Middle Tennessee State

As most are aware, Middle Tennessee beat Maryland 24-14 last week. That it beat a BCS team should not, in and of itself, be a cause for concern. Maryland is a mess, the ACC is a mess, and Middle Tennessee has already lost a home game in its own conference; Troy, 31-17. Middle Tennessee conned Maryland into coming to Murfreesboro for a game. Nice scheduling, guys. So Saturday at Commonwealth will be its first test on the road. MTSU, you may remember, hung 42 points on then #8 Louisville a year ago. It also lost narrowly to Virginia, 23-21.

Chris Hawkins, a reserve offensive lineman, is a Lexintonian and former all-city and all-state player from Henry Clay. According to his web bio, Chris majors in Concrete Industry Management, which may or may not have been Tony Soprano's major at Rutgers. I kid. Looks like Chris is hurt and missed the Maryland game. He is #75. Look out for him.

Coach Rick Stockstill is in his second year and is no stranger to the SEC, having served as an assistant for Lou Holtz at South Carolina. He also grew up in Georgetown, Ky.

Joe Craddock, their QB, had a very good game against Maryland and has been very effective. There are no other real statistical standouts for the Blue Raiders.