Western Kentucky Defeats Blue Raiders in Overtime Thriller

By Gamari James

Motlow Buzz Contributing writer

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defeated the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 41-38, in a frenetic three-overtime football game Nov. 17, potentially ending the Raiders' chances of making it to a bowl game.

With both teams coming in at a five and five record, each team needed a win to get over .500 and be bowl eligible. These two rivals went blow for blow all the way down to the last field goal from WKU kicker Ryan Nuss.

            Everything that you could expect from these high-powered offenses you got from each team. The crowd played a huge part in getting the win for the Hilltoppers. It seemed like they played the 12^th member on the field with how hyped and excited they were.

For most of the game, one could hear fans roaring as loud as the band and sad sighs throughout the night. Their student section was on an emotional roller-coaster as the night progressed, and it seemed like the Blue Raiders were on their way to victory in the fourth quarter when they took a 40-yard fumble for a touchdown.

The star of the game was WKU Senior Quarterback Mike White, who almost reached 500 passing yards with an amazing five-touchdown night. With a performance like that, White became the C-USA Offensive player of the week.  What a way to go out and perform for his school on Senior Night.

Three of his wide receivers had more than 100 yards through the air. One of his receivers, Lucky Jackson, caught a 93-yard bomb that went the distance in a late-game score that would break the tie from 17-24. This was one of the loudest moments of the game that had the stadium shaking in excitement.

The MTSU players had some of their own highlights with players like running-back Tavares Thomas, who almost racked up 100 yards rushing and bringing in two touchdowns for the Blue Raiders. Other players like Ty Lee, who almost has 1,000 yards receiving this semester, pulled in 11 receptions for 114 yards.

There wasn’t a lot of defense being played in this game between these two teams. The Hilltoppers only had one sack all night and only five tackles that were behind the line of scrimmage. The Blue Raiders did, however, have more of an impact on the defensive end with three total fumbles. They recovered two with one turning into six points. They also made 11 tackles for a loss and five sacks on the night.

The way the WKU players were scoring it reminded fans of how they played last year when they had star players like Taywan Taylor, now a receiver for the Tennessee Titans. They were putting up huge numbers week after week. This team has struggled some this year with putting up the same amount of firepower on the offensive end. With new up-and-coming young stars like wide receivers Lucky Jackson and Quin Jernigan, they have a lot of upside to build upon.

The MTSU players had a chance for revenge that they let slip through their hands once again. This was a rematch of last year’s that was held in Murfreesboro that also went into overtime. They also failed to get over the hump in the final moments of that game, losing 44-43.

When asked about what he thought about playing in such an exciting game, WKU wide receiver Quin Jernigan said, “It was super fun and emotional. Last year I had to sit on the sidelines because of an injury, but this year I had the chance to make some plays and us winning just made it even more turned up.”

Quin did make an impact on the field with three catches for 63 yards. When Quin was asked what type of player do you most compare yourself to in the NFL, Quin said “I’m like a Dez Bryant or Deandre from Houston. I like to go up and get that ball, no matter who is guarding me. They can’t guard me.”

With Quin’s height and strong arms and hands, those comparisons are good. Opposing cornerbacks will have trouble defending him every time he is thrown the ball.

Now that the WKU Hilltoppers are bowl eligible, fans will get to see this young team fight for another championship. The MTSU Raiders still have a chance to appear in a bowl for the sixth straight year after defeating Old Dominion, 41-10, on Nov. 25.

Next year, fans hope the Raiders can get some payback on the Hilltoppers when they bring them to their stadium for another annually rival. To keep up with these teams visit www.wkusports.com or www.mtsu.edu.

MTSU Football Preparing For 2014 Season

By Nick Fisch

Motlow Buzz Reporter

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s football team held its "Blue and White Spring Game" at 12:50 p.m. on April 19, 2014 at the Dean A. Hayes Stadium located on 1568 Greenland Drive.

            The Blue Team, which was the offense, beat the White Team, which was the defense, 27-0. The final score had the Blue Team winning the game, but the White team actually dominated the whole game. The White Team managed to rack up a total of seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, and three interceptions.

