Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
“Toughness got us back in the game, and toughness will finish it”
12/25/2022 12:14:00 PM | Football
After the final whistle, MTSU stayed on the field
HONOLULU, Hawai'i — Drenched in sweat from the Hawaiian sun, but mostly drenched in Gatorade, Rick Stockstill stood on the turf of the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex triumphant.
Standing in front of the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl step and repeat, the assembled local media of Oahu sprayed out ahead of him, the Honolulu humidity draining everyone in the circle, this is what Rick Stockstill wanted for his team.
"The whole message the last two weeks since we found out we're going to this bowl was 'Stay on the Field,'" Stockstill said. "I broke it down after practice '1-2-3, Stay on the Field.' Everything in there, all week, "Stay on the Field." That was our objective, stay on the field to do this."
What was this? Well, not exactly the press conference on the field entirely, though that was one of many perks reserved to the winner of the 2022 EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl. But all of those perks, the trophy presentation, the Bowl Game MVP, the national spotlight on ESPN, all culminated on the turf, after MTSU defeated San Diego State 25-23 on Christmas Eve.
"I told them at halftime toughness got us back in the game, and toughness would finish it," Stockstill said. "To me, that was the bottom line. It was just a very tough, hard-fought, competitive football game."
MTSU didn't make things easy for themselves early on, quickly falling behind 14-0 nothing thanks to a successful fake punt and a busted halfback slip screen, all while the offense struggled to get going. But like so many of MTSU's wins, the defense got things going, gifting the Blue Raider offense great field position with five takeaways, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Yes, a pretty game, this win was not. In fact, of all the games I've watched kickoff to final whistle in my lifetime, this might've been the most "Yes...Ha Ha Ha...Yes!" Sickos Committee game I've ever seen, with MTSU finishing with -66 rushing yards thanks to giving up seven sacks, but still managed more rushing yards from their running backs (34) than SDSU got from theirs (2).
It was a game where the two kickers, Zeke Rankin and Jack Browning, combined for nine field goal attempts (with seven makes between the two). Where Rankin set the Hawai'i Bowl record for longest field in the second quarter, and where Browning broke that record in the fourth.
"I was kind of upset, but it doesn't really matter because we got the win and he didn't," Rankin said, with a smile, of Browning breaking his record. "Great dude, he's got a heck of a leg. Definitely upset that I didn't get to hold the record, but who cares, I'm going home with a trophy."
Rankin's 37-yarder with just over two minutes remaining pushed SDSU into a tough spot, with no timeouts and needing to drive the length of the field to go for the win. When a sack and a pass break up forced the Aztecs into Fourth and 24, the trick play came out. A hook and lateral, a la Boise State.
It might've even worked. But the lateral was behind the Aztec receiver, and Teldrick Ross scooped up the loose ball to ice the game for the Blue Raiders.
"Once I grabbed that ball, I cradled like a baby with two arms and squeezed it like butter," Ross said. "My teammates drowned (the whistle) out, but that's what we're supposed to do. We came to Hawaii, had a vacation, but at the end of the day we still had a business."
Jordan Ferguson scored his third touchdown of his career, but his first on offense, securing the pass from Chase Cunningham off the toss play action and promptly spiking the football…earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the process.
"I spiked it, I saw no flag," Ferguson recalled. "I kind of walked off and saw two flags and was like 'ahhhh.' Coach Stock just gave me that death stare."
But as Stockstill pointed out, the football gods smiled upon the Hawai'i Bowl MVP, as a block in the back penalty pushed SDSU inside their own 20 on the ensuing kickoff, essentially negating the spike penalty.
So yes, not the prettiest win on one of the prettiest holidays, but a win that feels right for this team. One defined by toughness, not just the physical tribulations in each game, but the mental toughness. Rankin wiping an earlier miss from his mind to drill two more field goals in the second half. Jaylin Lane, with a somehow quiet 10 catches for 111 yards and a score, finding space and getting the offense going.
A win that speaks to the culture of the team, and the brotherhood bonds that will last long past the Blue Raiders' time in Oahu.
