Conference USA Preview: Middle Tennessee University Blue Raiders

 
Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders

Last Year: 7-6 (6-2)/2nd East

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: L 31-45 Western Michigan

All in all, 2015 was a good year for the Blue Raiders ending with a trip to the Bahamas. No, they didn’t come back to Tennessee with a win, but getting to a bowl game with a Freshman stud in Brent Stockstill makes this all the sweeter. 2 of their 5 regular season losses came to Illinois and Vanderbilt by a total of 6 points. Those are the games that sting, especially to a Vanderbilt team.

Players to Watch

QB Brent Stockstill

WR Richie James

CB Jeremy Cutrer

2015 was the first season in the program’s history where a QB for the Blue Raiders finished over 4,000 yards in a season. Stockstill ran away with the Conference USA Freshman of the Year award, and will look to 2015 All-Conference USA 1st Team WR Richie James downfield in 2016. James caught 108 passes last year for 1346 yards and 8 TDs. You won’t find a huge standout rusher on the team this year as lead-rusher Jordan Parker has moved on. Shane Tucker had more carries than Parker last year, but of the 1894 yards total rushing on the season he only had 413 yards. That’s 46 less yards than Parker. 6 total starters return on offense including 3 OL.

On defense, The Blue Raiders lose 6 on defense including their top 2 tacklers in 2015 and their top pass interceptor. As a unit, the defense held strong against the run, but their passing numbers were a bit elevated. Most likely because of the types of offenses in the East *cough Western KY cough*. It will be interesting to see how this defense rebound from the lost pieces moving forward.

Total Offense	/4th (457.4)	Total Defense	74th/5th (405.6)
Passing Offense	15th/4th (311.7)	Passing Defense	95th/8th (253.5)
Rushing Offense	98th/12th (145.7)	Rushing Defense	48th/3rd (152.2)
Scoring Offense	35th/4th (34.0)	Scoring Defense	60th/4th (26.6)

Big Games of 2016

Oct 15     WKU

Oct 22     @ Missouri

Nov 12     @ Marshall

Prediction

8-4 (6-2)/1st East

The concern is on defense. This defense could come out and only be a small percentage of what it was in 2015, and if the defense struggles at Vanderbilt and Bowling Green, then you could see a 5-7 result. The only true easy pick is Brent Stockstill burning up more records this year. Could make some big noise in the years to come starting in 2016.

Conference USA Preview: UTSA Roadrunners

University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners

Last Year: 3-9 (3-5)/ 3rd West

Close games really set the tone for UTSA in 2015. Yes, 9 losses are a lot, but 4 of those losses were by less than 5 points, 3 were less than 3. Larry Coker resigned at the end of the season, and the Roadrunners will head into 2016 with Frank Wilson. Wilson comes from LSU where he was an assistant coach/ running backs coach.

Players to Watch

RB Jarveon Williams

WR Kerry Thomas Jr.

S Michael Egwuagu

 

The Roadrunners return 14 starters (7 Off, 5 Def, 2 SP) including the conference’s 4th leading rusher in Jarveon Williams. Williams became the 1st 1,000-yard rusher (1,042 yards) in the program’s 5 year history. In his 11 games, Williams scored 8 times averaging 6-yards/carry. WR Kerry Thomas hopes to build on a very productive 2015, in which, he broke a school-record 52 passes for 541 yards and 4 TDs. QB Dalton Sturm started 7 games last year for the Roadrunners. Sturm threw 13 TDs, but his stats weren’t that impressive overall. 

 
Only 5 starters return on a defense that was, well, exposed, last year. DE Marcus Davenport and S Michael Egwuagu received All-Conference USA mentions in 2015. Egwuagu was 2nd on the team with 3 interceptions, 2 of which HE RETURNED TO THE HOUSE (Cookies). Thanks to graduation, he becomes the #1 CB on a bottom of the barrel pass defense.

