Middle Tennessee bounced back from their loss against Florida International with a homecoming victory over UNC-Charlotte Saturday afternoon at Floyd Stadium. The Blue Raiders won 21-13 in a defensively-dominated game.
Here are three big things from the Blue Raiders fourth win of the season.
Brent Stockstill is the heartbeat of this team
When senior quarterback Brent Stockstill went down with a high ankle sprain last weekend at Florida International, there was plenty of uncertainty about his return to action. High ankle sprains usually take weeks to recover, but Stockstill played all four quarters Saturday.
“It was not looking too good [early in the week], then Thursday I felt better, and I knew I could give it a chance,” said the senior following the game. “I started pretty slow. I’m not good enough to just roll out there and play,” he continued. “I’m an average player who works really hard. I’ve got to practice to be able to contribute.”
While I appreciate the quarterback’s humility, average players don’t complete 14-of-20 passes and throw three touchdowns against quality opponents one week after suffering a high ankle sprain.
Brent Stockstill is the heartbeat of this Blue Raiders team.
“Everybody knows Brent’s the man. He’s the GOAT (Great of all time),” said Ty Lee, the receiver who caught two of Stockstill’s three touchdown passes.
Brent’s father, MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill said, “If I’d have told him he wasn’t playing, you’d have another coach standing right here, [because] he’d have whooped my tail.”
The coach continued, “He’s as good a leader as I’ve ever been around. I’m not just saying that because he’s my son. If his last name was Smith I’d be up here beating my chest on him.”
Despite his slow start, the quarterback led his team to another conference victory on Saturday in a game that won’t be the subject of many highlight reels. “He cares more about letters than numbers. He just wants to win,” the head coach continued.
Blue Raiders running game struggles
Middle Tennessee rushers mustered just 33 yards on 32 carries in the win over Charlotte. Perhaps the issues in the ground game helped lead to the overall boring nature of the game.
There weren’t many big plays for an offense that has had many of them throughout the season. In fact, the Blue Raiders had just five plays that went for 10 or more yards.
“The disappointing thing is we’re struggling to run the ball,” said coach Stockstill. “We’re not getting any run production. It’s hard to move the ball when you’re one-dimensional.”
One key rusher was injured last week at Florida International. Brad Anderson, one of the fastest players on the team and a guy who can turn the game quickly with his speed and athleticism, suffered a leg injury in the second half of last week’s loss. It’s clear his explosiveness is missed.
“Brad’s one of the best players on our team. Obviously, we miss having him out there. He’s very explosive when gets the ball. But injuries are a part of football. We’ll continue to find guys to kind of replace his role,” said quarterback Brent Stockstill.
The Murfreesboro community is missing out
Saturday was just MTSU’s third home game of the season. Yet it was the third straight home game with lackluster attendance for a well above-average FBS college football program. In fact, the homecoming game against Charlotte was the lowest attendance yet this season.
With just 13,102 fans in the seats, the glare from the empty metal bleachers was nearly as blinding as the silver and gold chrome helmets the players wore.
“I appreciate everybody that comes,” said coach Stockstill. “You’ve got a team that’s fighting for a conference championship. We’re right in the middle of everything. These guys deserve to be seen.”
On top of this being a really good Conference USA team, the game production is every bit as top notch as any other big-time college football program.
While the repeated explosions from the pyrotechnics pre-game, post-game, and after every touchdown may jolt you, the experience MTSU offers is fun for the whole family.
“I feel sorry for the ones that don’t come because they’re missing a great opportunity to see a bunch of great players, a bunch of great people, and a great dadgum team,” said head coach Rick Stockstill.
