Preview: Q&A with Jeff Nations of the Bowling Green Daily News

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Even with a new coach at the helm for the first time in 19 seasons, Middle Tennessee football remains extremely familiar with Western Kentucky's staff.

The Blue Raiders' new head coach, Derek Mason, has long known the Hilltoppers' head man, Tyson Helton, and the entire Helton family coaching tree, through years of interactions in the coaching ranks. On the staff side, Mason coached alongside one of WKU's co-offensive coordinators, Will Friend, when he was defensive coordinator at Auburn. And from the program perspective, the Hilltoppers were a consistent non-conference opponent for Mason when he was the head coach at Vanderbilt.

But playing Western Kentucky takes on a different feeling when you're a part of Middle Tennessee, Mason acknowledged.

"Everybody understands 100 Miles of Hate as history goes in this game," Mason said.

The head coach also understands his program has a lot of work to do to make the rivalry worthy of its name. The Hilltoppers have won eight of the past nine meetings between the two teams, including five wins in a row starting in the 2019 season, a stretch that has swung the all-time series lead into WKU's favor, 37-35-1.

"We don't downplay it and give it it's just do," Mason said of the rivalry. "But we still know and understand that we've got to prepare the right way."

With both teams coming off a start to the season that featured a loss against a CFP contender SEC team and a win over an FCS foe, the story of both teams' seasons will only start to be written on Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Floyd Stadium. But Mason's connections and film study have already given him a head start on what to expect.

"Coach Summers does a really good job of moving it around," Mason said of the WKU defensive coordinator. "They're secondary driven, with some dudes in their front seven that can give you some issues."

Defensively, Mason knows his former colleague Friend will look to attack MTSU in the run game, where Mason said his team has to do a better job of fitting the run to make an impact. Combine that with a spread scheme to feature a lot of eye candy with a capable transfer quarterback in TJ Finley and the Blue Raiders will have their hands full as a unit.

"You're going to see a full gambit of stuff," Mason said. "Guys have to play good football. Our eyes have got to be clean; we've got to fit the run and then pay attention to the details and do the job. Because they give you so much eye candy in what they do, that if you're not doing your job and they'll find ways to make you pay."

But with Saturday also being the start of Conference USA play for both teams, there's no more cards to keep in your hand when you can play them. Everything is going to be on the table.

"From man, to zone, to pressure, it's all going up," Mason said. "'100 Miles of Hate,' first conference game, guns are loaded. Let's go."

To learn more about the Hilltoppers, GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton reached out to Jeff Nations, who is the Sports Editor of the Bowling Green Daily News. The pair chatted about the start of CUSA play for both teams, TJ Finley's adjustment to WKU, the transfer portal success Tyson Helton has had in recent seasons, as well as some keys to the game.

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1. WKU's start to the 2024 season was set up much like MTSU, with a Top 10 road game and an FCS opponent in the team's first two games. Have you learned much about who the Hilltoppers will be this season from those two games? What are some of the lessons the coaching staff and players are taking away from the early start?

It has been a start of extremes for WKU. Few expected the Hilltoppers to pull off a major upset against a top-five program, but a 63-0 shutout loss in the season opener was certainly sobering for the fan base that expected the Tops to at least put some points on the scoreboard. Then in the home opener, WKU had a somewhat surprisingly easy time of it against long-time in-state rival Eastern Kentucky. Yes, it was a game the Tops were supposed to win against an FCS-level opponent, but WKU's defense bounced back in a big way by pitching a shutout and allowing the offense a couple extra opportunities to get rolling -- it did, eventually, with a trio of rushing touchdowns before first-year starting quarterback TJ Finley broke through with his first touchdown pass of the season to Dalvin Smith. Those first two wildly different outcomes make Saturday's matchup against MTSU -- WKU head coach Tyson Helton repeatedly called the Blue Raiders "a comparable program" during his Monday news conference -- a much better indicator of where the Hilltoppers are this season.

2. TJ Finley has been all over the Southeast in his college career and certainly came into Bowling Green with high expectations this season after the year he had at Texas State. What dynamic has he brought to the WKU offense early in his time with the Hilltoppers? Has the transition been smooth so far?