Total Offense	98th/9th (362.2)	Total Defense	102nd/11th (443.7)
Passing Offense	96th/11th (193.4)	Passing Defense	117th/13th (275.2)
Rushing Offense	68th/4th (168.8)	Rushing Defense	68th/8th (168.5)
Scoring Offense	103rd/9th (22.6)	Scoring Defense	101st/9th (33.8)

Big Games in 2016

Sep 17       Arizona State

Oct 22        UTEP

Oct 29        North Texas

Prediction:
5-7 (4-4)/4th West

Hosting a P5 team is big for the Roadrunners in terms of recruiting, and if somehow they can make it a game, program changing. They’ll look to avenge the loss to the Mean Green. That was the only win for North Texas last year….embarrassing. The problem with UTSA is their conference. Conference USA has offenses that like to throw the ball, and throw it a lot. The weakness of UTSA? Pass defense. Egwuagu is a fantastic player, but he’s one guy in a secondary that lost 2 CB starters, SS starter, and 2 DL starters. This team has a long way to go, but improving over last year will be big for the new HC.

Conference USA Preview: Florida International University Panthers

Florida International University Panthers

Last Year: 5-7 (3-5)/ 4th East Division

Florida International was one game away from a bowl, but lost their last two games by a combined score of 115-7. The Panthers feasted on the bottom of the barrel in C-USA, getting their 3 wins from 3 of the 4 worst teams in the conference (Charlotte, Old Dominion, UTEP).

Players to Watch

QB Alex McGough

• Conference 6th Leading Passer 
•  Completed 64% of passes

LB Anthony Wint

• 2nd Team All-Conference USA
• Team's Leading Tackler

WR Thomas Owens

• 8TD Catches in 2015
• Projected Top Receiver

The Panthers return 12 starters (9 on offense, 5 on defense). Starting with the offense. QB Alex McGough will stay under center. The Junior had some of the best passing stats in FIU’s history. McGough threw for 2722 yards, 21 TDs, and 8 INTs. He’s 7 TD’s away from tying the school’s all-time passing touchdowns record.WR Thomas Owens is another Panther to keep an eye on in the offense for the upcoming season. As a sophomore, Owens had 51 receptions for 638 yards, grabbing 8 TDs, which tied the school record for receiving TD’s in a season. Owens DID break the school record for consecutive games with a touchdown reception at 6 games.

The weak point of the Panthers is no question the offensive line. Last year, 7 different starting lineups came 
onto the field for FIU. All 5 starters return, and hope to improve on run blocking. The Panthers were dead last in the conference averaging 109.9 yds/game.

To the defense, the DL returns just one starter (Imarjaye Albury). The squad lost 16 sacks to graduating seniors.

The anchor of the defense comes from 2 linebackers: Anthony Wint and Treyvon Williams. Wint, a junior, has been described as a tackling machine. He needs 88 more tackles to crack into the school’s top-10 tackling list, and he led the team with 88 tackles last season.

Total Offense	106th/10 (337.8)	Total Defense	75th/7th (406.1)
Passing	51st/5th (237.8)	Passing	57th/2nd (221.0)
Rushing	116th/13 (109.9)	Rushing	76th/7th (185.1)
Points	/7th (25.5)	Points Allowed	/7th (29.8)

Big Games of 2016

Oct 1st Florida Atlantic

Nov 5th @ WKU

Nov 11th Marshall

A rivalry games is usually the most important game of the season, especially when you lost by 2 touchdowns the year before. The other two games are revenge games. Going into November 14th, 2015, FIU was sitting at 5-5 looking for their first bowl game since 2011. They proceeded to get blown out of the atmosphere the next two weeks by that combined 115-7. If they have any fight in them, they need to use it here.

Prediction

2016: 6-6 (4-4)/ 4th East

This will be an interesting year for the Panthers. Look for wins against Old Dominion, Charlotte, and Florida Atlantic, but don't sleep on FIU to sneak a game out against either Middle Tennessee State or Marshall. I feel good about this team.