Featured Photo by Erin Douglas
Story by Brett Walker
The first four games of Derek Mason’s tenure as the head coach of MTSU football haven’t been perfect by any stretch of the imagination.
The Blue Raiders delt with the juxtaposition of a rigorous schedule throughout the first four weeks and many injuries, specifically on the offensive line. Not to mention two severe weather delays across three home games in Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium.
The cavalcade of unfortunate circumstances has led MTSU to a (1-3) overall and (0-1) conference start. However, the disease of their own miscues plagues this Blue Raider team the most.
The turnover bug
With a completely overhauled roster and new offensive scheme, it would be unfair to assume that the MTSU offense would move the ball well early on. However, it isn’t unfair to hope that at the very least, the Blue Raiders would be able to hold on to it.
Through four games, Middle Tennessee has eight turnovers; good for ninth in Conference USA. With four interceptions and four lost fumbles, MTSU only has fewer turnovers than Louisiana Tech (11).
Turnovers have hurt MTSU all season, but they crippled the team completely against Duke. In the first quarter alone, Middle Tennessee fumbled three times inside their own 25 on Saturday. The butter-fingered Blue Raiders stood no chance after repeatedly coughing up the football in their own end.
“You take the turnovers out of it, and I think it’s a different ball game in terms of how you’re competing and what it feels like,” Mason said in his opening statement following the loss to Duke. “But you don’t, you don’t get a chance to, so, what we have to do is eliminate the mistakes, eliminate the errors and keep pushing forward because the breakthrough is going to come.”
This MTSU group is going to have errors occur, but the team must minimize and find ways to fight through them at the end of the day, Mason said.
Third down disease
Another foil to MTSU’s success this season would have to be the team’s third-down defense. Before the Duke game, MTSU ranked dead last in the FBS in opponent third down conversion percentage.
In layman’s terms, MTSU’s defense allowed opposing offenses to convert third downs at the highest rate in the nation. After a surprisingly good outing against Duke, the Blue Raiders rose one spot in the rankings. Middle Tennessee surpassed Kent State over the weekend to rank 133rd out of 134, giving up a first down on 58.62% of all third downs according to TeamRankings.com.
In defense of, well, the defense, injuries have decimated all units throughout the year leading to suboptimal play. MTSU returned senior linebacker Parker Hughes to the lineup for the first time all year on Saturday but was without junior linebacker Devyn Curtis due to an undisclosed injury.
A combination of a change in mentality and additional defensive packages led to the better defensive performance on Saturday, Hughes said.
“I’m trying to give motivation to other guys and just bring energy, you know and stuff like that,” Hughes said on what changed defensively. “Just working hard in practice, really detailing it up.”
Illness of inconsistency
Amid a rough start, there have been bright spots for MTSU. Quarterback Nick Vattiato and wide receiver Omari Kelly are enjoying success early on as the pair have connected 18 times for a total of 297 yards and three touchdowns.
Unfortunately, the connection is spotty at times. At their best, Vattiato and Kelly can dice up a defense like they did late in games against Tennessee Tech and WKU. When at their worst, the pair can become a nonfactor.
Additionally, MTSU’s red zone offense finds itself very inconsistent. Against Tennessee Tech and Duke respectively, MTSU scored a touchdown on all six of its red zone possessions.
Against Ole Miss and Western Kentucky, however, the Blue Raiders scored 10 points on a total of eight trips to the red zone. One of those trips against the Hilltoppers ended on the six-inch line after four straight failures to reach the endzone.
Coaches can only do so much to get the team in scoring position, so the red zone woes primarily fall on the players, Vattiato said after the WKU loss.
Despite the early season struggles, Mason feels the team is getting better collectively. Some people think of the mistakes as half empty, but he sees them as half full, Mason said.
“Man, we just have to maximize our opportunities, and I think in maximizing our opportunites we give ourselves a chance to play tight ball games,” Mason said.
Ultimately, Mason is right, once MTSU stops beating themselves, the Blue Raiders will have better chances to beat others.
Brett Walker is the sports editor for MTSU Sidelines
To contact the Sports and Assistant Sports Editor, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com
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