After all of the hullabaloo of conference realignment in the last week, now made official with Southern Miss announcing a move to the Sun Belt in 2023, there's still football to be played.
Southern Miss looks to shake off a 34-0 beatdown at the hands of the UAB Blazers two weeks ago, making the trip to Murfreesboro, TN to take on a 3-4 Middle Tennessee State.
The Golden Eagles enter the matchup with a record of 1-6 and remaining winless in conference play. It's difficult to find silver lining in such a year, but there is still potential to build needed momentum moving into the offseason.
Saturday's meeting with the Blue Raiders begins a final stretch where there are still four winnable games on the schedule. Emphasis on winnable. Will Hall's group will have to find some semblance of consistency on offense, or any sort of production, to be expected to be competitive in any of these remaining games.
MTSU will present another formidable challenge for the downtrodden roster that has lost a multitude of key pieces due to injury, as well as a number of players entering the transfer portal over the last month.
Rick Stockstill's group doesn't look to be a serious contender in the CUSA East, but after a 44-13 drubbing of a bad UCONN team, they should push for bowl eligibility. In 2021, the success has largely been due to an offense that lands somewhere slightly above average - scoring just under 30 points per game while the defense surrenders an average score of 28.7.
Quarterback Chase Cunningham leads the way with 1,270 total yards, 16 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions on a 62.7% completion percentage. He's not flashy, nor will he light the stat sheet on fire, but the redshirt junior has been effective in managing the offense.
The rushing offense has been less successful in 2021 for Middle Tennessee, averaging below the 100-yard mark per game with only 5 touchdowns on the ground. This should be a favorable matchup for the Southern Miss defense.
Speaking of such, the keys to a Southern Miss win remain what they have been since the start of year. High-quality defense, minimize bad mistakes on offense, and win the turnover margin to give yourself a shot in the final quarter of play.
The good news here is that Austin Armstrong's defense has remained largely healthy and return a few banged up guys coming off of the buy week. It's imperative for the defense to bounce back after a step in the wrong direction against UAB. The defense is healthy and have shown that they are capable of keeping Southern Miss in the game until late - even with a hapless offense.
Middle Tennessee State is a 13.5-point favorite over Southern Miss. Kickoff is slated for Saturday at 2:30 PM and will be televised on ESPN+.
What are your keys to the game against MTSU? Do you see this as a winnable game? Why or why not?
Southern Miss looks to shake off a 34-0 beatdown at the hands of the UAB Blazers two weeks ago, making the trip to Murfreesboro, TN to take on a 3-4 Middle Tennessee State.
The Golden Eagles enter the matchup with a record of 1-6 and remaining winless in conference play. It's difficult to find silver lining in such a year, but there is still potential to build needed momentum moving into the offseason.
Saturday's meeting with the Blue Raiders begins a final stretch where there are still four winnable games on the schedule. Emphasis on winnable. Will Hall's group will have to find some semblance of consistency on offense, or any sort of production, to be expected to be competitive in any of these remaining games.
MTSU will present another formidable challenge for the downtrodden roster that has lost a multitude of key pieces due to injury, as well as a number of players entering the transfer portal over the last month.
Rick Stockstill's group doesn't look to be a serious contender in the CUSA East, but after a 44-13 drubbing of a bad UCONN team, they should push for bowl eligibility. In 2021, the success has largely been due to an offense that lands somewhere slightly above average - scoring just under 30 points per game while the defense surrenders an average score of 28.7.
Quarterback Chase Cunningham leads the way with 1,270 total yards, 16 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions on a 62.7% completion percentage. He's not flashy, nor will he light the stat sheet on fire, but the redshirt junior has been effective in managing the offense.
The rushing offense has been less successful in 2021 for Middle Tennessee, averaging below the 100-yard mark per game with only 5 touchdowns on the ground. This should be a favorable matchup for the Southern Miss defense.
Speaking of such, the keys to a Southern Miss win remain what they have been since the start of year. High-quality defense, minimize bad mistakes on offense, and win the turnover margin to give yourself a shot in the final quarter of play.
The good news here is that Austin Armstrong's defense has remained largely healthy and return a few banged up guys coming off of the buy week. It's imperative for the defense to bounce back after a step in the wrong direction against UAB. The defense is healthy and have shown that they are capable of keeping Southern Miss in the game until late - even with a hapless offense.
Middle Tennessee State is a 13.5-point favorite over Southern Miss. Kickoff is slated for Saturday at 2:30 PM and will be televised on ESPN+.
What are your keys to the game against MTSU? Do you see this as a winnable game? Why or why not?
