If you attended or watched the MTSU-Memphis game last Saturday, you saw a lot of black and blue. Both teams usually wear blue uniforms for home games, but for this game, the Blue Raiders traded their blue home jerseys for black as part of a “Blackout.”
Last September, in a “Blackout” home game nationally televised on ESPN2, MTSU used a last second touchdown pass to knock off Florida Atlantic 14-13.
“I told the guys last year that just because you are wearing black jerseys and black pants does not mean you are going to play better,” said head coach Rick Stockstill. “You have to prepare yourself mentally and physically for this game.”
This time they didn’t need a miracle. MTSU pulled off a dominant 31-14 victory Saturday in front of the largest crowd (28,105) ever to see a Blue Raider game at Floyd Stadium.
“It was beautiful,” freshman cornerback Kenneth Gilstrap said about the huge attendance. “I have been dreaming about it since that February date when I signed with the Blue Raiders.”
With the score tied at 7, early in the second quarter, Gilstrap nailed the Memphis punt returner after he caught the ball. The ball came loose, and he pounced on it.
Three plays later, junior quarterback Dwight Dasher found sophomore walk-on and former Oakland High star Shane Blissard for a 40-yard score to make it 14-7. The Blue Raiders never looked back.
“It was a big game changer,” Gilstrap said. “That’s what I wanted to do, make sure I made an impact on special teams.”
I bet Dasher wishes he could play Memphis every week. In the last meeting, a 21-7 win in 2007, Dasher picked up 410 of the 490 total offensive yards. Two years later, he had 320 of the 436 total offensive production by the Blue Raiders.
The win, however, came with a price. Senior running back Phillip Tanner, who scored the first touchdown from four yards out in the opening quarter, missed almost all of the second half with a knee injury. Dasher also missed a series late in the first half with a knee strain. He returned at halftime and went 18-for-26 for two scores and 231 yards passing.
Since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999, MTSU is eight for nine against in-state rivals, 3-0 since Stockstill has been at the school. The only defeat came in 2002 against UT.
MTSU began the 2009 season with a 37-14 loss at Clemson. There, the Blue Raiders gave up a 96-yard kickoff return to one of the top returning running backs in the nation, C.J. Spiller, on the very first play of the new campaign. The closest the Blue Raiders were to the Tigers was in the second quarter. Down 10-0, defensive end Chris McCoy took the ball from the Clemson quarterback after it fell out of his hands and ran 68 yards for a touchdown and made the score 10-7. They, however, were not able to make it any closer. Later that quarter, Clemson took a punt 61 yards for another score.
MTSU junior quarterback Dwight Dasher threw for 204 yards and one TD but had three of his passes picked off.
The Blue Raiders will play their next three games on the road, beginning Saturday, Sept. 19, at Maryland. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN360.com. Maryland will be looking for revenge after losing at Floyd Stadium last season.
The next home game is Oct. 17, when Mississippi State becomes the first SEC team to visit Floyd Stadium.