Preview: WKU Beat Writer Q&A with Jared MacDonald

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Chase Cunningham is among the humblest student-athletes one could possibly cover in college football. Always says the right thing on the press conference podium, always deferential to his teammates when describing his own success and willing to take the blame in his team's failures.

So, by his even-keeled standards, it was easy to tell that the redshirt senior was excited to finally be able to play Western Kentucky this season, a game he missed a year ago after tearing his ACL against Southern Miss the week prior.

"I've never gotten to play in this game, especially as a starter," Cunningham said, pausing while pushing forward. "But the main thing is that it's another game. You always try to prepare each game like it's the same."

He allowed for one addendum to his captain's speech, however.

"Obviously, there's some bitter blood between the two teams."

When Middle Tennessee (3-3, 0-2 C-USA) and Western Kentucky (3-3, 1-1 C-USA) kickoff at 2:30 p.m. this Saturday at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, it will be the 72nd meeting between the two schools separated by just 100 or so miles, most of those on I-65 and I-24. The record in those 71 previous meetings? A perfectly balanced 35-35-1, with the tie coming all the way back in Murfreesboro in 1925.

The two schools have played the vast majority of years since their first meeting in 1914, a 47-0 victory for MTSU, with the only long-term gap in the rivalry occurring from 1991-2007, during which time the two teams did not share a conference. Once the Hilltoppers joined the Sun Belt in 2007 as part of their FBS transition, the two programs have played all but one year since, a 2013 blip when MTSU was in C-USA, but WKU was in their final year in the Sun Belt.

Since both schools moved up into FBS football, four different MTSU-WKU games have gone into overtime, though the Hilltoppers are looking to make it their fourth straight win in the series this Saturday, riding another high-powered offense built on the spread and air raid concepts that have defined the Hilltoppers for the better part of the past two seasons.

"They start the game by getting the ball out quick, running some screens," defensive end Jordan Ferguson said of the WKU offense averaging a C-USA leading 40.8 points per game. "We've got to expect the unexpected this week. We always prepare for things, and they end up doing different things, I guess in a testament to us and what we do in different areas."

With reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Bailey Zappe now winning games for the New England Patriots, West Florida transfer Austin Reed has taken over at quarterback, with plenty of weapons back from a season ago for him to work with.

"He gets the ball out really quick, he's got a strong arm, he's accurate," head coach Rick Stockstill said of Reed. "And their receivers are really good in space. We've got to do a better job of keeping the ball in front of us. We've got to do a better job of getting their skill guys down."

Defensively, the Blue Raiders have emphasized the variety of looks that the Hilltoppers are capable of throwing at opposing offenses under new defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. The results have been self-evident, tying for the conference lead in turnover margin and currently second in C-USA in scoring defense (23.7 points per game).

"Who knows what they base out of," offensive coordinator Mitch Stewart postulated on the Hilltoppers' base defense. "They bring a lot of dynamic pressures. You'll see them, they'll literally line everybody up to one side of the offensive line, five people to one side of your center. So, you've got to be on your Ps and Qs or else you're going to get hit in the teeth."

But much of the focus in practice this week, MTSU emphasized has been on themselves and correcting problems from the past weekends that have not gone the Blue Raiders way. Stockstill made clear his defense would have to stop giving up big plays over the top, while the MTSU offense will look to spread the ball around in a more balanced fashion than they have the past two games.

To get a closer look at this year's WKU team, GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton chatted with Jared MacDonald, who covers the Hilltoppers for the Bowling Green Daily News. You can find his work for the paper here, and follow him on twitter @JMacDonaldSport.

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1) Around Conference USA (though probably not within Bowling Green), I think the general perception would be that WKU would take a slight step back this season from their C-USA East Division title-winning side in 2021, with the departure of QB Bailey Zappe, WR Jerreth Sterns and offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, among many others. But through six games, it looks like the Hilltoppers have hardly missed a beat from last season. What do you think has been the biggest key to the Hilltoppers continuing their high level of play through six games?

