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Football 9/4/2020 12:37:00 PM JOSH VARDAMAN, MT Athletics

Blue Raiders open season at Army Saturday

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Looking ahead to MT at Army
 
WEST POINT, N.Y. — College football is finally back after a weird, trying offseason, and Middle Tennessee is poised to start its 2020 campaign with a team it's never faced.
 
The Blue Raiders found out Aug. 10 they would start their season at Army, a team that presents many challenges regardless of how long you have to prepare for the game.
 
"We've had a great August … and we're playing a really good football team in Army," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "They've done a really, really good job the last few years. They've won a lot of games … and we know and understand the challenge ahead of us."
 
Kickoff for the season opener is set for 12:30 p.m. CT at Army's Michie Stadium.
 
Where can you watch or listen?
TV: CBSSN
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): 91-86 (15^th year), 68-41
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
 
Jeff Monken
Record, at Army: 76-52 (11^th year), 40-36 (7^th year)
Bowl appearances as head coach, record: 3, 3-0 (2018 Armed Forces Bowl)
Accolades: Tied for fifth all-time at Army in wins; named the George Munder Coach of the Year, Vince Lombardi Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year award in 2018; led Army to its first 11-win season in 2018, when they finished the season ranked 19^th in the AP Poll and 20^th in the Coaches Poll

Series history
This is the first time Middle Tennessee and Army have ever met on the gridiron.

Blue Raiders vs. service academies
MT has only faced a service academy once before, in the 2013 Armed Forces when it fell 24-6 to Navy.

Stopping the triple option
The Black Knights feature a triple option offense that routinely places them among the nation's leaders in rushing offense. In 2019, they finished third in the country with 297.2 rushing yards per game, the fourth straight year they placed in the top three.
 
Middle Tennessee hasn't faced a traditional triple option offense since its bowl-game loss to Navy in 2013. It has had success against the unique scheme in the past, though, beating Georgia Tech on the road in 2012 49-28.
 
Blue Raiders defensive coordinator Scott Shafer will have a tough task Saturday against a deep and experienced bunch of Army running backs. The Black Knights have six upperclassmen they'll utilize, led by fullback Sandon McCoy, the team's leading returning rusher (576 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns in 2019). They also have a couple of talented quarterbacks fighting for the starting nod in juniors Jabari Laws (484 rushing yards in 2019) and Christian Anderson (429 rushing yards in 2019).
 
In order to keep Army's ground attack in check, Middle Tennessee will have to stay disciplined and focused every play. It also can't forget about the Black Knights' receivers.
 
"You have to do your job," senior safety Reed Blankenship said. "You can't play all over the field like you can in other games. You just have to read your keys, and if you don't do your job, they can break one for 50 or 60 [yards]."
 
The Blue Raiders are relatively inexperienced in some spots defensively, most notably on the line and at cornerback, but they're talented. Redshirt senior Rakavian Poydras, a career 12-game starter, anchors the defensive line and will benefit from the return of redshirt junior Jordan Ferguson (more on him below).
 
Senior linebackers DQ Thomas (ranked eighth all-time at MT in sacks and ninth in tackles for loss) and Brett Shepherd will be crucial to stopping the option, as will fellow seniors Blankenship and Kylan Stribling, who will be the safety duo this season.
 
Raider offense could fly high
While Army's offense will benefit from having a lot of experienced starters return, its defense is replacing 2019 leading tackler Cole Christiansen and top defensive back Elijah Riley.
 
Junior linebacker Arik Smith is the top returning tackler, racking up 83 a season ago with 2.5 sacks. He's the leader on a defense that's breaking in a new coordinator and new scheme. Nate Woody was hired in the offseason and brings an attacking 3-4 defense.
 
The Blue Raiders are hoping to keep improving on an overall solid offensive campaign in 2019, when they finished with 4,900 total yards, good for 10^th on the program's all-time list.
 
Redshirt junior quarterback Asher O'Hara was the breakout star offensively for MT a season ago, leading the team in both passing and rushing and becoming the second QB in program history to top 1,000 rushing yards in a season. His 1,058 rushing yards were third nationally among QBs, combining with 2,616 passing yards. He had 29 total (20 passing) touchdowns.
 
O'Hara's focus this offseason was getting more comfortable in the pocket and relying more on his arm. His offense returns 65% of its receiving yards from last year, including senior Jarrin Pierce, who caught 42 passes for 562 yards and four touchdowns in his first season with the blue and white. Fellow senior Jimmy Marshall is also back after a breakout campaign in 2019, when he had 35 receptions for 513 yards and a team-high six touchdown catches.
 
"I've been trying to trust my receivers … and the offensive line has done such a good job of making me feel comfortable this year," O'Hara said. "I was watching some film from last year, and I noticed how often I would just tuck it and run. While it works sometimes, it's not something I should rely on all the time because I have such good athletes around me that I can use."
 
The question for Middle Tennessee's offense is who will step up in the run game to take the pressure off O'Hara. Senior Jayy McDonald will likely get the start Saturday at running back.
 
Tough place to play
The Blue Raiders will try Saturday to do what only two visiting teams have done since 2016: win at Michie Stadium. Army is always good at home, and have been especially dominant under Monken. Since 2016, it sports a 17-2 home record and 5-1 mark in home openers.
 
Key players back and healthy
In 2019, Middle Tennessee was bit by the injury bug.
 
The Blue Raiders appear to be rather healthy heading into Saturday and will benefit from the return of several key players, including Ferguson and seniors CJ Windham and Blankenship.
 
Blankenship, who missed the last five games in 2019, is the quarterback of the defense. The safety has been named to multiple preseason watch lists this season and is anticipating a banner senior year after being named to the All-Conference-USA First, Second and Freshman teams in his career, as well as All-C-USA Honorable Mention. He's racked up 233 career tackles, 15.5 TFLs, 18 pass breakups, eight interceptions and two blocked kicks in his career.
 
In front of Blankenship, MT's defensive line will benefit from the return of Ferguson, who missed all of 2019 because of a knee injury suffered two days before the season opener. The former C-USA All-Freshman team member owns 45 career tackles and seven TFLs.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, the Blue Raiders have a ton of quality receivers for O'Hara to throw to, but maybe none of them are as big of a touchdown threat as Windham. He's missed 16 of MT's 26 games the last two years due to injury, but when he's healthy, he's proven to be a scoring machine, catching seven touchdown passes in his last 10 games, averaging a score on 36.8% of his receptions.
 

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