College Football Predictions – MTSU Blue Raiders 2018 NCAA Football Preview
2017 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 7-6
As per usual, it was an up-and-down and side-to-side…..and up-and-down season for the Blue Raiders. They managed to bag six wins and get to a bowl game but had no shot at the division crown once their star QB went down due to injury. Speaking of the bowl game, they beat a scrappy Arkansas St squad (35-30) in the Camellia Bowl to score their first bowl victory since the 2009 New Orleans Bowl when they defeated Southern Miss.
Do they have the MINERALS to compete with Florida Atlantic and Marshall? We hope to have the answers below.
2018 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
East Division – #2
Conference USA – #3
MTSU Blue Raiders 2018 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Blue Raiders will be a force to be reckoned with if they can keep their excellent signal-caller Brent Stockstill from being carted off the field on the meat-wagon on a regular basis. Stockstill is an excellent QB who runs the offense with great efficiency. This season essentially all of his key targets return including 1st Team C-USA honoree Ty Lee (955, 5 TD, 79 rec LY). The entire RB unit is back and that allows them to rotate backs and attack defenses with varying skill sets. The offensive line play was average last year and they return 3/5 starters to the mix.
MTSU’s offensive production decreased from 39.7 PPG (!) in 2016 to a paltry 25.5 last year. The Blue Raiders should exceed 30 PPG without a problem in 2018. The upside is not exceptional unless another stud emerges at WR.
DEFENSE
MTSU played some fine defense last season ranking #35 in total defense (#4 C-USA, #9 C-USA in 2016) and they return nine starters to the stop unit in 2018. We are particularly excited about a front-7 that returns virtually everyone, and keep in mind that they were rock solid last season allowing just 134 YPG on the ground (#2 C-USA). They also tallied 32 sacks. There is experience and talent at every level of the defense and they feature LB Khalil Brooks who is coming off a great season (17 TFL, 6 QBH; 2nd Team C-USA).
The Blue Raiders’ defense is one of the best in C-USA and might even improve a bit statistically in many categories compared to last season (!).
SPECIAL TEAMS
This feels like a mixed bag. They have continuity at PR, KR and P this season but lose their excellent PK Canon Rooker who nailed 14/17 FG attempts last season.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – It’s flat out nasty. In their first four games they have road tilts with two SEC opponents (Vanderbilt, Georgia) and a home date with JUGGERNAUT Florida Atlantic. Oh, and the next game is a road trip to WE ARE MARSHALL. They finish the season with a road test at Kentucky and have SEVEN away games from start to finish. We need to get MEGALOCKS SCHEDULE-MAKING HUMAN RESOURCES INSIDERS to fire whoever cobbled together this docket.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at FIU (October 13). This game is a double-let-down spot after big games with FAU and Marshall.
Season Win Total
Over 7 +105
Under 7 -135
MEGALOCKS says:
Neutral view at the moment. We are torn because we think the Blue Raiders will be a really good team but not sure if they can bag eight wins (see schedule notes above). Need to think about this one a bit longer.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The nickname “Blue Raiders” comes from the winning contest entry back in the 1930s. Amaze the table at your next FAMILY PICNIC with that trivia noodle.
MTSU has not had a “+” turnover margin since 2013 (-22 combined from 2014-2017).
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 6.0
MEGALOCKS says:
Overall, we give the BLUE RAIDERS a 6.0 ATS Value Rating (Above Average) this season.
The Blue Raiders look to have a really solid squad ready to take the field in 2018. If they can keep the QB in one piece they are a threat to win every game with that defense, aside of course, from the trip to Georgia. We aren’t sure how all their talent will translate to the win-loss column but we are fairly certain they will prevail vs the point spread over the course of the campaign.
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NEWS
http://www.dnj.com/blue-raiders/
http://bleacherreport.com/middle-tennesse-football
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/middle-tenn-st-blue-raiders
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