I agree that there was a perception that WKU would take a step back this fall, although I might use the word uncertainty when it comes to those around Bowling Green. I think the biggest key for the Hilltoppers to continue to have success was a combination of having strong returners – whether that be people staying in roles or moving into new ones – and getting pieces to replace what was lost.

Like you said, offensively WKU lost a lot, starting with offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. The Hilltoppers promoted three members of its staff to co-offensive coordinator – Ben Arbuckle, Zach Lankford and Josh Crawford. Arbuckle is the play-caller on Saturdays, and had worked as Kittley's right-hand man last year at WKU and before that at Houston Baptist, so not much has changed in that regard. They brought in West Virginia transfer Jarret Doege and Division II West Florida transfer Austin Reed at quarterback – a battle won by Reed, who fits the style the Hilltoppers played last year. They still had a deep receiving room that carried over from last year highlighted by Daewood Davis and Malachi Corley, despite the losses of Jerreth Sterns and Mitchell Tinsley. They also brought in two experienced MAC transfers in Jaylen Hall and Michael Mathison who have played well. The tight end room also returned Josh Simon, who missed almost all of last year with a knee injury suffered in the opener, and Joey Beljan, who got a year of experience with Simon out. The Tops did have some questions along the offensive line with three starters from a year ago gone, but Mark Goode and Gunner Britton stepped into starting roles and WKU added South Carolina transfer Vinnie Murphy at right guard to play alongside Quantavious Leslie and Rusty Staats at left guard and center, respectively. Goode's status for Saturday was questionable as of Monday, however, after he went down late at UTSA.

Defensively, WKU saw a lot of new faces join the staff this offseason. Tyson Summers is the new defensive coordinator and has done a nice job shoring things up on that side of the ball. They're primarily a 3-4 defense and have done a good job of doing things to maximize the strengths of the players they have on that side of the ball. While the biggest name – DeAngelo Malone – has moved on to the NFL, several others have stepped into larger roles.

2) It's perhaps unfair to Austin Reed to compare him to Bailey Zappe, because the St. Augustine Beach, Fla. native is a gamer in his own right as a quarterback. What has impressed you the most about the West Florida transfer this season, particularly for a player that had to win the job out of fall camp?

I think the thing that's impressed me the most about Austin Reed is his leadership. From my perspective, it seems like he's a guy everyone rallies around, and during media availabilities, he's all about the team – he doesn't seem to take credit for a win, but will take all the blame in a loss. He obviously didn't have the experience playing in the system that Zappe had when he arrived to WKU, since Zappe played for Kittley a number of years prior at HBU, but Reed's done a nice job picking it up.

Going back to fall camp and the quarterback battle, I think Reed just fits the style WKU wanted to play a little better than Doege did, plus he has another year of eligibility after this. Reed's a guy that reminds me of Zappe in a lot of ways, especially with how he's not afraid to throw the ball around the park. The two also have similar builds. If we're comparing him to other quarterbacks from WKU, I see as kind of a mix of Bailey Zappe and Ty Storey, who led the team in Tyson Helton's first season in 2019 for all but the first three games. Reed's a strong passer, as evidenced by his numbers at West Florida and this year – he's currently third nationally with 2,038 yards passing, fourth in passing touchdowns with 19 and eighth in completion percentage at 71.8% – but also has a gamer mentality like Storey did, where he'll do what it takes to try to win – he ran the ball 11 times in the loss at UTSA and Storey was WKU's most frequent rusher outside of running back Gaej Walker in 2019, for example.

3) Offense wasn't the only side of the ball that experienced change this offseason, with former Georgia Southern head coach Tyson Summers now leading the Hilltopper defense. What changes has Summers brought to the unit this season, and who are some players that have impressed you in his scheme so far?

Summers wanted his defense to play with an "intelligent aggressiveness" this season and they have. The new defense, as I mentioned before, looks different in what they do, and it has led to success. WKU is allowing just 23.67 points per game – the second-best mark in C-USA – and has had big plays help along the way. The Hilltoppers have had success getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks and are second in C-USA with 2.33 sacks per game and tied for first in turnover margin – I think you know who's at the top of those categories. The defense under Summers is much improved in stopping the run, and enters Saturday's game leading the league with just 130 yards rushing allowed per game.

