WKU Football: Staff Predictions Week Six - MTSU

100 Miles of Hate week is here. How do we see it going?

One of our favorite rivalries is here once again as the Tops stay on the road and head to Murfreesboro for the 72nd meeting of the 100 Miles of Hate. Whoever wins will lead the all time series with 36 wins.

Both teams are 3-3 and are looking to bounce back after losing a conference game. How do we see it going? Let’s find out!

Matt McCay (4-2)

I’m going to be as unbiased as I possibly can against the back fat of Nashville, Murfreesboro. Rumor has it there are more crossed eyes and cousin-wives than people in Smurfreesboro, folks. The “Glass House” they’re proud of is more useful as a petri dish to examine the world’s closest reality to the movie “Idiocracy” rather than observing mediocre basketball.

With all of that being said, Middle has a decent team, in all seriousness. They have a good, tough quarterback who has worked hard to earn his job. Much like the rest of the MUTS population, there’s not a lot of talent there, but they sure do try. They force turnovers and get pressure defensively, and they have the better win (Miami of FL) of the two teams this season. It turns out that blowout loss to James Madison to begin the year isn’t so laughable, either now that they’re ranked in the top 25. It’s a rivalry game and you never know what’s going to happen, although WKU should probably win if they play well. Look for a back and forth battle. WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton said both teams have a healthy respect for each other. Well, with all due respect, and I mean ALL due respect, I’ve got Western Kentucky: 74, Middle Tennessee: 0.

Alex Sherfield (3-3)

So…last week deserves to be forgotten but it wasn’t for long. The latest installment of the 100 Miles of Hate rivalry finds both teams at .500. However, this isn’t the same Blue Raider brigade that upset Miami (FL) back in September.

Last week, they’ve allowed almost 600 yards in their blowout loss to UAB. On the ground, they average in letting opponents hit 140 yards per game, which should give some firepower for the Tops running game to run wild.

In terms of production, the Tops pass defense will have another challenge. Izaiah Gathings leads MTSU with 36 receptions and Jaylin Lane has 469 receiving yards, averaging 15.3 per catch.

In each of their three losses, the Blue Raiders have also allowed their opponents to put 40 plus on the board. As much as I would love to put Western on a task of doing the same thing, our losses to Troy and UTSA shows that we have a bigger dilemma in trying to score more points.

Hopefully, we should be able to take this one back to BG and break the losing streak.

Give me WKU: 30, MTSU: 26.

Devin Stewart (3-3)

Tops end the slump and celebrate all the way home. 42-21 WKU win.

Jake Gary (3-3)

These teams hate each other there is no denying that. Both fanbases would love to have bragging rights here. But I think the Tops show they are a bit too much for MTSU to handle, they played a closer game against UTSA and unlike MTSU actually got some stops here and there. I think the WKU defense is key in stopping MTSU’s potential comeback player of the year at QB (Cunningham) and winning this game for the Tops.

WKU: 37 MTSU: 23.

Jared Rosdeutscher (5-1)

It may feel like the Tops are waning after going 1-3 over the last four games but they’re starting to play some tougher competition as compared to the beginning of the season. Plus they lost all three of those games by a combined 13 points. The close games haven’t favored WKU this season but I’m hoping this one won’t be too close.

MTSU beat #25 Miami earlier this season but haven’t really done much since then. With this being a rivalry game I see both teams coming into this one prepared and filled with distaste towards one another. We’ve seen some crazy matchups in the past (like the three overtime game) but I don’t see this one being as close. I see the Blue Raiders being annoying and keeping it close most of the game but WKU get enough big plays late to seal the deal. I’ll take the Tops winning and take the lead of the all-time series, 38-23.

Fletcher Keel (5-1)

I refuse to believe this MTSU team is any good. I refuse to believe they’re capable of beating a prepared Miami team, something many Hurricane players flat out said after the fact that they weren’t. I refuse to believe this team is the one we saw nearly hang with UTSA.

The one game I lose all objectivity with each year is this one. I cannot stand MT, especially after last year, so I’m not expecting anything, but I will say the Tops win. We’ll say, I don’t know, 45-21.