Finley was a real get for the Hilltoppers out of the NCAA transfer portal -- an athletic, big-armed quarterback with an extensive SEC pedigree after starting games at both LSU and Auburn before his real breakout last season at Texas State. Finley didn't do much against Alabama -- no one did -- and threw a pair of interceptions while playing just the first half. He looked much better in the 31-0 win against Eastern Kentucky, showing off an ability to distribute the ball effectively to the Tops' multiple options in the passing game. He's a strong guy too, and while not a burner can run for tough yardage. He looks more than capable of effectively keeping this offense rolling, a challenge he took on in part from knowing the success WKU has had in sending quarterbacks on to the NFL.

3. WKU has brought in 33 transfers this offseason including Finley, but many of the ones that have made an early impact have come up from the FCS level (WR Kisean Johnson from Alabama State, DB Devonte' Matthews from Nicholls State) or even the DII level (LB Chandler Matthews from Limestone University). What do you make of the WKU's program's success in finding contributors who are "transferring up," so to speak, something Tyson Helton has had success doing in recent years?

When Helton talks about "leaving no stone unturned" during the recruiting process, he really isn't kidding. It has been fascinating watching WKU rebuild the roster season after season in the days of the NCAA transfer portal. And while WKU has taken their share of P4 players dropping down in search of a fresh start or an expanded role, the Tops are just as likely to pull up from those FCS, NCAA Division 3 or junior-college ranks and the coaching staff does really seem to have a knack for identifying players who can have an impact -- WKU's two most recent starting quarterbacks Austin Reed, D2 West Florida) and Bailey Zappe (FCS Houston Christian) are two prominent examples, but the current roster is stacked with players from similar backgrounds -- cornerback Anthony Johnson Jr. is another West Florida transfer, Kesean Johnson (Alabama State), linebacker Kylan Guidry (JUCO), wide receiver Easton Messer (preferred walk-on) ... it really is a long list of impact players on the roster sourced from all levels of football who can just play.

4. It's hard to shut anyone out in college football these days, even an FCS opponent. What was really clicking for the Hilltoppers Defense against EKU last week that led to hold the Colonels off the scoreboard entirely in Bowling Green?

The Hilltoppers did a much better job of limiting the "explosives" by the Colonels, allowing only two of those 20-plus yard plays the entire game. Even when they didn't get outright stops via turnovers or forcing punts, the Tops forced EKU into long drives that ultimately didn't end with any points -- even the Colonels' glacial 17-play, 89-yard plod that took nearly 12 minutes off the game clock didn't result in any points after a missed 17-yard field goal (a little luck never hurts). Under third-year defensive coordinator Tyson Summers, WKU is likely to continue its strategy of trying to force turnovers and score defensive touchdowns -- two areas the unit has excelled at under his leadership. The idea is to get the ball back to the offense as often and as quickly as possible to create extra possessions for scoring opportunities. The extra pressure needed to potentially create those turnovers sometimes leaves the Tops vulnerable to big plays and tends to drag down their overall defensive rating, but it's a tradeoff Helton has been willing to make.

5. With both teams still finding their identities in a much earlier than usual rivalry matchup, what position groups need to step up for the Hilltoppers to continue their win streak against MTSU? Is there any area that you expect MTSU to have an advantage in on Saturday?

WKU needs to continue working to establish a consistent run game to keep opposing defenses honest, and that starts with the offensive line. After not accomplishing much there against Alabama, the Tops rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns-- not dynamic maybe, but enough to open things up for Finley and the passing game to the tune of a 351-yard night. If Finley has time, he could pick apart the Blue Raiders' secondary and has a host of capable wide receivers to make that happen -- it's hard to focus on one guy this year, like many did last season with Malachi Corley. On the flip side, MTSU's proven run game could cause some problems for a WKU defense that has long been susceptible against offenses committed to the run -- dual-threat quarterbacks only added to the Tops' troubles last year, and that trend looks to continue this year as EKU's most sustained success came when the Colonels subbed out their starting quarterback who operated out of the shotgun for an option look.

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