Gameday Info at Middle Tennessee
Your all-inclusive guide for your trip to one of I-24's top five most disgusting exits, Exit 81 toward Murfreesboro.
The college football season is nearly halfway over. Most teams have played six games, a few have played seven, and we are now heading into mainly conference play, crunch time season.
Conference USA is shaping up to be an interesting, perhaps unexpected race for the most part. UTSA seems to be the favorite, but North Texas is seemingly in better position than UAB or WKU, who play each other next week in Bowling Green in what will be a de facto elimination game. Then again, WKU gets North Texas the week after in the Houch, so that one could be an elimination game of sorts, as well.
This week’s matchup is also pretty much an elimination game. After showing serious promise with a win at Miami (FL) early in the season, MTSU (3-3, 0-2 C-USA) has come into Conference USA play and is already sitting with two losses. They are not mathematically eliminated, but with the current setup, they will need a ton of help and they absolutely must win the rest of their conference games. WKU (3-3, 1-1 C-USA) is not sitting in much better position with an early loss to UTSA. However, almost everyone that is still in the hunt plays UTSA and therefore is likely to suffer a loss at the hands of the Roadrunners.
In the 72nd installment of 100 Miles of Hate (35-35-1), WKU is a team that could be said to be in a funk, or at minimum, at least has hit a lull against two quality opponents in a row. The Topper offense has dipped below 30 points at all for the first time since the 2020 season, and the Tops did that two games in a row. For whatever reason, WKU’s normally prolific offense has had difficulty even mustering opportunities, seeing the red zone only three or four times per game of late. WKU’s defense is plenty good enough, ranking second in Conference USA in points allowed, while WKU’s offense, despite the dip in production, still stands second in points scored, as well.
Middle Tennessee is hard to read. A team that beat Miami also lost to UAB and UTSA by wide margins and go shellacked by James Madison. Those are all good teams, it turns out, but they have not been competitive in any one of those three losses. MTSU is led by Chase Cunningham, a really cool story of an underdog that has scrapped his way to being a pretty good player for a decent football team. MTSU is not remotely as explosive offensively as WKU, averaging 126 yards less than WKU overall offensively and allowing nearly 50 yards more defensively. Ultimately, though, Middle is capable of causing damage on both sides of the ball and has a coach that has done this thing for years in Rick Stockstill.
These games have gone down to the wire, gone to overtime, and generally been extremely competitive and occasionally, the ultimate result is surprising.
So let’s set the stage for WKU and MTSU, shall we?
Location
Floyd Stadium
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Capacity: 30,788
Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium is a stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders. It previously served as the home stadium for Riverdale and Oakland high schools, for a long period when those schools did not have stadiums. It later was the home stadium for Siegel High School for a short period, when construction for a stadium was delayed. The stadium is named for Middle Tennessee State University football coach Johnny Floyd.
Time
Saturday, October 15, 2022 2:30 PM CST
Weather Forecast
This game should be a fairly pretty one weather-wise, but with a slight chance precipitation, it may be wise to have a clue of what to do in case it spits some rain. Shorts should be a possible option if you don’t it feeling like the 60s with a breeze, or having a light jacket and pants may make some sense if you tend to get a little chilly when the sun starts going down.
TV
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Jake Rose Analyst: Jeremy Kellem Sideline: Abigail Martin
Radio
Randy Lee (Play by Play), Terry Obee (Analyst), Lexi Schweinert (Analyst), Jared Holland (Sideline)
Tune in to your local Hilltopper Sports Network station, SAM 100.7 and ESPN 102.7.
Also, you can listen to the radio call anywhere in the world on the WKU Gameday App!
Gameday Information
WKU
WKU HC Tyson Helton Press Conference: MTSU
MTSU
MTSU Full Press Conference (Coaches and Players)
Around C-USA
C-USA Week 7: What They’re Saying
Betting Lines from Sportsline.com
WKU -8
O/U 67
ESPN.com Match-up Predictor
WKU-70.1% Chance to Win
Current Records
WKU: 3-3 (1-1 C-USA)
MTSU: 3-3 (0-2 C-USA)
Last Time Out…
WKU just recently went to San Antonio and lost in another tough battle with the Roadrunners for the third time in two seasons. The Alamodome wasn’t as packed, but UTSA made it a tough environment for the Tops and found a way to win, 31-28. WKU’s special teams woes continued, with a debatable onside kick attempt in the fourth quarter that allowed UTSA to go up ten. Ultimately, UTSA came up with just enough on a fourth down conversion to seal the deal on an incredible individual battle between WKU’s Upton Stout and UTSA’s Joshua Cephus.
