Last Saturday the Blue Raiders were hammered at home by the Duke Blue Devils. This week Middle Tennessee State looks to reverse their fortunes and take down the heavily favored Memphis Tigers, on the road. The Memphis Tigers are currently 24.5 point favorites and ESPN gives the Blue Raiders a 6.7 percent chance to garner the victory.
Now it is time for the staff picks!
Jake Bolden: Head of Blue Raider Podcast. 3-1 on the season
The train of excellent quarterback play continues to roll when one of the worst pass defenses travels to Memphis this weekend. Seth Henigan will assuredly take his frustrations out on Middle Tennessee after his defense failed to get a stop against Navy’s triple option. Ryan Silverfield is in need of convincing victories to rework his AAC-favorite Tigers back into the G5 playoff spot discussion. I’m afraid the Blue Raiders are in the way of another program that has larger aspirations than ours, at the moment. Not a slight to the Blue Raiders, just not to that level of competition, yet.
I’d like to be within two scores going into the fourth quarter – that would be a moral victory in my eyes.
Prediction:
Memphis 42
MTSU 17
Rickey Fuquay: Analyst. 4-0 on the season
Turnovers doomed Middle Tennessee as Duke tallied 28 points off four Blue Raider takeaways en route to a 45-17 win over MTSU this past Saturday at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium.The Blue Raiders closed out non-conference play on the road against Memphis. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and will air nationally on ESPNU.MT comes into game with the worst defense in Conference USA.
Two questions come to mind heading into this matchup: 1. Can the Blue Raiders silence the Tigers' offense that ranks third in the American Athletic Conference with 433.8 yards per game and 2. Can MT show some consistency on the offensive side of the ball against the Tigers' defense that ranks third in the AAC with 310 YPG. Memphis Senior Quarterback is second in the AAC with seven touchdown passes through the air while Memphis Senior Running Back Mario Anderson, Jr. is tied for first in the AAC with seven touchdowns on the ground. If MTSU doesn't find an answer to contain Henigan and Anderson, Jr. and struggle offensively, then this game will get ugly in a hurry.
Prediction:
Memphis 42
MTSU 17
Matthew Dossett: GoMiddle Publisher. 3-1 on the season
Here we are, four games into the season, and there is a distinct possibility that the the season could unravel and the losses could start to pile up. Last week MT was annihilated by Duke, and this week won't be any easier as the Blue Raiders travel to Memphis to take on the Memphis Tigers.
The Tigers will be licking their chops, considering they are coming off an upset loss at the hands of the Navy Midshipmen. At this point of publication, the Blue Raiders are 26 point dogs against Memphis.
The Tigers' QB, Seth Henigan is a solid guy, who has thrown the rock for 1,112 yards to go with seven touchdowns to two interceptions. The Middle defense needs to be opportunistic and create some turnovers to have a shot in this one. Last week Memphis was embarrassed against Navy, and something tells me they will come out angry, like their hair is on fire.
To me this has all the makings of a blowout. Memphis covers.
Prediction:
Memphis 48
MTSU 20
Connor Nute: Basketball analyst. 4-0 on the season
It’s an in-state matchup this week for the MTSU Blue Raiders as they head down I-40 to take on the Memphis Tigers of the AAC in the final non-conference game of the year. The Tigers enter the matchup at 3-1, coming off a loss to Navy. So, the question remains: how do the Blue Raiders pull this one out?
For starters, the offensive line continues to be a weak point in the already struggling MTSU offense. Last week against Duke, the line allowed 6 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, allowing an easy day defensively for the Blue Devils. To pull out the victory, the O-Line has to come y together. Memphis has already tallied 10 sacks on the year, and the way the line is playing, the total could grow significantly this Saturday
A bright spot for the MTSU offense, however, is JR RB Jaiden Credle. Last week, Credle tallied 125 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, yet split carries with fellow back Terry Wilkins. In my opinion, feed the hot hand. Feeding Credle would allow a nice pace for the offense and allow for longer developed drives.
Overall, it’s hard for me to bet on the Blue Raiders as of late. They have shown little development on the field, and their gauntlet of a nonconference schedule doesn’t help. However, look for a big day from Jaiden Credle in the backfield.
Prediction:
Memphis 38
MTSU 20
Conner Smith: Football insider and analyst. 4-0 on the season
After three straight games against good games, it doesn’t get any easier for the Blue Raiders as they’ll travel to Memphis for a date with the Tigers.Memphis is a well-balanced offense who loves to run the ball to open up the passing game. They average nearly 6 YPC between their two-head monster in Mario Anderson Jr. and Brandon Thomas.Seth Henigan is a solid QB so if the Tigers find success on the ground and make the Blue Raiders play to both styles, it will get ugly.MTSU has found success defending the run in every game outside of Ole Miss but I don’t see it happening on Saturday. Memphis is too good and Middle is banged up defensively.I do see the offense putting up some points but this game won’t be close.
Prediction:
Memphis 48
MTSU 17
Everhette Glenn: Recruiting Insider/Analyst. 3-1 on the season
MTSU gets a Memphis team that should be fired up after taking a loss to Navy last week. Memphis is a deep team that should be in the hunt for a playoff spot at the end of the season. They are better at nearly every position and this should be an easy win for the Tigers. I think they win but MTSU hangs around for longer than Memphis would like. I love the over at 61.5. For the first time this season MTSU covers the spread.
Prediction:
Memphis 45
MTSU 28
Shayne Pickering: Head Football Insider and recruiting analyst for GoMiddle. 4-0 on the season
Middle Tennessee finishes a tough stretch banged up, but hope to have an improved and more competitive showing this week. It will come down to three things: finish drives, clean up special teams, and have better showings in the turnover margin. Any of those three things will absolutely cost this team against Memphis, much like last week.The key to this game is showing signs of fixing the smaller things in the game that determine the outcomes in this sport. I think Memphis wins, but Middle Tennessee can potentially show some positive signs. The important part of the schedule begins after this.
Prediction:
Memphis 41
MTSU 20
