MTSU has been among the most maddening teams in college football.
While the Blue Raiders haven't been a disappointment on a big time scale, they've had the talent and production to not just win a Sun Belt title, they've had everything in place to win several.
Instead, there have been four straight losing seasons with no New Orleans Bowl appearances in the five years as a Sun Belt member. The program started off its conference life on a strange note going 8-3 in 2001 only to miss out because it lost to a North Texas team that went 5-6.
How frustrating was last season under former head coach Andy McCollum? All four Sun Belt losses last season were by a touchdown or less. MTSU lost to UL Monroe in the final :43 and to UL Lafayette with 1:04 to play. There was a 45-7 pasting of eventual league champion Arkansas State, and a win at Vanderbilt that would turn out to be the bowl killer for the Commodores. The defense only allowed 18.73 points per game, but the offense often couldn't take advantage struggling to average just 19 points per outing.
All the frustrations and all the near misses meant the end of the McCollum tenure and the beginning of the Rick Stockstill era in what'll be an interesting experience until the new coaching staff gets its feet wet. This is Stockstill's first head coaching gig after spending time as an assistant at Clemson, East Carolina and South Carolina over the past several years. He's known for being a top recruiter and a nice developer of offensive talent, and he has some good prospects to work with.
Senior QB Clint Marks has been the starter for two years and has more than enough experience to handle himself well and be just the type of leader to carry the offense between coaching staffs. Bobby Williams, if he gets out of the doghouse after being suspended for spring ball, should be one of the Sun Belt's best receivers. Eugene Gross leads a small, quick backfield running behind a big, decent offensive line.
The defense won't be the killer it was last year after losing seven top starters, but it's not going to fall off the map with several good prospects ready to step in and linebacker J.K. Sabb and corner Bradley Robinson to build around. If the offense comes though with a better season, the D will be good enough to win the Sun Belt title with.
And that's the measure of success for Stockstill ... Sun Belt championships. The league is even, but it's not good enough to not be taken by storm if a program get hot. A little more luck in close games and a few better bounces here and there and MTSU will be the league's new star.
The Schedule: It's tough with the biggest games on the road. North Texas, UL Monroe, UL Lafayette and Arkansas State should be among the Sun Belt's best teams, and all four are away from Murfreesboro. The non-conference slate isn't going to be fun playing at Maryland, at Oklahoma and at South Carolina to go along with a home date with Louisville and a layup against Tennessee Tech, so there will be little margin for error if MTSU wants its first winning season since 2001.
What you need to know ... The offense wasn't consistent and struggled mightily to get the running game going. Expect more balance and more pop all the way around after averaging a mere 308 yards and 19 points per game. The goal will be to use several different formations in a wide-open attack relying on the decision making abilities of the quarterback. That's a positive considering Clint Marks is back for his third year under center. Eugene Gross leads a decent group of small, quick backs who should do better behind an improved line.
Best Offensive Player: Senior QB Clint Marks. The left-handed senior saw his production dive last year with no running game to balance things out. There should be a 50/50 split of the workload, and that'll only help Marks by giving him more options to work with. If MTSU wins the Sun Belt title, Marks will likely be the Player of the Year.
What you need to know ... Only four starters return to the Sun Belt's best defense, but the cupboard is hardly bare. New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz's biggest issue is finding a tackle to replace Jeff Littlejohn along with linebackers Dennis Burks and Jonathan Bonner. The linebackers will be fine if J.K. Sabb is as good as he was last season, and the line will be fine if Sean Mosley and Erik Walden can generate consistent pressure on the ends. The secondary will be the strength with Bradley Robinson about to be hailed as one of the Sun Belt's top corners.
Best Defensive Player: Senior LB J.K Sabb. The former JUCO All-American came in and rocked right away leading the team in tackles and tackles for loss. He's a great sized playmaker on the weakside and a fearsome pass rusher.
Key player to a successful season: Junior CB Roy Polite. The secondary was one of the rocks of last year's team, and it will be again as long as Polite has a big year. The junior has been a quality reserve with good size and nice skills. Now he'll have to be a big producer with everyone looking to stay away from Bradley Robinson on the other side.
The season will be a success if ... MTSU wins the Sun Belt title. Finishing second means nothing in this league. The Blue Raiders need to get by a nasty conference draw and have to survive three two-game road trips, but the team should be good enough to beat anyone on the slate outside of Maryland, Oklahoma Louisville and South Carolina.
Key game: Sept. 30 at North Texas. The Mean Green is better than last season's 2-9 disaster. One of those wins was a 14-7 clunker against the Blue Raiders pushing the record between the two to 5-0. MTSU needs this Sun Belt road opener coming off an almost certain blowout at Oklahoma and a near-certain blowout against Louisville coming up the following week.
2005 Fun Stats:
- First quarter scoring: MTSU 48 - Opponents 19
- Fourth down conversions: MTSU 9 of 12 (75%) - Opponents 3 of 15 (20%)
- Interception return average: Opponents 24.4 yards on seven interceptions - MTSU 9.1 yards on 14 interceptions
The Last Time MTSU …
…played in a bowl game…1964 (Grantland Rice Bowl vs. Muskingum)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…2004 (Utah State)
…was shutout…2000 (Florida)
…scored 50 points…2005 (UL-Lafayette)
…went undefeated…1965
…won a conference title…2001 (tie, Sun Belt)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2002 (Dwone Hicks)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2004 (Kerry Wright)
…had a first-round draft choice…never
