MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill and the Blue Raiders are set to open the 2017 campaign in Murfreesboro against Vandy. Photo courtesy goblueraiders.com.
The Blue Raiders will kick off the 2017 season this weekend, but, for the first time since 2011, they won’t be doing it against an FCS opponent. In lieu of their typical “warm-up game” Middle Tennessee will host mid-state foe Vanderbilt. The Blue Raiders and Commodores meet for the third consecutive season, and, though players and coaches refuse to bill it as a budding rivalry, Twitter feeds of fans from both sides suggest a different opinion. The social media smack talk has already been going on for weeks and will reach new heights before the weekend.
While MTSU coaches and players are hesitant to embrace the budding rivalry, they readily embrace their status as underdogs versus the SEC school.
“It’s always fun to do something people say you can’t do,” stated coach Rick Stockstill. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in sports or life. If someone tells you you can’t do something your competitive juices start flowing and you want to prove that you can.”
Quarterback Brent Stockstill feels the same.
“I love [being the underdog], I think everybody here loves that. We’re kind of a group of guys who were overlooked by the bigger schools in the country. We all got a chip on our shoulders. That’s how we work,” the Blue Raider quarterback stated.
If the Blue Raiders hope to prove the critics wrong they will have to do a better job than last season. The Commodores scored 28 unanswered points in the second quarter of last year’s contest, which pretty much sealed Middle’s fate. Allowing Vanderbilt running back Ralph Webb to rush for more than 100 yards in the first half, and to finish with 211 yards, certainly did not help matters. However, MT safety Jovante Moffatt voiced his confidence that the new, more aggressive defensive scheme will help prevent such an outburst this time around.
Last season, Commodores quarterback Kyle Shurmur didn’t pose much of a threat, but he did come on late in the season. The junior signal-caller is expected to take another stride this season, so it the MT defense will certainly need to keep an eye to the skies as well.
As for the Blue Raider offense, the passing game is not in question, which should come as no surprise. However, the running game seems to be. Even Coach Stockstill himself admitted he wasn’t sure what the running game would be like going into the season opener. Though one may have expected veteran Blue Raiders Shane Tucker and Desmond Anderson to be the top two options in the backfield, a pair of newcomers were listed on the depth chart instead. JUCO transfer Maurice Gordon and true freshman Brad Anderson are listed as first- and second-string respectively, while Tucker and Desmond Anderson are listed as second-string receivers. Still, one should expect them to get some carries as well.
The Blue Raiders will kick off their 2017 season Saturday, Sept. 2, at Floyd Stadium at 7 p.m.
