The GoMiddle Picks Are In
Middle Tennessee State notched their third victory of the season, defeating Troy in the rubber match for the Palladium trophy. The Blue Raiders held on in a tight finish, defeating the Troy Trojans 20-17.
There are possibly two remaining games left on the docket for MT. This Saturday they welcome the Florida Atlantic Owls to Floyd Stadium for a 12:30 kickoff. After that, they may squeeze in a ballgame against Charlotte, a game that was postponed a few weeks back.
Now it's time for the GoMiddle staff to take a stab, predicting the FAU game.
Matt Dossett (5-4 overall)
Coming into this season I figured that the Florida Atlantic Owls may regress a tad, due to the fact that Lane Kiffin is no longer roaming the sidelines in Boca Raton. After all, FAU won two Conference USA titles in three years under Kiffin.
This season the Owls haven't missed a beat. Florida Atlantic is currently jockeying for first place in the Conference USA East Division. They are 4-1 in league play, while the Marshall Thundering Herd are 4-0. Marshall does own the tiebreaker after defeating FAU 20-9.
FAU now travels to Murfreesboro in a matinee matchup this Saturday. ESPN's FPI Predictor gives Middle a 16.2 percent chance of taking home the victory.
FAU is currently on a heater, after winning four consecutive games heading into the MT matchup. It is possible that they will trot out two different quarterbacks, starter Nick Tronti and backup Javion Posey. These two quarterbacks are not exactly setting the world on fire statistically. Tronti is completing just 55.1 percent of his passes, while Posey is completing 52.3 percent of his passes.
FAU's rushing attack consists of a plethora of guys running the ball. They have four games rushing at least 37 times. Believe it or not, quarterback Javion Posey leads the team with 46 rushes for 332 yards. Behind Posey is the three-headed animal of Malcolm Davidson, James Charles, and B.J. Emmons.
Last week QB Asher O'Hara was the Swiss Army knife, throwing for over 200 yards and rushing for 86 yards. Receiver Yusuf Ali came alive with seven snags for 90 yards. Look for O'Hara to continue to target Ali, along with guys like Jarrin Pierce, C.J. Windham and D.J. England-Chisolm.
The spread is currently 6.5 in favor of Florida Atlantic. I am going to go bold and say that not only will MT cover, that they will will the game outright in a photo finish. Look for O'Hara and the offense to get the job done down the stretch, while the defense bows up when it needs to.
MT: 28
FAU: 27
Rickey Fuquay Jr. (6-3 on the season)
Chaton Mobley and Frank Peasant each tallied a touchdown on the ground to lift Middle Tennessee to a 20-17 upset win over Troy in The Battle for the Palladium.It's Senior Day and Florida Atlantic comes to town.
17 seniors will be honored prior to kickoff. The Blue Raiders have won seven straight home matchups against the Owls. The Owls are very stout defensively as they are ranked second in the Conference USA in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense and sacks; however they are fourth in passing defense.
If MT wants to pull off another stunner then the Blue Raiders will have to put together another efficient performance on offense similar to last week against the Trojans led by the leader in passing yards, Redshirt Junior Quarterback Asher O'Hara.
FAU: 35
MT: 28
Tyler Pellom (5-4 overall)
Middle Tennessee surprised everyone with their impressive win over Troy last weekend. The Palladium trophy comes back to the Boro where it belongs. And with no scheduled meeting with the Trojans any time soon, that’ll be where it stays for a good, long while.
The Blue Raiders continue to get better - or more to the point, keep finding ways to win. Besides the matchup with Marshall, a team that appears to be in a different stratosphere in comparison to the rest of Conference USA, MT has played admirably over the last month and a half after a very tough start to the season.
I’m starting to become a believer in the Blue Raider momentum. I can’t put my finger on exactly what has changed over the course of the year, but credit to the coaching staff and the players who never gave in or threw in the towel.
The Blue Raiders are at home for the first time in a month, and I think that makes the difference.
MT: 27
FAU: 21