North Texas awaits Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (2-9, 1-6) for football action this afternoon.  This will be the final game for both teams since neither qualified for an invitation to a bowl. North Texas leads the series 6-4 with an upset of the Blue Raiders 23-17 on their home turf last year and they would like nothing more than to return the favor.  Since Rick Stockstill has never lost in Denton, he and his team feel very confident that streak will continue.

This has been a disappointing season for both teams. While North Texas has viewed the losing season as a positive since they have made great strides in improving. Last year’s New Orleans Bowl Champions , a 42-32 win over Conference-USA’s Southern Miss, MTSU has viewed theirs as a negative. It has been a horrific turnaround going from a 10-3 season to a 2-9 one. There is no question their season has been hit with major injuries on both sides of the ball.

Right now their running back, Kyle Griswould, a Duke transfer, started the season out as the wide receiver. He never played the position before. Then after injuries knocked out the first two running backs, he was moved to running back, a position he played in high school. In front of him will be two offensive linemen who are starting for the second week in a row because the regular starters are out with injuries. Throw in two quarterbacks at the starting position, whew, it is understandable why they are struggling.

There are some key injuries in the defensive secondary.   

The Blue Raiders game plan will be simple. Stop Lance Dunbar. They know North Texas Head Football Coach Dan McCarney will give him the ball in order for him to set the new North Texas rushing record. Dunbar has been the bright spot for North Texas in what has been a terrible team around him during his college career. There would be nothing more important than a win in his final college game.  

They also know they have to stop Brelan Chancellor on punts and returns.  He can get North Texas a short field position when he gets his hands on the ball.

The Blue Raiders has been outscored this year 34.7 to 23.6 points a game. They have been outrushed per game 239-193 and lost the air battle 228.7 to 269.2.

The Achilles heel has been the first quarter. Teams have outscored MTSU big time in the first 112-44. They have been outscored in every quarter except the fourth where they hold the advantage 94-75.

North Texas has a winnable game in front of them. The defense has to exploit the fact MTSU offense is having problems. Stop the offense and MTSU is going nowhere.