FACTS & STATS: Site: Floyd Stadium (30,788) -- Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: Mississippi St. 1-3, Middle Tennessee 1-0. Away Record: Mississippi St. 1-1, Middle Tennessee 2-2. Neutral Record: Mississippi St. 0-0, Middle Tennessee 0-0. Conference Record: Mississippi St. 1-2, Middle Tennessee 1-1. Series Record: Mississippi State leads, 3-0.
GAME NOTES: The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders of the Sun Belt Conference welcome the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the SEC to Murfreesboro this afternoon.
Mississippi State is the first-ever SEC team to play at Floyd Stadium. The Bulldogs need a win desperately, as they have suffered three consecutive defeats to fall to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in league action. Last weekend, coach Dan Mullen's team dropped a 31-24 decision to Houston in front of a disappointed home crowd. As a matter of fact, all three losses during the current slide have come in Starkville.
As for Middle Tennessee, it has been idle since a 31-7 loss to Troy on October 6th that dropped the club to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in SBC action. The Blue Raiders have played four of their first five games on the road, but five of the next six will be played in Murfreesboro.
Mississippi State has won all three of its previous meetings with Middle Tennessee, including a 31-22 victory over the Blue Raiders last season.
Mullen came over to Mississippi State from Florida, and he has brought some life to the Bulldog offense. The team is averaging 27.5 points and 399.8 yards per game, and the ground attack has been quite impressive. MSU is gaining 225.8 ypg on an average of 4.9 ypc, and 10 touchdowns have been scored on the ground. Anthony Dixon has rushed for 561 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 5.2 ypc, and he is one of the best backs in the SEC. Chris Relf was the team's choice to play quarterback, but he has been suspended and is questionable to return this weekend. Tyson Lee has taken most of the snaps this season, and he has only thrown three touchdowns against six interceptions. Chad Bumphis leads the receivers with 19 catches for 235 yards and three scores. Against Houston, Mississippi State racked up 490 total yards, including 330 on the ground. Dixon was tremendous, as he tallied 134 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. As for Lee, he completed 15-of-23 passes for 160 yards, but two interceptions hurt the cause.
There is plenty of room for improvement defensively for Mississippi State, as it is allowing 27.0 points and 372.5 total yards per contest. The Bulldogs are giving up 14.5 yards per pass completion and 231.3 ypg through the air, as the pass defense has been much more suspect than the run defense. There have only been nine sacks registered in six outings, as MSU needs to find a way to generate more pressure. K.J. Wright and Jamar Chaney are tied for the team lead with 43 total tackles, while Pernell McPhee has posted five TFLs. Charles Mitchell opened the scoring for MSU against Houston with a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the bright spots for the defense were few and far between, as the unit was victimized for 31 first downs a 553 total yards, including 434 yards through the air.
Middle Tennessee is averaging 24.2 ppg this season and 396.6 total ypg, as the offense has been solid through five outings. Dwight Dasher is the team's starting quarterback, and he has completed 55.5 percent of his passes for 1,273 yards and eight touchdowns against five interceptions. Dasher is also the leading rusher for the squad with 304 yards and three scores. The fact that no tailback has more than 185 rushing yards suggests that the ground game needs to be improved significantly. There isn't a star receiver on the roster, so Dasher, who is sixth in the nation in total offense, has spread the ball around to many capable performers thus far. Against Troy last time out, the Middle Tennessee only committed one turnover en route to 19 first downs and 354 total yards, but the club only managed seven points in the lopsided loss. Dasher threw for 245 yards while rushing for 53 yards.
Middle Tennessee is tied for seventh nationally in forced turnovers, and the team will have to make some impact plays on defense to upset MSU. Keep an eye on linebacker Danny Carmichael, who leads the nation with four forced fumbles to go along with 33 total tackles, including two sacks. Through five outings, opponents are scoring 26.8 ppg against Middle Tennessee, which is yielding 390.2 total ypg. The Blue Raiders are giving up nearly 175 rushing ypg, so MSU may try to pound the ball on the ground. The normally opportunistic defense only generated one takeaway against Troy in the most recent affair. Middle Tennessee was gashed for 264 yards on 49 carries, an average of 5.4 yards per rush attempt. Three of the four touchdowns scored by the Troy offense came on the ground.
Middle Tennessee will put forth maximum effort this weekend at home, but Mississippi State is simply the better team.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Mississippi State 31, Middle Tennessee 14
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