Rematch with UAB Ahead as MTSU Hosts C-USA Championship Game on Dec. 1

Chaton Mobley. Courtesy goblueraiders.com.

The MTSU Blue Raiders will host the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday, Dec. 1, at Floyd Stadium for the Conference USA championship, the first time either team has played for a C-USA trophy and first time MT has hosted a conference title game in its program’s history.

The last time Middle Tennessee won its conference, it was a shared Sun Belt Conference crown with Troy in 2006. The last outright conference title was in 1992.

“I’ve talked about how much I believe in this team and how much this team believes in each other,” MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill said. “We should be a confident team.”

The Blue Raiders hosted only five home games this season, but finished off C-USA West Division champion UAB 27-3 in the final week of the regular season, capping a five-game win streak against C-USA teams for a regular season finish of 8–4.

“You play three SECs and only five home games,” Stockstill said, “and to put yourself in the position now where you’re playing for a championship is a tremendous accomplishment for this team.”

The regular-season-closing win over the Blazers gave MT the chance to host the title bout, further adding to the Blue Raiders’ confidence.

Gatlin Casey

Middle Tennessee has now won seven in a row at home overall.

“We get to stay in Murfreesboro,” redshirt senior quarterback Brent Stockstill said of the championship game. “It really helps us with the routine of everything and how we get ready for the game.

“We take pride when we play at home; it will be a special game.”

A big, blue crowd would go a long way in helping the home-field advantage.

“I hope our community comes out,” Rick Stockstill said. “There’s not another college game that they can see in-state, so there’s no reason why we can’t have a bunch of people in that stadium.”

The Blue Raiders are hoping fans see a similar performance to what they saw in the regular-season finale.

Against one of the nation’s best defenses, Brent Stockstill and the big blue offense racked up 394 total yards and closed the game on a 27–0 run.

Tyshun Render

Not to be overshadowed, MT’s defense held C-USA’s second-leading rushing attack (226.5 yards per game) to negative-1 yard. The Blazers managed 89 total yards and were sacked seven times.

“That [win] was last week, and we’re past that already,” redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris said. “We’re just trying to be 1–0 this week . . . we know we’ll get their best shot. We still have a goal to complete this week.”

Brent Stockstill, the team’s all-time leading passer, has been a part of the Middle Tennessee football program since his dad took over as head coach prior to the 2006 season.

Since he was in the sixth grade, the southpaw has watched his dad guide the Blue Raiders through a transition into Conference USA. Now, they have a chance to win the program’s first C-USA title together.