downs to the Monarchs' 11, converting a higher percentage of third downs in the process.
"We've been watching on film that a lot of the inside zone runs didn't work on them, so we wanted to get the edge. And that's what we were pretty good at in the past," said Jaylin Lane, who had 10 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, including a cut back on a jet sweep catch that went for 33 yards. "It almost felt like a punt return, and I'm used to doing that. They over played it a lot, so I knew the cut back was there, so I just went."
But in the end, an explosive ODU offense, averaging nearly two yards a play more than Middle Tennessee, was too much to overcome, though no one is putting the blame on anyone else for why the game was lost.
"I told the team afterwards that we'll find a way to bounce back," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "It's disappointing, it hurts, it's a gut punch."
"We left a lot of points on the board," Lane said when asked about the team's missed field goals. "I'm not going to put it on our special teams, because as an offense, we've just got to put the ball in the endzone, so that's on us."
"You try not to put it on each other," Thomas said of missed tackles in the open field that led to the explosive plays. "It's stuff we fix before we even play (again), so we'll just go back to work and fix all that."
Now, Middle Tennessee faces a must win game against Florida Atlantic on the road to get to six wins for the first time since 2018, and the bowl eligibility that comes with that. Of course, after the Owls blowout loss at WKU this weekend, FAU also enters the game with a 5-6 record, and thus in need of the same thing.
And, Lane pointed out, the chance to fix the hurt of this year's seniors.
"We just have to keep our heads up, practice harder than we've ever practiced," Lane said. "We need this win to become bowl eligible. That's what hurt me. It was the last home game for them. So that hurt me a lot."
Players Mentioned
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