Story courtesy of GoBlueRaiders.com
Troubles offensively cost Middle Tennessee in its 2018 football season opener on Sept. 1, as the Blue Raiders fell 35–7 to Vanderbilt in Nashville.
It was the fourth loss in a row for the Blue Raiders in its series against Vandy, which is in its final year in the current contract.
MTSU Head Coach Rick Stockstill said “I’m sick to my stomach that we lost” following the game, but said he still has great confidence in his team this year.
“I’m not down on this team one bit,” he said. “We’re still going to be a dang good football team . . . I feel a lot better about this team than I did at this point last year.”
MTSU put together a nice 93-yard drive, capped by a touchdown pass from Brent Stockstill to C.J. Windham near the end of the first quarter, and entered the second quarter tied 7–7.
From there, though, the Blue Raider attack turned inconsistent.
It started with a bad lateral pass from Brent Stockstill to sophomore Brad Anderson that was dropped and returned 3 yards by Vanderbilt’s Dayo Odeyingbo for what proved to be the game-winning score.
“We just didn’t make enough plays,” Rick Stockstill said. “You have to make plays against good teams . . . we moved it pretty good at times, we just weren’t consistent enough.”
Middle Tennessee’s defense did all it could to keep things close, holding Vanderbilt to just 89 total yards in the first half. But, costly mistakes and inconsistencies on offense voided the good effort.
The Blue Raiders moved the ball effectively, getting to the Vanderbilt side of the field five times after their scoring drive in the first quarter. However, all five drives ended without points (three punts, an interception and a missed field goal).
“It really was just execution,” Brent Stockstill said. “I feel like we moved it okay at times, then we moved across the 50 and they kind of got after us. We need to push it through to the red zone and finish drives better—just overall clean it up better—and I think we’ll be okay.”
Stockstill runs from Vandy defense to avoid the tackle
Brent Stockstill finished the game 24 of 36 for 178 yards, one touchdown and an interception, and he added 10 yards rushing. He was sacked six times.
Ten different Blue Raiders caught at least one pass, led by Anderson and junior Ty Lee with five catches apiece.
Looking ahead, MTSU will open its home schedule at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, against UT-Martin.
The following week they have a trip scheduled to the University of Georgia to take on the Bulldogs, the second of three SEC games for MTSU in 2018.
After an early week off, The Blue Raiders close out September with a Sept. 29 game at home against Florida Atlantic.
For tickets and more information on MTSU athletics, visit goblueraiders.com.
