Tuesday is the new Saturday...

With the Blue Raiders' next game on Tuesday night October 6th at Troy the normal weekly routine for players and coaches has to be adjusted so things run just like a regular game week. As creatures of habit, which every coach and player becomes during the season, things need to be routine during game week so that there is a certain comfort level week in and week out. For example practices on Thursdays are scripted the same each week and Friday night meals are held at the same time every week.

So with a night game on a Tuesday schedules are moved around to allow for this routine to continue. The coaches will use the extra 2-3 days of practice to cover fundamentals and refine technique and of course begin studying Troy film, then an adjusted game week will begin.

This is how the Blue Raiders will handle the weekly game schedule:
Tuesday- Light Practice
Wednesday- Light Practice
Thursday- Game week Monday
- Regular Practice
Friday- Game week Tuesday
- Regular Practice
Saturday-Game week Wednesday
- Regular Practice
Sunday- Game week Thursday
- Light practice and final run through
Monday-Game week Friday
- Travel Day
Tuesday-GAMEDAY vs. TROY

Coach Stockstill Live....

Remember that Coach Stock's weekly radio show will air live tonight at Coach's Grill in Murfreesboro from 7-8pm CST.

Brown named SBC Defensive Player of Week

Junior records two interceptions

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee safety Kevin Brown was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week by the leagues media members as announced by the SBC on Monday. It is the first honor for Brown during his three-year career.

See the full story at goblueraiders.com!

FIU, ASU games to be on ESPN GamePlan

10 of 12 games this year on television

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee athletic department announced today that its home football games against Florida International and Arkansas State will be available on ESPN GamePlan and ESPN360. The FIU game is set for Nov. 7, while the Blue Raiders' game against ASU will be Nov. 21 and both contests will kick off at 3:30 PM CDT.

Get the full story here!

Blue Raider football opens Sun Belt action with win

Middle Tennessee earns fourth-straight win over North Texas

DENTON, Texas - Middle Tennessee football opened Sun Belt action by winning its third-straight game and improved on its best start in eight years with a 37-21 victory at North Texas Saturday evening in front of 22,346 at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas. The three-game winning streak is the first for the Blue Raiders since they won three late last season, while the 3-1 start is the second best in the school's FBS (1999-present) era, following the 4-0 opening by the 2001 squad.

Click here to see the rest of this story!

Another Helmet Sticker...

Dwight Dasher was been awarded a his second honorable mention helmet sticker this season by ESPN.com for his performance against North Texas. Dasher completed 20 of 41 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-21 win over North Texas.
>>CLICK HERE FOR ESPN GAMEDAY FINAL

From the road...

We are back to providing great pictures and a behind the scenes look at the Blue Raiders. Below are pictures from our trip to Denton, TX and University of North Texas..

Follow the game audio online...

Today's game will not be televised, but you can follow all the live audio action through several different platforms...

>>CLICK HERE FOR YAHOO AUDIO

>>CLICK HERE FOR WNSR 560AM AUDIO

Walking through at the hotel...

The offense & defense has just finished meeting and participated in some short walk-throughs before some downtime in their rooms.

ESPN Blogging...

Middle Tennessee forgets Maryland, looks toward North Texas

September 23, 2009 1:15 PM

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Middle Tennessee isn’t reveling in last week’s win over Maryland.

While it showed great effort to come from behind and hit the game-winning field goal for the 32-31 win, the Blue Raiders learned last year that one great win doesn’t make a season.

Last year, Middle Tennessee defeated Maryland 24-14 and finished the season 5-7.

“We talked to our team about not being complacent,” coach Rick Stockstill said during his Tuesday press conference. “We are not good enough to be complacent. We made enough mistakes against Maryland to last for a long time. We have to get those mistakes corrected. I like the attitude from our team and the attitude from our upperclassmen. I do not see them cakewalking through this week of practice and expecting to win.”

Middle Tennessee opens Sun Belt Conference play this week against a North Texas team than is better than the Blue Raiders have seen in past years. The Mean Green are 1-2, but one of those losses came in overtime and the other was to No. 4 Alabama. They rank first in the conference in pass defense, which will test the Blue Raiders’ spread passing scheme that ranks 18th in the country. Although North Texas’ offense isn’t as potent as it has been in the past, especially with starting quarterback Riley Dodge nursing a separated shoulder, it still has the playmakers and scheme to put points up in conference play.

“We have played other teams that spread the field and throw a lot and it has been a close game,” Stockstill said. “A lot depends on the defenses and how they are playing and the pressure they apply to the quarterback. You hope it is not a shoot out. You hope our defense plays well and we score a lot of points, but we are prepared for that.”

Middle Tennessee is one of two teams in the Sun Belt with a winning record. It and Louisiana-Lafayette both defeated automatic qualifying teams to get to that point and both have asserted themselves as teams to be reckoned with in the conference.

While much of the preseason focus was on teams such as Troy, Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State, the Blue Raiders and Ragin’ Cajuns have been carrying the banner for the conference through the first few weeks.

But with Sun Belt play starting and one guaranteed bowl spot given to the winner of the conference, what each team did in the nonconference doesn’t really matter.

