Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Written By: Ian Wolfe
MTSU football is looking to improve after a tough start this season with losses against power five opponents Ole Miss, Duke, and in-conference group of five opponent Western Kentucky.
Head Coach Derek Mason has been tested early this season against power five teams, with both losses being one-sided. Ole Miss is one of the toughest teams in college football this year, ranked at #6 in the AP Top 25 after week four.
Duke, however, is an unranked team with a new head coach in former MTSU Defensive Coordinator and former Miami head coach, Manny Diaz. But they are not a team to look at lightly with Texas transfer Maalik Murphy under center for the Blue Devils.
Playing power five teams as a group of five school is difficult in the early goings of the season but Mason sees this as an opportunity for the Blue Raiders.
“I think for us, playing a challenging schedule early, sort of sets us up for where we need to go in conference, especially after this game, there’s sort of a 10 day bye.” Mason said.
Playing teams like Ole Miss and Duke early helps Mason find “where our deficiencies are and we can sort of attack those things.”
The Blue Raiders have shown good things and some not so good. Teams are criticized early after rocky starts which is just nature for outside media and fans but Mason sees the team moving forward.
He says that his team is “judged on performance” at times “but that doesn’t mean there’s not progress.” “We have to make sure that we keep talking about the progress.”
Mason knows it’s their job to give everything, saying, “It’s our job as coaches and their jobs as players to give best efforts.”
MTSU had a decent day running the football against Duke, racking up 173 yards on the ground and 125 of those coming from junior running back Jaiden Credle.
Mason sees balance as key to this offense and they need “blocking in the run game and protection in the pass game” to give it more balance. “There was plenty of receivers open, the quarterback just needs some time.”
The Blue Raiders travel to Memphis this weekend for another difficult matchup against the 3-1 Tigers, which is a game the Blue Raiders should be up for, as it’s a big game for MTSU to get a signature win this season.
Mason says he feels good about being able to play another top team, on the road. “First time maybe we got a little unnerved, now that you’ve been there and done that, let’s see what it looks like because I know going to Memphis, it’s going to be a great crowd.”
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