MTSU has not looked pretty against good teams this season, with the exception of Miami, who was ranked before MTSU took them down. UAB handled MTSU 41-14 and was up 41-7 with 25 minutes remaining in the game. MTSU allowed 581 yards in that game including over 300 yards rushing. The main question with Middle is, “Do we see the team that dominated Miami, or do we see the team that has played against JMU, UTSA, and UAB?”
Coaches
Tyson Helton- 4th Season- 26-19 (26-19 Overall)
Rick Stockstill-17th Season104-101 (104-101 overall)
Series
35-35-1
WKU has fought back to even the series. One of the more underrated rivalries in all of America, WKU vs. MTSU in any sport is a dog fight. You can’t get any more even than dead even after 71 meetings. Somebody comes out ahead in the rivalry, something WKU hasn’t tasted since the mid-1980s. WKU dominated early, Middle caught up in the 1960s, WKU made its move in the 1970s, and Middle took control in the 1980s. Since the series resumed in 2007 after a 16 year break, most games have been single possession games and only four games finished as more than two possessions apart on the final scoreboard.
Last Meeting
Last season was one of the four games that were blowouts as WKU blasted the Blue Raiders 48-21. WKU was in the midst of its stretch where the defense didn’t allow more than 21 points and the offense was not going to put out anything less than the mid-30s. Last year’s team was a nightmare matchup for any team that couldn’t muster the offense to score 40 or more per game on a regular basis.
Injury Report
WKU
*Head Coach Tyson Helton keeps injuries pretty well under wraps, so we are left to speculate on many nicks and bruises. Any of these are not based on pure rumor but based on what we know by observation or by inkling from interviews. Covers.com shows WKU with no official injuries.
OT Mark Goode: Out (knee; possibly for season). Goode was rolled up on and carted off against UTSA. Fortunately for WKU, the Tops were still able to do pretty well without him against UTSA, but this is a huge blow and is something WKU will have to compensate for going forward.
WR Joshua Sterns: Questionable to Doubtful (knee). When asked about Sterns, Tyson Helton did say that he was hopeful to have Sterns back but that he had a knee flare up during the week against UTSA. It’s getting to the point that the coaching staff is debating whether to redshirt him.
WR Daewood Davis: Active (concussion protocol). When asked about Daewood, Coach Helton said he fully expected Davis to play and “thank God” would not be having any concerns returning Saturday. Davis took a smacking on the sideline later in the game and didn’t return.
TE Joshua Simon: Probable to Active (leg). There were some rumblings that Joshua Simon may have some leg issues or spin-off issues from his broken leg suffered in 2021. This could explain why he has not been as productive the past few weeks. Some said some things about trying to redshirt him, but having played six games this year, that seems hardly plausible. Just watch out for Simon and let’s see how this unfolds.
MTSU
WR D.J. England-Chisholm-Questionable (undisclosed). Impact: Significant to Crucial. An upperclassman, England Chisholm gave Middle a home run threat against some quality competition early. He’s been injured since, but is potentially on the mend and able to play Saturday. With WKU’s offense, MTSU having a big weapon could help tremendously.
Excitement Level —7
Unfortunately, two deflating losses really water down this awesome rivalry matchup. If it wasn’t for this being 100 Miles of Hate and both teams still technically being in the hunt for a championship, this would be an incredibly low score. Perhaps 7 is a little high, but it’s Middle Tennessee, and we all know people will get charged up to beat up WKU’s biggest rival.
Western usually brings a good crowd down to Middle, so as one of those lucky enough to go, I’m interested to see how many people show up in red. If WKU can get back to its winning ways and high-powered offense, the Tops should generate some excitement in time for UAB and North Texas to come to town. Those next two games will be massive for the Tops if they can just beat Middle.
If you are in Smurfreesboro, you are contractually required to send us pictures and tag us on Twitter. That’s in First Topperlonians in your WKU Bible. “When watching the Tops, thou shalt send TTR hella pics.”