            Redshirt freshman cornerback Shon Akins, who is number 37, was a serious presence on the field by forcing two interceptions, and redshirt senior cornerback Chris Sharpe, who is number 27, had one interception as well as one forced fumble. Redshirt junior defensive end Alexandro Antoine, who is number 17, and redshirt senior linebacker Leighton Gasque, who is number 40, had two sacks each.

            The Blue Team still managed to score some points on the ball hawking defense of the MTSU Blue Raiders. In the first quarter, the Blue Team started off with a three-point lead when redshirt sophomore kicker Cody Clark, who is number 89, made a 29-yard field goal.

             In the second quarter, redshirt sophomore quarterback Austin Grammar, who is number two, connected with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Terry Pettis, who is number 84, for a 49-yard touchdown. The extra point from Cody Clark was good, making the score 10-0 at the half, with the Blue team leading.

            Redshirt freshman fullback Jordan Willis, who is number 43, scored the first points of the second half with a 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point by sophomore kicker Canon Rooker, who is number 15, was good. The third quarter touchdown led up to Canon Rooker kicking a 24-yard field goal.

             In the fourth quarter, redshirt sophomore running back Chukwadi Echetebu, who is number 30, ran 8 yards straight to the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point by Cody Clark was good, making that the last points of the 2014 "Blue and White Spring Game."

            The MTSU defense, who gave up 26.2 points and was ranked 60th in all of Division I football for points allowed in 2013, looked very good in the spring. They created many turnovers, managed to get in the back field, gang tackled, created big hits, and most of all played as a team.

            The MTSU offense did not look all that great, which is ironic because their offense ranked 69th in all of Division I football for total points, 31st in total rushing yards, and 85th in total passing yards in 2013. The reason the offense could have been struggling was due to the fact their 2013 captain quarterback, Logan Kilgore, graduated.

             Battling for the starting quarterback position are freshman Brent Stockstill, who is number 12; redshirt freshman A.J. Erdely; who is number 11; redshirt junior Nolan Genovese; who is number 7; and redshirt sophomore Austin Grammer, who is number 2.

            Unfortunately, all four quarterbacks struggled throughout the spring game, which really caused the offense to play out of sync. There is still a lot of time for all four to get better before the 2014 season kickoff, including summer conditioning, practice and fall practice.

            The MTSU running game was one bright spot for the offense of the Blue Raiders. The MTSU rushing attack gained a total of 242 yards and two touchdowns during the spring game. Number 35 Tony Rowland, who is a redshirt freshman, rushed for 114 yards on 23 carries. Number 43 Jordan Willis, who is a redshirt freshman, and number 30 Chukwadi Echetebu, who is a redshirt sophomore, each had one touchdown to lead the Blue Raiders rushing attack.

            Senior wide receiver Marcus Henry, who is number 19, was the leading wide receiver for the MTSU Blue Raiders in 2013, grabbing 38 catches for 549 yards and three touchdowns. Henry formally played for Northwest Mississippi Community College in Courtland, Miss., making him one of the 15 junior college transfers on the MTSU roster.

            “Community College is harder than people think, and they have a lot of good athletes," Henry said. "Community College helps a lot of D-1 athletes to improve on their grades. It really had me prepared a lot for MTSU.”

             Henry is coming into the 2014 season with the mindset of just winning and high expectations for the team, as well as himself.

            “We want to win the conference championship and to go undefeated,” Henry said. “Every time I catch the ball, I am trying to score.”

            Henry has a lot of reasons to have high expectations. MTSU Blue Raiders football finished the 2013 season with a record of 8-4, making it to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, where they fell to Navy, 24-6. MTSU football still had a successful 2013 season considering the fact that was the first season MTSU had to play in Conference USA since it made the switch from the Sun Belt Conference.

            MTSU starts the 2014 season at home on Aug. 30 against Savannah State. MTSU's first conference game of the 2014 season will be home against Southern Mississippi.

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