Whenever I'm asked about players that have stood out on WKU's defense this season, I think back to something safety Kaleb Oliver told me in Hawaii after the 49-17 win – "We say there are star players and there's star makers."

Starting up front, Brodric Martin has been a star maker this season. While his stats aren't great, he's regularly applying pressure, and Summers raves about his passion for stopping the run. Juwuan Jones is back for his final year and is a recognizable name across C-USA. Linebacker JaQues "Donut" Evans was stuck behind others on WKU's defense the last couple years, but has flourished in the new system. WKU also brought in Derrick Smith from Illinois and he's improved each week. He's now one of the leading tacklers and adds more to a group of linebackers that had plenty of experience already with Jaden Hunter and Will Ignont. The Hilltoppers have mixed in a lot of players in the back end, but Oliver has played well at safety and Kahlef Hailassie has had a strong season at corner. Upton Stout is another corner who has made some explosive plays after transferring from North Texas in the offseason.

4) Even with that high powered offense, teams have been able to clip the Hilltoppers the past two weeks in losses at home to Troy and on the road to UTSA. Rick Stockstill said that it was in large part due to those two team's defenses being able to keep plays in front of them. From your perspective, were there any commonalities to what the Trojans and Roadrunners did to get past WKU? Where did those two teams find success on offense?

I think the biggest commonality between Troy and UTSA is that they're both just good programs. While the Trojans were somewhat of an uncertainty on what they'd be entering the year with new head coach Jon Sumrall, they're currently sitting at 4-2, and would be 5-1 with its only loss at Ole Miss if not for a last-second touchdown from Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. Everybody familiar with C-USA knows how good UTSA was last year, and with plenty back, they were expected to be good again.

Like Stockstill said, both defenses did a nice job of limiting the explosive plays and not letting WKU score on those types of plays, unlike some of the other opponents this season. Looking at Saturday in San Antonio, WKU had a number of false starts that pushed the offense back, and Helton said he played the game "ultra aggressive," so they did things like go for it on fourth-and-long multiple times around midfield to try to beat UTSA at the Alamodome, but struggled to convert those.

Offensively, both teams scored enough to win while their defenses shined against WKU's offense. Troy was consistent and got a clutch performance from Jarret Doege – who spent the spring, summer and start of fall with WKU after transferring from West Virginia – with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. WKU did a nice job limiting Frank Harris, the three-headed monster at receiver and the rest of the Roadrunner offense to 31 points, but it was enough to nip the Hilltoppers for the third time in the last two seasons.

5) Both programs enter Saturday desperate for a win to stop their negative momentum at the halfway point of the season. What are the keys WKU needs to focus on this week to get their fourth straight win in the rivalry and also take the all-time lead in the series?

I think the biggest thing WKU needs to do to return to the win column is getting the offense producing like it became used to before running into Troy and UTSA. Prior to those games, WKU had 18 straight games of scoring at least 30 points. The Hilltoppers need to find a way to finish more drives in the end zone, which is obviously easier said than done. One key in that will be along the offensive line. Starting left tackle Mark Goode went down late at UTSA and had to be carted off the field. His status was not announced during media availability earlier this week, but during walk-throughs on Tuesday, Gunner Britton had moved from right tackle to left tackle and Wes Dorsey had filled in at right tackle, which is the lineup Helton said would be most likely if Goode can't go. It'll be a big challenge against a defense that's gotten to opposing quarterbacks more than anyone else in the league so far.

Defensively, I think WKU just needs to play like it has so far this season and, if the offense returns to its old self, it should be enough. Stopping the run, making Chase Cunningham uncomfortable and forcing turnovers will be key against a Middle Tennessee defense that's also capable of making big plays.

For both teams, this is an extremely important game in the season for the C-USA standings.

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Chase Cunningham

Jordan Ferguson

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