MTSU linebacker Darius Harris in action at home against Charlotte
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders earned a homecoming victory on Saturday, Oct. 20, over Charlotte 21–13.
With the win, coming a week after a loss to FIU, the Blue Raiders move to 4–3 on the season, and 3–1 in Conference USA play. MTSU is now 4–0 all-time against Charlotte.
MTSU now prepares for a trip to Virginia to take on Old Dominion on Oct. 27.
“That was a great win,” Blue Raider Head Coach Rick Stockstill said following the Charlotte game. “Really, really happy and proud of our team . . . we knew it was going to be a four-quarter game coming in here. That’s what we got.”
Middle Tennessee’s offense struggled for most of the game to find consistency; the Blue Raiders managed just 144 total yards (33 rushing).
Luckily, the blue and white were gifted with a quality game from their defense.
The 49ers scored on their first drive via a 57-yard rush by Benny LeMay, but that’s all MT would allow until a garbage-time touchdown with just over a minute left in the contest.
Charlotte was forced to punt six times, turned the ball over on downs three times, missed two field goals and gifted Middle Tennessee with two turnovers on 13 drives between the TDs. The Blue Raiders finished with four sacks and nine tackles for loss.
“We take pride in everything we do,” MTSU linebacker Khalil Brooks said, adding that the team believes “in running to the ball to lead to gang tackles. We were pretty good at that today.”
MTSU didn’t score until the 6:23 mark of the second quarter, when redshirt senior quarterback Brent Stockstill hit junior Ty Lee for a 29-yard touchdown to give MT a 7–6 advantage.
In the subsequent Charlotte possession, quarterback Evan Shirreffs was picked off by MT senior safety Wesley Bush. Bush returned the interception to the 49er 15-yard line, and five plays later, Stockstill hit Lee for 5 yards for the duo’s second TD of the game.
Ty Lee
“There were some big plays that helped us out a lot and really changed the momentum of the game,” Bush said. “I wish we could’ve capitalized as a defense by scoring on them, but we gave it to our offense and they did a good job with it.”
The Blue Raiders would take advantage of another interception, this time by O.J. Johnson, in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 21–6 after a short, 22-yard drive.
Coach Stockstill says the team needs to be ready to play against the high-octane Old Dominion offense on Saturday.
“We have to bring our leadership and our toughness,” he said. “Anytime you go on the road, it’s all about toughness and blocking out all of the distractions. It’ll be a lot of energy and excitement in that stadium, so we have to be ready to go . . . it’s a great environment.”
The ODU Monarchs (2–6) have only two wins this season, but both are impressive. One came against then-ranked Virginia Tech in week 4, and the other was at WKU in a wild game that ended with three untimed downs, a returned field goal miss and a walk-off field goal. ODU has lost three games this season decided by eight or fewer points.
The game will feature two of the better offensive units in C-USA squaring off. MTSU QB Brent Stockstill has won C-USA Offensive Player of the Week twice, while ODU junior QB Blake LaRussa has claimed that title once this season.
Stockstill is tied for third in the conference with 13 touchdowns against only four interceptions with 1,438 yards. LaRussa is third in yards with 1,941 and has 12 TDs and four INTs. His main target, redshirt senior Jonathan Duhart, leads C-USA in receptions (52) and yards (811, fifth in FBS).
“They have some good players on that side of the ball, some good receivers and a good quarterback,” MT redshirt senior lienbacker Darius Harris said.
Though Old Dominion can’t hang its hat on its defensive performance like Middle Tennessee can. The Monarchs have one of the worst defensive units in the country statistically, ranking last in C-USA and 127th out of 129 FBS teams in total defense (514.4 yards per game allowed). They’re also 122nd in scoring defense, allowing 38.5 points per game.
The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m.; tune in on WGNS at 1450 AM or 100.5 FM.
