Blue Raiders Football Team Has Two Games Called Off in November; Basketball Season Tips Off

Jarrin Pierce. Photo by Nathan Walach

The MTSU Blue Raider football team only managed to take the field for two games in November.

While MTSU, Charlotte and Conference USA officials said that the game between MTSU and Charlotte originally set for Nov. 7 could be rescheduled, no new date had been announced by the end of November.

On Nov. 14 the Blue Raiders traveled to West Virginia to take on Marshall, but the powerful Thundering Herd were too much for MTSU and the Blue Raiders could not overcome some costly mistakes.

It was an emotional day for the Marshall community, as that Saturday, Nov. 14, marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of 75 people, most of them Marshall team members, coaches and boosters.

The Thundering Herd played on those emotions and capitalized on a few turnovers to hand MTSU a 42–14 loss.

MTSU either punted or turned it over on 13 of 15 possessions in the game.

“That’s not a recipe for winning when you do that,” MTSU Head Coach Rick Stockstill said.

The Blue Raiders were not the only team this season who struggled against Marshall, though. Marshall entered December at 7–0 ranked No. 17 in the country.

On Nov. 21 MTSU traveled to Troy, Alabama, to take on Troy for the second time this season. The Blue Raiders fared better in the second game, after falling to Troy in September.

The Blue Raiders came out of the second game with a 20–17 win, controlling the time of possession, keeping the ball for 37:21, and running the ball on 51 of the 74 plays it ran in the game.

Running back Chaton Mobley said that prior to the game, MTSU offensive coordinator Tony Franklin hammered home the point that “we were going to run the ball.”

“We came here with the mindset that that’s what we were going to do, and we got it done,” Mobley said.

The Blue Raiders were set to take on Florida Atlantic at home on Nov. 28, but that game was cancelled.

Onto Basketball
MTSU opened its 2020–21 basketball campaign with a game against Omaha in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida, falling by only one point. The team followed that with a loss to East Tennessee.

MTSU continues the season on Dec. 2 against Murray State.

Blue Raider fans also look forward to Dec. 16 when former MTSU head coach Kermit Davis returns to town with his Ole Miss team.

MTSU comes into the season with a roster that includes only six returning players and nine newcomers.

Murfreesboro native Donovan Sims—one of only two seniors on the team along with Jo’Vontae Millner-Criss—is one of the returning players for MTSU. Sims led the team in assists the last two seasons, and he started all 31 games in 2019–20, averaging 8.8 points per game.

The Lady Raiders have some Murfreesboro players returning also. Anastasia and Aislynn Hayes and Alexis and Amanda Whittington, all Riverdale High School graduates, are all returning to the Lady Raiders.

The women’s team will take on Belmont on Sunday, Dec. 6.

MTSU Men’s Basketball Upcoming Schedule

Murray State
Wednesday, Dec. 2
Murfreesboro
6:30 p.m.

Chattanooga
Sunday, Dec. 6
Murfreesboro
2 p.m.

Covenant College
Saturday, Dec. 12
Murfreesboro
4 p.m.

Ole Miss
Wednesday, Dec. 16
Murfreesboro
7 p.m.

Bellarmine University
Saturday, Dec. 19
Louisville, Kentucky
2 p.m.

Bellarmine University
Tuesday, Dec. 22
Murfreesboro
6:30 p.m.

Florida Atlantic
Friday, Jan. 1
Boca Raton, Florida
6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic
Saturday, Jan. 2
Boca Raton, Florida
3 p.m.