The Rice Owls have had a very strange last few seasons. Rice went 10-3 in 2008 and it seemed like David Bailiff had the program going in the right direction. The team turned around and went 2-10 in 2009 and 4-8 in both 2010 and 2011. In 2012, the team went 7-6 and went to a bowl game again.
Expectations were high for Mike Price at UTEP, but the program just never got going under Price. He retired at the end of last season, and Sean Kugler is now the head man of the Miners football program. Kugler is a 1989 graduate of UTEP.
There is no doubt that Middle Tennessee State University will be up against a tougher class of opponents this year in Conference USA. The Sun Belt improved while MTSU was there, but Conference USA has more depth and a lot more very good offenses. The Blue Raiders will have to raise their level of play in 2013. The Blue Raiders won eight games a year ago, but weren’t invited to a bowl game. The team is still upset about that snub.
Conference USA 2013 College Football Previews: MTSU Blue Raiders (Team Link)
Head Coach: Rick Stockstill
2012 Record: 8-5
MTSU Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: +2,000 (Part of Field)
MTSU Gambling Odds to win Conference USA East Division: +410
MTSU Gambling Odds to win Conference USA: +875
MTSU returns nine starters on the offensive side of the ball. They also return seven starters from a defense that was much improved in 2012. The defense in particular will be tested much more in this conference, and they’ll need to be ready for a heavy dose of lots of passing from just about every team in this league. How will MTSU fare in its first year in Conference USA?
Logan Kilgore is a talented senior quarterback leading the show for the Blue Raiders. Kilgore is an athletic quarterback who makes plays happen at the right time.
He doesn’t have the huge statistics that some other quarterbacks in this conference have, but he is a great leader for this offense. Kilgore is one of those guys with the “it” factor.
Kevin Byard and Jimmy Staten give the team star power on the defense. Byard is only a sophomore, but he was amazing in his freshman season last year at strong safety. Staten is a big defensive tackle who does a great job plugging up the running lanes.
Jordan Parker was the team’s leading rusher as a freshman last year, and he could easily have a breakout season as a sophomore. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
MTSU doesn’t have any real play makers at the linebacker spot on the defense. Because of this, the Blue Raiders aren’t able to stop their opponent in the backfield very often or get a very good pass rush on the quarterback without committing players from their secondary. MTSU was one of the worst teams in the nation at getting sacks last year, and that will need to change if they are going to have any success in Conference USA.
The Blue Raiders offense racked up a lot of yardage last season, but they have to improve when it comes to finishing off drives. MTSU can’t continue to settle for field goals in a very high scoring conference where a lot of points will be required each week.
The cornerbacks have been beaten deep a lot in the past, and they’ll be tested even more this season. Team depth in the secondary is very poor. MTSU’s secondary is going to have to find a way to keep the plays in front of them.
2013-2014 MTSU Football Prediction: 5-7
The move to a better conference will likely be too much for this team. MTSU’s defense has a couple of stars, but there are far too many holes here for them to slow down many of the teams in this league. Kicking field goals won’t be enough this season. Look for them to fall short of a bowl bid.
8/29/13 7:30 PM ET WCAR
9/7/13 12:30 PM ET @NCAR
9/14/13 TBD MEM
9/21/13 TBD @FLATL
9/27/13 9:00 PM ET @BYU
10/5/13 TBD ECAR
10/12/13 TBD @NOTEX
10/24/13 7:30 PM ET MARSH
11/2/13 1:00 PM ET @UAB
11/9/13 4:00 PM ET FLINT
11/23/13 TBD @SOMIS
11/30/13 TBD UTEP
East Carolina was highly successful under Skip Holtz during his time at the school, but they have been unable to match that success since he left. Last year’s team went 8-5 and showed lots of promise. With 8 starters returning on each side of the ball, expectations are high for this squad.
Marshall went just 5-7 last year, but their explosiveness has led oddsmakers to make them co-favorites in the Conference USA East Division heading into 2013. Rakeem Cato is probably the best player in the entire conference, and he really came into his own during the 2012 season.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have a nice history in college football. Tulsa hasn’t necessarily gotten a lot of attention because of their competition, but this is a program that just constantly puts up impressive seasons. They went 11-3 last year and won Conference USA.
After some nice years in the Mid American Conference, Temple returned to the Big East last season and was welcomed with a two win conference season. Now they are in the American Athletic Conference and the prospects don’t look much better under new coach Matt Rhule.
Urban Meyer was the massive pickup for Ohio State before the 2012 season, and man did he have a great first season in Columbus. The Buckeyes went unbeaten and would have played in the title game if they weren’t ineligible due to NCAA sanctions. Ohio State is eligible again this year, and expectations are higher than ever in Columbus.
Penn State’s 2012 football season was as successful on the field as anyone could have imagined. After losing their home opener to the Ohio Bobcats, Penn State won eight of their last 11 games to finish off a very tough season with an 8-4 record. Bill O’Brien did nothing short of a masterful job with this team in his first year at the school.
June Jones is an established coach and when he left Hawaii for SMU big things were expected. After a disastrous 1-11 start the Mustangs have played .500 or better each season since, participating in bowl games the last 4 seasons – winning 3.
The Stanford Cardinal are coming off of another strong season, and they’re set to enter 2013 as one of the favorites to rip a national championship away from the SEC. Head coach David Shaw is 23-4 during his two years with the team, and he’s coming off of a 12-2 record, which includes wins in both the Pac-12 championship and the Rose Bowl.
The Washington State Cougars entered 2012 with high hopes following the hiring of Mike Leach. The return of the head coach to college football was supposed to bring the team a new flair, and while the exciting offense was certainly there at times, the success that followed was underwhelming to say the least.
The Utah Utes entered the 2012 season with high expectations after a successful first season in the Pac-12. Unfortunately for them, injuries and inconsistency plagued the team throughout the year, meaning they’ll enter 2013 a bit more under the radar than they were a year ago.
The California Golden Bears went just 3-9 during the 2012 college football season, and as a result, head coach Jeff Tedford was relieved of his duties just a few days after the year came to an end. Now roaming the sidelines will be former Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes.
The 2012-13 Colorado Buffaloes were one of the worst teams in all of college football, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that. Head coach Jon Embree led his team to a 1-11 season, and as a result, he saw himself kicked to the curb when the year finally came to an end.
Bret Bielema did a great job with the Wisconsin Badgers football program. Wisconsin has won a lot of games the last few years. Bielema decided to head to the SEC and Arkansas in the offseason, which left the Badgers looking for a new coach. Gary Andersen from Utah State was the guy the Badgers hired, and I believe that was a very good hire.
