This week, we reached out to Sam Doughton, a writer for Middle Tennessee’s athletic department. Sam can be found on Twitter @sjdoughton
What are MTSU’s strengths?
Sam Doughton: Middle Tennessee has shown themselves to have a very opportunistic defense through five games. They’re currently third in the country in FBS in Turnovers gained (15), and just had six takeaways in last week’s game against Marshall. The defense can let up some yards at times, but have done a good job of getting stops and keeping opponents off of the scoreboard when the Blue Raider offense is humming, in large part because the defense has a knack for getting a takeaway at just the right time.
The team’s punter, Kyle Ulbrich, is also a real weapon on special teams. The Ray Guy watch list honoree has 15 punts inside the 20 this season, and 10 punts of over 50 yards. He’s a crucial part of MT winning the field position battle week to week.
What are the team’s weaknesses?
SD: While much improved in their past two games, Middle Tennessee still struggles at times with running the football, particularly running the football with their running backs. Last week was the first time all season the team’s running backs combined for at least 100 yards rushing, and the team’s first 100 rushing yard game as a team was just the week prior against Charlotte. The offensive line has struggled at times with both run and pass blocking, but MT has been able to scheme out of the pass blocking issues decently at times. Setting a new line of scrimmage, and not playing out of the backfield in run situations, will be critical to this team’s success.
What is the biggest change, good or bad, from last season’s team?
SD: From last season? Probably the addition of offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon, who’s RPO heavy system has really started hitting its groove in recent weeks as the team continues to become more familiar with the scheme.
But to cheat a little on this question, I think Chase Cunningham taking over at starting quarterback after Bailey Hockman left the program following the UTSA game has been the biggest change this season. Cunningham’s run abilities force opposing defenses to at least respect the zone read game, which has opened up the passing game in the two games Cunningham has started and just made the unit more balanced as a whole.
How will MTSU win the game?
SD: Offensively, Blue Raiders will need to be able to run the ball effectively enough to set up some short-to-mid range RPO plays. If they can rip off a few decent gains on the ground early, I have confidence Cunningham has the accuracy to find soft spots in the Flames’ zone defense to help move the chains and keep the ball out of the Liberty offense’s hands. On defense, Malik Willis can’t be stopped, only contained. I think the best way to go about this is limiting the big play ability of his wideouts with tight coverage and not letting them get over the top. Far easier said than done, of course.
If both of those plans work out, I can see Middle Tennessee sticking around most of the game, where a crucial turnover could give them the chance to take a lead late and earn a big upset.
How will MTSU lose the game?
SD: The margin of error is pretty small for the Blue Raiders this week. If the offensive line can’t establish a new line of scrimmage, Liberty has the speed on defense to make things extremely difficult. Which will only set up Malik Willis with more opportunities to make plays with his arm and legs. As y’all saw against UAB, if you give him enough time to cook, he will definitely burn you.
Defensively, even if the offense is moving the chains, Willis can’t be allowed to break contain and scramble for first downs or long passes on busted plays. If that happens, it’ll be a long day for the Blue Raider defense, even if they can swing a turnover or two.
What position matchup are you most excited to watch?
SD: I think the game will be won or lost in Middle Tennessee’s offensive trenches, where I expect an active Liberty Front 7 to perhaps be their biggest challenge so far this season. But I’m most excited to see how the Blue Raider secondary handles the Flames’ wideouts. MT has two all conference safeties (Reed Blankenship and Greg Grate), and has had a plethora of corners and nickel backs show they can play thus far this season. Liberty is equally as deep at wideout, and I think seeing how well MT can cover Liberty’s receivers will, if nothing else, be a good barometer for where they are as a unit.
