Football Josh Vardaman
The Blue Raiders (0-4) are still looking for their first win of the season after a heartbreaking three-point loss to rival WKU last week, while FIU (0-1) is coming in off a bye and has only played one game this season.
"We're looking forward to playing them," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "It's a good football team … and they have a lot of guys returning on both sides of the ball."
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.
Where can you watch or listen?
TV: ESPNU
Radio: The Game 102.5/97.5 FM, WGNS 100.5 FM/1450 AM/101.9 FM
Search 'Middle Tennessee' on the TuneIn app; go to CUSA.TV/RaiderVision for the audio stream
Coaches tale of the tape
Rick Stockstill
Record, in conference (C-USA, Sun Belt): 91-90 (15th year), 68-43
Bowl appearances, record: 8 (2018 New Orleans Bowl), 2-6
Accolades: 6-time coach of the year, 2018 C-USA COY, sixth-longest tenured coach in the country, third all-time at MT in wins
Butch Davis
Record, at FIU (C-USA): 86-60, 23-17 (14-10)
Bowl appearances as head coach, record: 10, 6-4 (2019 Camelia Bowl)
Accolades: Won three Big East championships while the head coach at Miami; won two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator with Dallas Cowboys; broke the program record in wins with nine in 2018; 23 wins in first three seasons is the most in a three-year span in FIU history
Series history
Middle Tennessee has dominated this series since it was first played in 2005, holding a 10-5 record thanks to a 7-1 mark at home.
The problem for the Blue Raiders has been finding a way to win in Miami, where they're only 3-4 against the Panthers. That includes a 24-21 loss in 2018.
Last meeting
Last season's matchup between these teams was another dominant performance from MT at home.
After going into the half down 17-14, the Blue Raiders came out of the locker room to a downpour, which necessitated a heavy rushing attack that proved to be too much for FIU's defense.
Middle Tennessee outscored the Panthers 36-0 in the second half, cruising to a 50-17 win. The Blue Raiders finished with 471 yards on the ground, good for third on the program's all-time single-game list, on 55 carries.
Three players — quarterback Asher O'Hara and running backs Jayy McDonald and Terelle West — rushed for more than 100 yards in the win. O'Hara led the way with 159 yards and two touchdowns, also adding a passing score. West had 130 yards and three TDs, and McDonald finished with 138 yards and a 92-yard TD to cap the scoring with 3:30 left in the game, the second-longest rush in program history.
Not to be left out, MT's defense forced five fumbles and recovered four of them.
FIU has only played once in 2020
FIU has been hit hard by COVID-19 cancellations this season. The Panthers had two games postponed to start the year, then after their season-opening loss at Liberty on Sept. 26, they had another bye last week.
Having only one game to look at while creating a game plan creates a bit of a challenge for Stockstill and his staff.
"There's a lot of unknowns with FIU, just simply because they've only played one game," Stockstill said. "You have to go back and watch last year's stuff. We're trying to figure out the personnel and the schematic part of what they're doing and what they've changed."
O'Hara finding his groove
If there's one thing Stocktsill could learn about FIU from its game against Liberty, it's that the Panthers can struggle defensively against talented quarterbacks. Luckily, the Blue Raiders have one in redshirt junior Asher O'Hara.
FIU allowed Liberty's quarterback to get practically whatever he wanted both through the air and on the ground. He completed 24-of-30 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 85 yards on 13 attempts.
While the Panthers struggled a bit with Liberty's offense, Stockstill sees a talented defense.
"They were one of the better teams defensively last year in our conference, and they have a lot of those guys returning," he said. "They have a lot of experienced guys who played last year and are back."
O'Hara has been the catalyst for MT's improvement on offense the last two weeks.
After starting slow against Army and Troy, the right-handed signal caller has been more like himself in the last two outings, racking up 748 total yards and five touchdowns while completing 67.5% of his passes.
It hasn't mattered to O'Hara whether he's getting things done through the air or on the ground. He had a career day passing against UTSA with 372 yards and three TDs, then followed it up last week with his best showing of the season on the ground, 98 yards on 25 totes.
"As the season goes on, you kind of feel more natural by the game," O'Hara said. "In the summer, you aren't getting tackled at all. As the games go on, you certainly get more used to it."
Who's FIU's QB?
The Blue Raiders clearly have a starting quarterback their comfortable going to war with. The same can't be said for the Panthers.
FIU used three quarterbacks in the opener, and while redshirt freshman Stone Norton, a Nashville native, took control of the offense in the second half and had some success, Davis hasn't announced who'll get the start Saturday.
"I'm not sure who they're going to roll out there with, but all three of them are very good quarterbacks. They're very different in their own sense," Stockstill said.
The real test for Middle Tennessee's defense will come from senior running back Dvonte Price. He had a great start to his senior season against Liberty with 148 rushing yards and three TDs (two rushing).
The Blue Raiders have done a good job of limiting the run the last two weeks, giving up 3.1 yards per rush against UTSA then 3.3 last week against WKU. They'll hope to have similar success against one of Conference USA's best backs this week.
"I'm sure our defensive coordinator, coach (Scott) Shafer, will give us a great game plan going in," senior linebacker DQ Thomas said. "We just have to do what we do on the defensive side."
Blue Raiders going home
Several of Middle Tennessee's best players in recent memory have come from Florida. That's no different with this year's team.
A total of 17 scholarship players on the roster hail from Florida, including seven from within 160 square miles of Miami.
"You want to do the best you can for your team and to rep where you're from," junior safety Gregory Grate Jr., a Miami native, said. "Every game, you try to play your all and give your best … but you try to do a little more in a game like this."
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