“We are one game at a time,” Stockstill said. “That is our goal, to win conference games. This is the first one. The Maryland game is in the past. Once we watched film that was it. We have not talked about that game since. We are focused on North Texas and will be ready for those guys. That is the most important game on our schedule right now.”

Sun Belt, North texas Mean Green, Riley Dodge, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Rick Stockstill

Thom Abraham Stock Report Audio...

Thom Abraham's weekly Stock Report interview from today, posted in case you missed it!

Today's Press Conference

In case you didn't get to watch today's press conference from the HOF we have it loaded up and ready...

Non-BCS Top 10

Middle Tennessee is getting some recognition for their hot start so far this season. CBS sports keeps a Top 10 list of the best non-BCS schools and guess who made the list this week....
>>CLICK HERE FOR CBS ARTICLE

Sporting News Articles...

The Sporting News sends out a daily email called Sporting News Today which is basically an online magazine. In Sunday's issue Dwight Dasher received a game ball award for his performance at Maryland and there is also a write up about the Maryland game. Follow the link below to check it out!
>>CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

Comcast to re-air Maryland game...

If you didn't get to watch the game or can't get enough of the thrilling game from Saturday the game will be replayed in the Nashville market on Thursday at 8 PM CDT. The game will be shown on Comcast Channel 176.

The broadcast will be the ESPN360 production with Frank Giardina and Jeremy Bloom calling the action.

Rick Stockstill Live 7-8pm CST

SBC Players of the Week...

Chris McCoy and Alan Gendreau both earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors as announced by the league office on Monday. McCoy was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week while Gendreau was honored as the Special Teams Player of the Week.
>>CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

Channel 2 News Interview...

Coach Stock was on Channel 2 News in Nashville last night in case you missed it...

Helmet Stickers...

For the second straight week ESPN.com has recognized a Blue Raider for their efforts on the field with a coveted helmet sticker. Last week it was Dwight Dasher earning honorable mention for his performance against Memphis, this week it was Chris McCoy earning the full honor for his exceptional performance against the Terps.
>>CLICK HERE FOR ESPN ARTICLE

Maryland Motivational Video

McCoy National Defensive Player of the Week....

The College Football Performance Awards announced Middle Tennessee defensive end Chris McCoy as the National Defensive Performer of the Week. CFPA recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.

McCoy, a senior from Villa Rica, Ga., played the best game of his career in helping lead the Blue Raiders over Maryland Saturday. He finished with a career-best nine tackles, including four for loss and a team-high six solo stops. McCoy also blocked a field goal, recovered a fumble, had a pass breakup and registered one sack. The four tackles for loss equalled the second most in school history and were the most by a Middle Tennessee player since the 2005 campaign. His blocked field goal in the second quarter kept the Blue Raiders ahead, 13-7, and helped decide the final outcome.

McCoy, who ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference in tackles for loss, is third on the team with 17 tackles to go with a team-best 6.5 TFLs
>>CLICK HERE FOR SITE

In Maryland

The Blue Raiders have made their landing in Maryland and have set up shop at the hotel. After dinner the team will go through several meetings just to make sure everyone is clear on their assignments for Saturday.

Make sure to follow the link below to watch all tomorrow's action live from Byrd Stadium at 2:30pm CST.

Stock Report Interview from Wednesday...

Here is the audio from Wednesday's Stock Report on the Thom Abraham show...

Road Warriors...

After the big home win versus Memphis the Blue Raiders will have to wait 35 days before playing in the confines of Floyd Stadium again. The Blue Raiders' next home game isn't until October 17 against Mississippi State. The only other FBS teams that will go this long without a home game are Arizona, Washington State & SMU.

During that time the team will have traveled to College Park, Maryland / Dallas, Texas / and Troy, Alabama. During this extended road trip the Blue Raiders will have racked up about 3,500 miles of travel by both plane and bus. It all starts this weekend as MT prepares to travel to College Park, MD to take on the Terps. Here is how the trip will go...

Friday September 18
11:20am Depart MTSU Campus
1:00pm Plane leaves for Maryland
3:20pm* Arrive in Maryland
5:45pm* Dinner
6:45pm* Meetings

Saturday September 19
1:15pm* Depart for stadium
1:30pm* Arrive at Byrd Stadium
3:30pm* Kickoff
9:00pm* Depart for Tennessee
10:30pm Arrive at MTSU Campus
*Eastern Time

Tuesday Press Conference

Tuesdays are press conference days for Coach Stock & select players below is some of today's press conference audio...

Dasher Player of the Week

Monday Blue Raider QB Dwight Dasher was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Dasher becomes the 26th player of the week winner under Head Coach Rick Stockstill.

Dasher also received an honorable mention helmet sticker from ESPN.com. That would be the second year in a row that a Blue Raider has gotten a helmet sticker from the world's largest sports network.
PRESS RELEASE

Motivational Movies

This season Coach Stock has asked new video coordinator Andrew Rossetti to create motivational movies for the team to watch in the hotel every Friday night before a game. Below are the two movies shown the last two weeks...

Man about town..

Yesterday two billboards were placed around Murfreesboro promoting Comcast's coverage of this weekend's in-state matchup between Memphis & Middle Tennessee. Here is a preview if you haven't seen them already.

MT vs. Clemson Highlights