2009 NCAA - Middle Tennessee
Rick Stockstill starts his fourth season in Murfreesboro optimistic that this is the best team he's had yet, including the only bowl team in MTSU history (2006). The primary reason is that he's got a full allotment of scholarships given out, meaning the Blue Raiders should finally have the depth to compete for 12 games in the Sun Belt and with a demanding non-league schedule. New offensive coordinator Tony Franklin re-emerges three hours to the north of the scene of his last mishap, as he was let go after one-half season at Auburn when the Tigers either couldn't buy into his spread or refused to execute it.
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Middle Tennessee
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Either way, the personnel exists for the Blue Raiders to cause serious problems for SBC foes in the spread. QB Dwight Dasher returns to start after sitting behind Joe Craddock last fall. The Bookie disagreed with Dasher being the backup, as he ably replaced Craddock after he went down in 2007, leading MTSU to a 5-1 record and 43 points or more in three of those six games. Everyone besides Craddock returns to the MTSU offense. On defense, seven starters return to an undersized but speedy group. The veteran secondary boasts experience and depth, and CB Alex Suber largely blanketed first-round draft choice Darrius Heyward-Bey in MTSU's upset of Maryland in 2008. The concern is greatest at linebacker. How big is it? Middle ranks in the top-half of the SBC or better at every single category on both sides except for linebacker. |
| ASK the bookie? - The Blue Raiders lose just 11 lettermen, the fewest in the league. It will interesting to see how its veterans (and its heretofore unseen spread) play in the opener at Clemson, as well as the next week at home against Memphis and at Maryland following that. Don't be surprised if Middle wins at least one of those games against an unsuspecting foe. Conference play starts after that, and a Tuesday night trip to Troy on Oct. 6 could tell the story for Middle this season. Watch how the Raiders react in a home game against Mississippi State (first SEC team to ever visit a Sun Belt venue) after the Troy game to get a good gauge on how to read them in the second half. |
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