Michigan Football: Everything you need to know about MTSU
Michigan football is matched up against Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, August 31st, 2019. Here’s a look at what UM and the fans will see.
Middle Tennesse State is not in the same atmosphere as Michigan football talent-wise, and yet, they’re not a team to discount. Coming off an 8-6 record, coach Rick Stockstill has kept this team consistent for almost his entire head coaching career.
The 2018 season featured Rick’s son, Brent Stockstill who was arguably the best quarterback in the school’s history. In four years, Brent threw the ball for 12,483 yards, 106 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions. Brent’s final collegiate game came last year in the New Orleans Bowl, and it ended in a 45-13 shellacking of his Blue Raiders.
That awful game was Brent’s last in a Blue Raider uniform; he is currently employed as an assistant coach for Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic University football team.
Before we get into who will be replacing Brent, let’s cover a few interesting facts about MTSU:
- Since 2010, MTSU has played against five Big Ten teams since 2010 and has lost five times. Although, in 2015, MTSU came frighteningly close to beating a Bill Cubit 5-7 Illinois team. With just four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, MSTU led the Fighting Illini 25-24, only to be defeated on a 51-yard field goal by Taylor Zalewski.
- The last time MTSU faced a Big Ten team was 2017. The Blue Raiders traveled to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers, and it was a mistake. Rick and his son were decimated 34-3.
- Rick has kept this team pretty consistent but hasn’t reached ten wins since 2009.
- Speaking of the head coach, Rick has a head coaching record of 87-78 over 14 years.
- All of those 14 years were with MTSU. Before MTSU, Rick was an assistant for six different teams; most recently at South Carolina.
- One impressive stat for this team is that they have appeared in postseason games for four consecutive years.
With all that on the table, let’s take a look at the 2019 squad facing Michigan football in the season opener, starting with the offense.