With a win over Florida International on Saturday, the Blue Raider football team will become bowl eligible for the first time since 2006. They ended that season with a trip to Detroit for the Motor City Bowl.
Players and coaches, however, are not worried about that possibility, but instead they want to pick up their third win in a row.
“There’s not one ounce of talk about it,” head coach Rick Stockstill said. “The bowl deal is out there and we know it’s out there. The bottom line is that we have to get to 6-3. That’s all we’re focused on and not worried about two weeks from now, three weeks from now, or what happens in December. We are just focused on these next five days and getting ready for FIU because this is going to be another fourth quarter game. FIU has a really good team with a bad record. They have played some good people and lost some games, but they are very athletic and may be the fastest team we’ve played since Troy. We are just trying to get to 6-3. That is our goal and focus and all we are concentrating on.”
Defensive lineman Brandon Perry added, “The bowl is after the season and we still are in a season with four more conference games left. That’s our big picture. We will worry about bowl games after Nov. 28.”
This week, the second-place team in the SBC welcomes Florida International (2-6, 2-3) to Floyd Stadium. The Blue Raiders have won two straight after knocking off Florida Atlantic 27-20 last Saturday, while the Panthers defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 20-17 in overtime.
The running game and special teams played a key role in the win. Quarterback Dwight Dasher and running back D.D. Kyles each rushed for over 100 yards. It was the first time that has happened since 2002. Kyles ran for career-best 140, while Dasher added 108. Dasher broke a 20-20 tie by scoring on a 74-yard touchdown run with 5:31 left in the game.
Kyles has run for 203 yards in the previous two games, and the team as a whole has ran for 468. That total is 43 more than the past four games combined.
Offensive lineman Mark Fisher said it’s a goal for the line to get 100-yard runner in each game.
“Coach (Jimmy Ray) Stephens always talks about taking pride in your work and always being proud of your work. That’s what we set out to do before the game because we always like, as an offensive line, to get a running back with 100 yards rushing or even more. D.D. (Kyles) did a great job hitting the holes this past week and he has really stepped up as a player.”
Stockstill added Kyles’ turnaround has to do to his improvement in practice.
“I think he has changed his practice habits. If you are not going to practice hard and with great intensity you are not going to play. When Phillip (Tanner) went down early in the year D.D. thought he was the guy. He did not practice as hard as he needed to. Therefore, he did not play as much as he thought he should. Then he realized if he wants to play he had better become a better practice player.”
The special team blocked three kicks in a game for the first time since 2002. Marcus Udell blocked a field goal and SaCoby Carter and Jeremy Kellem each blocked a punt. Sherman Neal took one of those back for a 29-yard touchdown run. Neal’s efforts earned him SBC Special Teams Player of the Week. He is the third walk-on to score a touchdown this season, the other two being wide receivers Harold Turner and Shane Blissard.
The Panthers have one of the top quarterback-wide receiver combos in the conference, Paul McCall to T.Y. Hilton. McCall ranks third in the SBC in passing yards with 235.5 per game, while Hilton has been slowed by injuries this season, but is one of the nation’s best.
Last season, Hilton was ranked third in the nation in all-purpose yards (180.25). However, his 18-game reception streak came to an end in last week’s overtime thriller over the Ragin’ Cajuns.
The series between the schools is even at two wins apiece. The home team has won every game. Last season, FIU knocked off the Blue Raiders 31-21, but in 2006 and 2007, MTSU won both home games by a combined scored of 54-12.
This contest is the first of three straight home games for the Blue Raiders.
The kickoff is set for 3:37 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN Gameplan.