Murfreesboro, TN – Another week has come with MTSU making too many mental mistakes, which cost them the game. The Blue Raiders gave Duke 28 points off turnovers and penalties in a 45-17 loss.
Here are the position grades from Shayne Pickering and me.
Quarterback
Conner
Nick Vattiato had an underwhelming performance against the Blue Devils, going 21-for-33 with 127 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Just a week prior, he had nearly 500 yards but didn't take any downfield shots and settled for many checkdowns. Overall, he just wasn't very impressive.
Grade: D+
Shayne
Nick Vattiato did some positive things, but for this offense to open up, he will have to be much more of a playmaker as a passer. He averaged a little over six yards per completion, and that has to improve as the staff wants to push the ball down the field to playmakers. The fumble in the first quarter added to a brutal day in the turnover margin. Something he did do well was make plays with his legs.
Grade: C-
Running Back
Conner
It was a tale of two backs for the Blue Raiders on Saturday night; one was exceptional, and the other left a lot to be desired. Terry Wilkins carried the rock 13 times for 42 yards, two fumbles, and no scores, while Flip Credle put up 141 all-purpose yards, including 125 on the ground and a touchdown. I'd give Credle an A and Wilkins a D+, but we'll meet in the middle.
Grade: B
Shayne
Flip Credle is a home-run hitter and finally showed that with a pair of big plays. Those two plays combined for 94 yards and a touchdown, with the other 10 carries averaging 3.1 yards per carry. Derek Mason called him the most well-rounded back in the room, but to prove that, he will have to get A LOT better as a receiver. Terry Wilkins had a very rough day holding on to the football. This unit finally began to get going, but shooting themselves in the foot, ended up holding back what could have been.
Grade: C+
Wide Receiver
Conner
The wideouts were a non-factor against the Blue Devils. Vattiato couldn't find his footing, but the Duke secondary did an excellent job shutting down Omari Kelly and Co.
Grade: C
Shayne
Omari Kelly could not make an impact with just four catches for 16 yards, which defined the rest of the unit's day outside of Myles Butler's one catch for 18 yards.
Grade: D+
Tight End
Conner
Even with the Blue Devils shutting down the MT passing game, Holden Willis still was effective as a blocker and pass catcher. He racked up 60 yards on three receptions, including a TD grab, while also doing his part in the blocking department.
Grade: B+
Shayne
With the receivers position grade, you might be wondering where the passing yards for Vattiato came from. Your answer: Holden Willis. He continued to stay hot with three impressive catches for 60 yards and a toe-tap touchdown. Jacob Coleman keeps earning more playing time lately.
Grade: A-
Offensive Line
Conner
While this unit finally held up for their running backs and helped earn 168 yards on 4.2 YPC, they were disappointing in pass protection. Forcing Vattiato to play backyard football constantly and allowing him to be sacked six times.
Grade: C-
Shayne
The offensive line began to gain some footing despite losing starting left tackle Marcus Miller in warmups, creating lanes in the run game. In pass protection, they felt the loss of Miller in a bad way. Morgan Scott just has not been able to protect Vattiato at any point this season when called upon and that was evident yet again. This unit needs Marcus Miller back but creating some big running lanes for the first time this season is encouraging to see.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
Conner
Aside from a few long runs from Star Thomas, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Middle Tennessee d-line held up against the rush. Where they weren't effective was pressuring the quarterback and creating havoc behind the line of scrimmage. While the unit allowed just 3.5 YPC, they only sacked Maalik Murphy once and recorded five TFLs.
Grade: C+
Shayne
The defensive line held their own against a power conference opponent, allowing just 3.5 yards per rush. An adjustment that seemed to work was putting more packages in with multiple bigger defensive tackles. That could be something to monitor as it allowed Alex Williams and Anthony Bynum on the outside to get more workable matchups and they would combined for a sack.
Grade: C+
Linebacker
Conner
I was impressed by AJ Reisig's group, who were able to put some pressure on the quarterback while doing their job in coverage and tackling. I would've liked to see them take better angles to avoid a few big plays, but there has been a lot of improvement from last week.
Grade: B-
Shayne
Devyn Curtis was a late scratch and Drew Francis did not play despite being dressed. Parker Hughes made his debut, however, and it was felt in a massive way as he led the team in tackles. True freshman Amarrien Bailey is someone that we have written about and he gained his first start of his young career. With Curtis out, redshirt sophomore Muazz Byard received a chance to play and he was too good to take off the field. His size and speed could add a whole new element to this unit and that was on full display this week. Losing Curtis hurts for the long-term but getting Hughes and soon Francis back with promising young players flashing behind them could finally get this unit to the strength we thought it could be in the preseason.
Grade: B+
Cornerback
Conner
Same as the linebackers, I was pleasantly surprised by this group's performance. There was blown coverage on the first drive but outside of that, the secondary only allowed 145 passing yards and were improved from the WKU week.
Grade: B
Shayne
Having two starters out at cornerback most likely struck fear into fans with an ACC opponent coming to town and for good reason. However, this unit managed to hold their own outside of a big touchdown play. Taking that one 34-yard touchdown pass out and this unit gave up under 100-yards passing to receivers on the day. This team might have found something putting Marvae Myers at cornerback. Tackling improved as well which was great to see.
Grade: B+
Safety
Conner
Aside from the busted coverage play in the first quarter, the safeties did not allow deep shots and tackled well. John Howse IV, Xavier Williams, and Ricky Smith combined for 17 total tackles, while Howse intercepted Murphy, the second pick of the season for the Blue Raider DB.
Grade: B-
Shayne
John Howse had another solid game as he has become one of the best players on this team. He recorded an interception. With Brendon Harris out for the time being, this team is going to have to find consistent answers next to Howse. Xavier Williams, a former quarterback, is expected to step up into that role now, but he has to be able to stay on the field. Rickey Smith, a Purdue transfer, has to break through at some point. C.J. Johnson is limited athletically but has played hard and that has put him in positions to make plays as a part of the rotation. This group gave up some massive plays to the tight end, including completely losing him a couple of times. This can't be a problem once conference play starts.
Grade: C
Special Teams
Conner
Zeke Rankin hit one of his two field goal attempts while making both PATs, while Grant Chadwick starred on special teams. Punting five times for 244 yards and downing four inside the 20-yard line.
Grade: A
Shayne
Grant Chadwick continued to shine as he had five stellar punts on the day. One was a 31-yard boot that pinned Duke at their own two. The other four had a net average of over 50 yards. Zeke Rankin hit the field goal you expected him to hit and missed one very much so outside of his range so that's not something you can really hold against him too much. Rankin has begun handling kickoff duties now as he gets shorter kicks but more lift, which limits opposing return yards. The return game was solid, which was important to see.
Grade: A-