"We were just one play away from getting back in it," Stockstill said. "We just stayed positive. The defense never came down there and started complaining to the offense. Always encouraging them. We're a team, we've got a great culture here. And to send the seniors out this way. Just happy for them."
Standing in front of the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl step and repeat, the assembled local media of Oahu sprayed out ahead of him, the Honolulu humidity draining everyone in the circle, this is what Rick Stockstill wanted for his team.
"The whole message the last two weeks since we found out we're going to this bowl was 'Stay on the Field,'" Stockstill said. "I broke it down after practice '1-2-3, Stay on the Field.' Everything in there, all week, "Stay on the Field." That was our objective, stay on the field to do this."
What was this? Well, not exactly the press conference on the field entirely, though that was one of many perks reserved to the winner of the 2022 EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl. But all of those perks, the trophy presentation, the Bowl Game MVP, the national spotlight on ESPN, all culminated on the turf, after MTSU defeated San Diego State 25-23 on Christmas Eve.
"I told them at halftime toughness got us back in the game, and toughness would finish it," Stockstill said. "To me, that was the bottom line. It was just a very tough, hard-fought, competitive football game."
MTSU didn't make things easy for themselves early on, quickly falling behind 14-0 nothing thanks to a successful fake punt and a busted halfback slip screen, all while the offense struggled to get going. But like so many of MTSU's wins, the defense got things going, gifting the Blue Raider offense great field position with five takeaways, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Yes, a pretty game, this win was not. In fact, of all the games I've watched kickoff to final whistle in my lifetime, this might've been the most "Yes...Ha Ha Ha...Yes!" Sickos Committee game I've ever seen, with MTSU finishing with -66 rushing yards thanks to giving up seven sacks, but still managed more rushing yards from their running backs (34) than SDSU got from theirs (2).
It was a game where the two kickers, Zeke Rankin and Jack Browning, combined for nine field goal attempts (with seven makes between the two). Where Rankin set the Hawai'i Bowl record for longest field in the second quarter, and where Browning broke that record in the fourth.
"I was kind of upset, but it doesn't really matter because we got the win and he didn't," Rankin said, with a smile, of Browning breaking his record. "Great dude, he's got a heck of a leg. Definitely upset that I didn't get to hold the record, but who cares, I'm going home with a trophy."
Rankin's 37-yarder with just over two minutes remaining pushed SDSU into a tough spot, with no timeouts and needing to drive the length of the field to go for the win. When a sack and a pass break up forced the Aztecs into Fourth and 24, the trick play came out. A hook and lateral, a la Boise State.
It might've even worked. But the lateral was behind the Aztec receiver, and Teldrick Ross scooped up the loose ball to ice the game for the Blue Raiders.
"Once I grabbed that ball, I cradled like a baby with two arms and squeezed it like butter," Ross said. "My teammates drowned (the whistle) out, but that's what we're supposed to do. We came to Hawaii, had a vacation, but at the end of the day we still had a business."
Jordan Ferguson scored his third touchdown of his career, but his first on offense, securing the pass from Chase Cunningham off the toss play action and promptly spiking the football…earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the process.
"I spiked it, I saw no flag," Ferguson recalled. "I kind of walked off and saw two flags and was like 'ahhhh.' Coach Stock just gave me that death stare."
But as Stockstill pointed out, the football gods smiled upon the Hawai'i Bowl MVP, as a block in the back penalty pushed SDSU inside their own 20 on the ensuing kickoff, essentially negating the spike penalty.
So yes, not the prettiest win on one of the prettiest holidays, but a win that feels right for this team. One defined by toughness, not just the physical tribulations in each game, but the mental toughness. Rankin wiping an earlier miss from his mind to drill two more field goals in the second half. Jaylin Lane, with a somehow quiet 10 catches for 111 yards and a score, finding space and getting the offense going.
A win that speaks to the culture of the team, and the brotherhood bonds that will last long past the Blue Raiders' time in Oahu.
"We were just one play away from getting back in it," Stockstill said. "We just stayed positive. The defense never came down there and started complaining to the offense. Always encouraging them. We're a team, we've got a great culture here. And to send the seniors out this way. Just happy for them."
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