Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
New Faces lead Blue Raiders in win where there’s still “a whole lot of meat out there on the bone”
9/17/2023 8:02:00 AM | Football
With seven starters out, new names stepped up to push MTSU past Murray State
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Jaiden Credle didn't know exactly how much his name would be called in the running back room this Saturday, one that was without Frank Peasant against Murray State, but Offensive Coordinator Mitch Stewart was sure to deliver the message early in the week that would help him have some idea.
"Get ready," Stewart told Credle. "It's your week, your time, the ball is in your hands."
Sam Brumfield's name was called more than it ever has been in his three-game Blue Raider career, a product of both the depth of his linebacker room and his newness to Murfreesboro, but it was a challenge the Northwest Mississippi CC transfer embraced.
"My name was called, so it was just about being there for my team, putting my defense in position to go out there and make plays," Brumfield said.
Whether it was Credle, who finished Saturday night's 35-14 win over the Racers with 132 yards rushing on just 11 carries and a pair of touchdowns (an explosive, 71-yard home run rush and a smart, 14-yard reception), or Brumfield, who's 13 tackles led all Blue Raiders and his sack and tackle and half for loss tied for the individual lead in both categories, there were no shortage of guys the home team called upon that stepped up on a night where MTSU missed seven starters.
"I thought we did a lot of good things tonight," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "And we did a lot of things that we've got to get corrected. But I'm proud that we won the game, I'll never sit up here and apologize for winning."
No one will argue with you that this win was satisfying for MTSU, who entered Saturday as the heavy favorites against an FCS foe that was predicted to finish next to last in their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference. And for the first quarter on Saturday, the one where Credle popped for his pair of touchdowns, it looked like it was going that way.
"From the huddle, everybody was telling me, it's a touchdown play, it's a touchdown play," Credle said of his 71-yard run, where he took a halfback sweep to the right and blasted past the edge his offensive line set down the sideline. "Seeing how the defense was lining up, I just knew it was going to go to the house."
MTSU outgained Murray State 158 yards to 22 through the first 15 minutes of the game, with the Racers managing just one first down while turning the ball over on a fumble on their very first drive, the first of three fumbles MTSU would recover on the night. With three different Blue Raiders (Deonte Stanley, Jakobe Thomas and Brumfield) forcing those fumbles and three different Blue Raiders (Parker Hughes, Zaylin Wood and Marley Cook) recovering the balls on the ground.
But MTSU only managed to score seven points off those three fumbles, missing a field goal after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed them behind the Murray State 30-yard line and failing to convert on fourth-and-five from the Racer eight-yard line. The third fumble, forced by Brumfield and returned to near midfield by Cook in the third quarter as Murray State drove into the redzone threatening to make it a one-score game, resulted in a touchdown, an 18-yard scamper from Jekail Middlebrook where he juked two Racers out of their shoes.
"As important as getting them is, is what do you do with it after a turnover," Stockstill said. "We were very inconsistent at that."
Also inconsistent was the run defense, as Racer Cortezz Jones racked up 138 yards on the ground in just 15 carries, a 9.1 yards per carry average, and the deep ball coverage in the secondary, where Murray State found success both in completing explosive passes and in drawing pass interference penalties.
"We've got to run our plays the right way," Thomas said of the coverage. "We had a couple of missed assignments that caused some big plays."
But what likely contributed most to the feelings of melancholy in Murfreesboro, however, was one stat: 12 penalties for 110 yards. That one stat intersects with many issues on that night. There were four penalties — two holding calls and two pass interferences — that you could chalk up to just playing ball, the types of penalties that could happen at any time when you play. You want to avoid them, sure, but you can live with them at that volume.
That means the other eight penalties — four false starts, two personal fouls after the whistle, an illegal substitution and an offside and two personal fouls — are the non-active-play penalties that drive coaches up a wall. And the fact that his team committed so many of them is not something Stockstill takes lightly.
"It's disappointing and it's my fault," Stockstill said. "Post and pre snap penalties kill you. You can live with a holding call because that happens. (Murray State was) doing a lot of talking and stemming up there and we were not disciplined enough to block their talking out."
But in so many small moments on Saturday, like Credle's 14-yard touchdown catch after Nicholas Vattiato found him on the backside of the play design after going through his progression, or Brumfield's sack where he bull rushed through the running back blocker, or Middlebrook's first touchdown, where he dragged a Racer into the endzone with him for his first career touchdown (with a little help from Elijah Metcalf), Blue Raiders stepped up when their name was called.
Which only makes those Blue Raiders hungrier for what's to come.
