MT ready to cross another P-5 team off their list

One thing can be said of Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill and his Blue Raider football team; they like a challenge. For the third-consecutive week, MTSU will face a team from a Power-5 conference.

Following an opening-week loss to Vanderbilt, MTSU responded with a 30-23 road win at Syracuse. After only mustering six points against the Commodores, quarterback Brent Stockstill rallied the troops, hanging 30 on the Orange defense.

“I told them last week how much I believed in them,” coach Stockstill said. “I said, 'you got beat by a good team, but we're a good team also'. I said 'ignore the noise, what everybody is saying; and that's what we're going to have to do this week. Last week, nobody gave you two cents and now everybody wants to give you a quarter. So, we've got to ignore that and prepare to focus on a really good Minnesota team. They're 2-0, as you guys know. They're coming off a 9-win season from last year. It's a really good football team.

“The thing that really stands out to me is that they're almost doubling up their opponents on time of possession. They're averaging 37 and a half minutes keeping the ball, with their opponents just 22 and a half. We've got to do a really good job of converting third downs and staying on the field. And then defensively, getting off the field as much as we can… I expect them to come in and try to impose their will from a running game standpoint, trying to run the ball on us as much as they can.”

Having one Power-5 win under their belts, the Blue Raiders have some budding confidence heading into Week 3. Both Stockstills are out to prove MTSU can hang with any program in the country.

"I think it helps,” QB Brent Stockstill said. “These are the games you have to win to put the program on the map. Obviously, it's a sweet win, but I think we're expecting these kind of games. We've done it before with Missouri last year, and now Syracuse, and it's sweet, so we'll enjoy it. But that's our standard here, we want to win those big-time, Power-5 games and that's what we have to do to put our program on the map. Like coach Kermit Davis says, we want to create a national brand here and that's what we're trying to do.

"I think it's tougher this week, with the group of guys, men, after a loss it's easier to look yourself in the mirror, you just have to put your head down and go to work because there's no other option. Now, I think we're still very mature and we will ignore the noise either way, but this week, you have people patting you on the back and saying you did a great job. Now, we have to be mature, and we just have to have the same work ethic that we do every week."

"After a loss, you try to build their confidence back up and their moral back up, motivating them to play good this week,” coach Stockstill added. “It's easier to knock them back down to earth than it is to get them back up. So, I think this week will be easier."

One of the reasons the Blue Raiders feel more confident through the first two weeks is the improved play of the defense under Scott Shafer. Shafer took over an underwhelming defense at Syracuse and turned them into a top-20 defense in just a few short years.

In fact, Shafer’s guidance helped linebacker Khalil Brooks earn Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for his performance against Syracuse. The redshirt sophomore recorded a career-high eight tackles (four for loss), with 1.5 sacks against the Orange.

"It's a big difference, I feel the shift,” safety Jovontae Moffat said. “Guys are a lot more energized and (this year) we bring a lot more pressure (to the quarterback), so that's a lot more exciting. It's just a different flow of the defense and I feel like we all like the way it's going and we really enjoy it.

"Just keep doing what we're doing and staying consistent. Just keeping our heads on, I feel like we have a lot of good guys in the locker room that can help us throughout the way by staying focused."

MTSU is one of four teams sitting at 1-1 in the Conference USA East division. If the Blue Raiders were to head into conference play 2-1, with wins over an ACC school (Syracuse) and a Big 10 school (Minnesota) under their belt, MTSU would have to feel confident moving forward.