GoMiddle Staff 2020 Season Predictions
Tyler Pellom
Middle Tennessee football is coming off a tough 4-8 campaign in 2019. The bright side is there’s no Michigan, Duke, Iowa or Virginia Tech (as previously planned) on the schedule this season. No buy game losses will certainly make for a lighter load.
The MT defense finished last in both total yards against (463/g) and sacks (11 total for the year) in C-USA last season. To make matters worse, they lose their leading sacker in Tyshun Render (3.5 total) and their 1st and 3rd leading tacklers in Jovante Moffat (98 total) and Khalil Brooks (63 total). DQ Thomas and Reed Blankenship are both back and healthy – they will be depended on heavily to turn Scott Shafer’s defense around in 2020.
On the other side of the ball, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an offense so thoroughly dependent on one player. QB Asher O’Hara accounted for roughly 75% of Tony Franklin’s offense’s total yardage. O’Hara threw for 2616 passing yards at a 62.6% completion percentage and 20 touchdowns, but his biggest strength is his rushing ability. O’Hara ran for 1058 yards last season, no other Blue Raider cracked 300 total rushing yards. The closest was Terelle West at 290 yards – he has since graduated. The closest returning player is RB Chaton Mobley at 208 total yards. Transfer RBs Martell Pettaway and Amir Rasul were supposed to help carry the rushing load, but both opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns.
O’Hara rushed the ball 200 times last season – if he duplicates that in 2020, staying healthy becomes a major concern. It goes without saying you don’t want your QB taking that many hits. Any injury to Asher would be catastrophic – the two players competing to be his back-up are QB Chase Cunningham – the RS Junior from Knoxville has thrown 33 total career passes and QB Mike Diliello – a RS Sophomore who transferred up from D-II Florida Tech when they closed their football program this Summer.
The offense also loses Middle Tennessee career receptions and reception touchdowns leader Ty Lee. Lee played in all 12 games last season and caught the most passes on the team with 47. He ended his senior year ranked second nationally among active players in career receptions. The Blue Raiders do bring back most of their receiving production from last year (sans Zack Dobson and the aforementioned Lee) and the additions of Freshman WRs Demetric Hardin and Jaylin Lane will add needed play-making ability.
Prediction: 2-8 (2-5 C-USA)
Wins: North Texas, Rice
Losses: Army, Troy (2x), Western Kentucky, Florida International, Charlotte, Marshall, Florida Atlantic
Rickey Fuquay Jr.
After posting a 4-8 (3-5 C-USA) record in 2019, Middle Tennessee is set to begin the 109th season; however it will be under a 10-game format after the ACC opted to go to conference-only while the Missouri Valley Conference opted to move football to the Spring due to COVID-19.
After a 2,000 yard-1,000 yard season last year, Redshirt Junior QB Asher O'Hara will lead the Blue Raiders under center with Senior OL Robert Jones and Redshirt Senior OL Will Gilchrist on the line. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Senior Safety Reed Blankenship, who is a projected first-team all-Conference USA is looking to ball out this year after a season-ending broken leg injury while Junior Linebacker DQ Thomas will be looking to build off his regular season performance last year that included a career-best 74 tackles including a team-best 12.0 TFLs.
MTSU will open the season on the road against Army on Sept. 5.Without further ado, I present to you my prediction for MT's season. I'm not concerned about the defense; however I am concerned about the offense with the departure of Ty Lee.
With running backs Amir Rasul and Martell Pettaway along with Redshirt Sophomore wide receiver Tyrese Johnson as well as three walk-ons opting out due to COVID-19.I expect O'Hara to record another 2,000 yard-1,000 yard season again this year; however without two of their key transfers it's going to be another long season for the Blue Raiders. I got MT finishing a 3-7 (3-4 C-USA) with losses to Army, Troy (2x), Western Kentucky, Florida International, Marshall and Florida Atlantic.
Matthew Dossett (Publisher)
To be quite frank, I have waffled back and forth with my 2020 prediction for the Blue Raiders. If you had asked me a week or so ago, I would have relayed to you that MT could scratch and claw their way to a .500 record of 5-5.
Then, bam, the other day news surfaced that some key cogs in the machine had opted out of the 2020 season. Transfer tailbacks Amir Rasul and Martell Pettaway decided to opt out of the upcoming season.
This truly threw a wrench into my overall outlook. Not only that, sophomore wideout Tyrese Johnson decided he does not want to participate.
There is a glimmer of hope, though. I have a ton of faith in gunslinger Asher O'Hara. I think that O'Hara is one of the better quarterbacks to suit up for the Blue Raiders. The looming question is whether his buddies up front will block to give him ample time in the pocket.
Tyler touched on it, but It is worth mentioning again, Ty Lee was the receiving bell cow last season and he is no longer with the team. New receivers will have to emerge to the forefront, and it will be intriguing to see how that pans out.
Then there was the loss of Zack Dobson. Dobson was a true threat to go the distance every time he got his mitts on the ball.
All in all, I think this will be a rocky season for the boys in blue. In the end, I think MT goes 3-7 and 3-4 in league play.
Austin Lewis
Let’s be honest, Middle Tennessee fans, you were practicing social distancing before it was cool.
So go ahead and brace yourselves Middle Tennessee fans, it’s not going to be a pretty 2020 season for the Blue Raiders. Quarterback Asher O’Hara, receivers Jarrin Pierce, Jimmy Marshall, and CJ Windham return, along with the same dismal offensive line that generated less than 1000 yards for Blue Raider running backs in 2019. The decision of running backs Amir Rasul and Martell Pettaway to opt-out - while understandable - doesn’t help the Blue Raider offense in 2020.
The situation on defense is equally bleak. Tommy West returns as Middle Tennessee coach after his unit produced a paltry 6 sacks in 2019, a figure is unlikely to improve in 2020 with three new opening day starters. The leadership of linebacker DQ Thomas and senior safety Reed Blankenship will make - or break - the Blue Raider defense in 2020.
In his 15th season leading the Blue Raider football program, Rick Stockstill will navigate COVID restrictions, a ten game schedule, two games against Troy, and a trip to Army.
The Blue Raiders will finish with a disappointing 3-7 record in 2020 and fall short of bowl eligibility in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2007-2008 campaigns.
This will give the remaining Blue Raider fans plenty of excuses to practice social distancing long after COVID-19 has faded from memory.