A different team from Tennessee comes to SA

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UTSA will be back in the Alamodome on Friday night. They will play a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network against a team from Tennessee whose main colors are blue and white. It just won't be the team that was originally scheduled to come to San Antonio for a collegiate version of Friday Night Lights.

Memphis, the originally scheduled opponent let UTSA know late last week that they would not be able to make the trip to San Antonio because of too many positive contact tracing tests on their team. Undaunted, UTSA called a little farther east in Tennessee and found Middle Tennessee was available for a trip to San Antonio.

The Roadrunner staff had to throw out all they had planned for Memphis and jump into preparing for Middle Tennessee. I likewise had to throw out all of my research on Memphis and turn my attention to Middle Tennessee.

Like UTSA's first two opponents Middle Tennessee was started as a school to train teachers to mold the minds of our country's youth early last century. (UTSA's original foe for this week, Memphis, also started as a teacher's college around the same time as MTSU. Hey, I got to use some of my research on them after all).

The school in Murfreesboro opened on September 11, 1911. Unlike Texas State which has undergone more name changes than a city in Europe, Middle Tennessee has been called Middle Tennessee from the beginning.

Their sports teams, however, went through a few name changes in the early years. They were called the Normalites, Teachers and Pedagogues before settling on Blue Raiders in 1934. (According to my research of the dictionary, Pedagogue is a fancy old word for teacher).

The Blue Raiders first played football in 1911. They joined their first conference in 1952 when they entered the Ohio Valley Conference where they stayed until 1998. In 2000 they moved up to the FBS level and were members of the Sun Belt from 2001 to 2012. Like UTSA the Blue Raiders have been residing in Conference USA since 2013.

UTSA and Middle Tennessee have met twice before in 2015 and 2016. Middle Tennessee won the first meeting 42-7 in San Antonio. A year later UTSA won 45-25 in Murfreesboro. Blue Raiders Head Coach Rick Stockstill will now get to become the first head coach (and as of now only head coach) to coach against all three head coaches in UTSA history.

The 2020 Roadrunners and Blue Raiders are quite different from the versions that have met in recent years. Through two games this season the Blue Raiders have been blown out in both games. In their season opener on September 5, Middle Tennessee was shut out 42-0 by Army on the banks of the Hudson. Last Saturday in Murfreesboro, the Blue Raiders were pillaged by Troy, 47-14, in their Battle for the Palladium rivalry series.

Welcoming the Blue Raiders to San Antonio are a Roadrunners team that has started 2-0 for the first time since 2017. UTSA also received votes in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history. A week ago the Roadrunner's theme around practice was don't eat the cheese, don't fall into the trap of playing an FCS school. This week that theme could still be used. It's not an FCS opponent this week but it is the conference opener against a team that has been outscored 89-14 in the first two games. It's also another chance to play in front of a national audience.

UTSA is off to a better start than most in the fanbase could have hoped for but there are still things to work on as they enter their third game. The defense has bent more than it has broken this season but the times it has broken have almost proved costly. Penalties continue to be a work in progress for the Roadrunners on both sides of the field. There was improvement in the second game and there is every reason to believe UTSA will show continued improvement as the season goes along.

Middle Tennessee might not be the power that Memphis is but they are no easy out. UTSA will have to deal with a mobile quarterback in Asher O'Hara. O'Hara is leading the Blue Raiders in rushing with 63 yards and the lone rushing touchdown by Middle Tennessee this season. O'Hara also has completed 25 passes out of 37 attempted for 155 yards. The Blue Raiders have yet to score a passing touchdown this season but Jarrin Pierce has been the leading receiver for Middle Tennessee with 114 yards on 15 catches.

UTSA's defense will have to keep Middle Tennessee from breaking big plays. That has been an issue in the first two games of the season. If the Roadrunner defense can contain O'Hara and the Blue Raiders offense they will be in a good position to move to 3-0 for the third time in school history. The reason for that will be because of the transformation of UTSA's offense.

On the other side UTSA's offense has looked better than it has in years. Roadrunner quarterback Frank Harris was the first player in the country to score five touchdowns this season, beating out SMU's Ulysses Bentley and North Texas's Jaelon Darden by a few hours on Saturday. Harris is in the top-15 in the country for passing yards with his 438 good for 14th. Sincere McCormick is leading the nation in rushing with 295 yards, 19 more yards than SMU's Bentley's second place total. Harris is tied for 19th in the country with 155 yards rushing.

UTSA's receiving corps has been led by Joshua Cephus who has scored two touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 133 yards. Brennon Dingle has a good chance to join Cephus in the 100-yard club this week as he is on 96 through the first two games.

If the game comes down to Special Teams UTSA will be in a good position as they have consistency in both punter and kicker. Lucas Dean is fourth in the country for punting yards and Hunter Duplessis is tied for the longest active made field goal streak in the country.

Based on the atmosphere in the Alamodome on Saturday it will be important for UTSA to bring its own energy to the game. The socially distant crowd will do its part but there is only so much noise 6,000 people can make in a large dome.

UTSA has a better chance to go 3-0 against Middle Tennessee than they would have against Memphis but it won't be easy. As long as UTSA follows their creed of DBO (Don't Beat Ourselves) they should be good enough to beat Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders will be desperate for their first win but perhaps not as desperate as UTSA to get their third on national TV.

PREDICTION: UTSA 34 Middle Tennessee 21

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