"You look at it, you've got 500 yards of total offense only on 60 plays," Stockstill said. "You sit there and you feel like you left a whole lot of meat out there on the bone."
"Get ready," Stewart told Credle. "It's your week, your time, the ball is in your hands."
Sam Brumfield's name was called more than it ever has been in his three-game Blue Raider career, a product of both the depth of his linebacker room and his newness to Murfreesboro, but it was a challenge the Northwest Mississippi CC transfer embraced.
"My name was called, so it was just about being there for my team, putting my defense in position to go out there and make plays," Brumfield said.
Whether it was Credle, who finished Saturday night's 35-14 win over the Racers with 132 yards rushing on just 11 carries and a pair of touchdowns (an explosive, 71-yard home run rush and a smart, 14-yard reception), or Brumfield, who's 13 tackles led all Blue Raiders and his sack and tackle and half for loss tied for the individual lead in both categories, there were no shortage of guys the home team called upon that stepped up on a night where MTSU missed seven starters.
"I thought we did a lot of good things tonight," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "And we did a lot of things that we've got to get corrected. But I'm proud that we won the game, I'll never sit up here and apologize for winning."
No one will argue with you that this win was satisfying for MTSU, who entered Saturday as the heavy favorites against an FCS foe that was predicted to finish next to last in their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference. And for the first quarter on Saturday, the one where Credle popped for his pair of touchdowns, it looked like it was going that way.
"From the huddle, everybody was telling me, it's a touchdown play, it's a touchdown play," Credle said of his 71-yard run, where he took a halfback sweep to the right and blasted past the edge his offensive line set down the sideline. "Seeing how the defense was lining up, I just knew it was going to go to the house."
JAIDEN. CREDLE. 💨
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) September 16, 2023
71 yards to the house!@MT_FB | #NoLimitsOnUs pic.twitter.com/45B2jhsTbl
MTSU outgained Murray State 158 yards to 22 through the first 15 minutes of the game, with the Racers managing just one first down while turning the ball over on a fumble on their very first drive, the first of three fumbles MTSU would recover on the night. With three different Blue Raiders (Deonte Stanley, Jakobe Thomas and Brumfield) forcing those fumbles and three different Blue Raiders (Parker Hughes, Zaylin Wood and Marley Cook) recovering the balls on the ground.
But MTSU only managed to score seven points off those three fumbles, missing a field goal after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed them behind the Murray State 30-yard line and failing to convert on fourth-and-five from the Racer eight-yard line. The third fumble, forced by Brumfield and returned to near midfield by Cook in the third quarter as Murray State drove into the redzone threatening to make it a one-score game, resulted in a touchdown, an 18-yard scamper from Jekail Middlebrook where he juked two Racers out of their shoes.
"As important as getting them is, is what do you do with it after a turnover," Stockstill said. "We were very inconsistent at that."
Also inconsistent was the run defense, as Racer Cortezz Jones racked up 138 yards on the ground in just 15 carries, a 9.1 yards per carry average, and the deep ball coverage in the secondary, where Murray State found success both in completing explosive passes and in drawing pass interference penalties.
"We've got to run our plays the right way," Thomas said of the coverage. "We had a couple of missed assignments that caused some big plays."
But what likely contributed most to the feelings of melancholy in Murfreesboro, however, was one stat: 12 penalties for 110 yards. That one stat intersects with many issues on that night. There were four penalties — two holding calls and two pass interferences — that you could chalk up to just playing ball, the types of penalties that could happen at any time when you play. You want to avoid them, sure, but you can live with them at that volume.
That means the other eight penalties — four false starts, two personal fouls after the whistle, an illegal substitution and an offside and two personal fouls — are the non-active-play penalties that drive coaches up a wall. And the fact that his team committed so many of them is not something Stockstill takes lightly.
"It's disappointing and it's my fault," Stockstill said. "Post and pre snap penalties kill you. You can live with a holding call because that happens. (Murray State was) doing a lot of talking and stemming up there and we were not disciplined enough to block their talking out."
But in so many small moments on Saturday, like Credle's 14-yard touchdown catch after Nicholas Vattiato found him on the backside of the play design after going through his progression, or Brumfield's sack where he bull rushed through the running back blocker, or Middlebrook's first touchdown, where he dragged a Racer into the endzone with him for his first career touchdown (with a little help from Elijah Metcalf), Blue Raiders stepped up when their name was called.
Which only makes those Blue Raiders hungrier for what's to come.
"You look at it, you've got 500 yards of total offense only on 60 plays," Stockstill said. "You sit there and you feel like you left a whole lot of meat out there on the bone."
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