Oct. 11 at Florida International Golden Panthers
FIU finally got over the hump with a 38-19 victory over North Texas in its last game of the 2007 campaign, after obtaining its first victory in almost two years. Before beating the Mean Green at home on Dec. 1, 2007, the Golden Panthers had gone nearly two years and 23 contests since defeating MT in Miami on Dec. 5, 2005.
FIU still has a long way to go before it can be competitive at the highest level of college football. It should be improved this season, however, especially on offense, where the Golden Panthers return nine starters. Even though this game will be played in Miami, the result shouldn't be too much different from last year's meeting between MT and FIU, when the Blue Raiders did all their scoring in the first half yet still won 47-6.
MT 45-14
Oct. 18 at Louisville Cardinals
The last meeting between the Blue Raiders and the Cardinals produced an exciting 58-42 affair that saw MT behind by only three points at the half. Of course, MT was unable to keep up with the incredible Cardinals' offense in the second half.
The Cardinals will be without quarterback Brian Brohm for the first time in four years. However, his replacement, Hunter Cantwell, figures to be one of the better quarterbacks in the NCAA in 2008. Cantwell will be working with a different cast than Brohm did a year ago as wide receivers Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia as well as tight end Gary Barnridge won't suit up for Louisville this season.
For the second straight year, Dwight Dasher and Joe Craddock should move the Blue Raider offense through Louisville's notoriously porous defense with relative ease, but the Cardinals' offense will prove to be too much with the thunder and lightning duo of Brock Bolen (238 lbs.) and Bilal Powell (7.8 yards per carry last season) and Cantwell's excellent arm.
If this game were in Murfreesboro, MT might pull off the upset, but unfortunately for the Blue Raiders they will be playing in the unfriendly confines of Papa John's Stadium.
Louisville 42-28
Oct. 25 at Mississippi State Bulldogs
If there is one game that has upset written all over it, it's the MT-MSU matchup.
MSU will be in the thick of its SEC schedule and will be coming off a road trip to Knoxville the previous week. The Bulldogs would be wise to not overlook MT who, if it can at least give Louisville a scare the previous week, will be looking to put together a run at the end of the season to stay competitive in the SBC-championship race.
MSU gathered eight victories in 2007, but four of those wins came against the likes of Ole Miss (3-9 in 2007), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) competitor Gardner-Webb (5-6), Tulane (4-8) and UAB (2-10). The Bulldogs also return only 10 starters, five on each side of the ball, and they gave up more than 2,000 yards rushing last season.
MSU's passing game probably won't be very prolific in 2008, either. MSU's starting quarterback, sophomore Wesley Carroll, only completed 52.5 percent of his passes and threw seven interceptions against nine touchdowns.
Further improving the Blue Raiders' chances is the fact that the Bulldogs return only one starter on the offensive line with three sophomores projected to start there this year. Dasher, Tanner and Desmond Gee should run all over MSU while Jenkins, Chris McCoy and Wes Hofacker apply constant pressure to Carroll.
MT 24-21
Nov. 8 vs. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
The last time these two met, both teams left their defenses on the bus.
MT snatched the 43-40 victory after Bradley Robinson returned a kickoff 89 yards with 45 seconds left in the game in a contest that saw both offenses combine for more than 1,100 total yards. The Warhawks will be looking to avenge that loss by defeating the Blue Raiders in Floyd Stadium.
ULM, along with ASU, is one of the up-and-coming teams in the SBC. The Warhawks return 14 starters (six on offense and eight on defense) and they finished the 2007 season strong.
After dropping their first four games, ULM finished the season on a 6-2 run, including wins at Alabama and at FAU, to finish at 6-6.
One big difference between this year and last is the Warhawks will be without star running back Calvin Dawson, who was a senior last season. Dawson is the third-leading career rusher in the SBC with 3,378 yards.
In 2007, Dawson gained 247 combined rushing and receiving yards against the Blue Raider defense, but he wasn't the only player who gave MT a difficult time. Senior quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster completed 24 of 38 passes for 264 yards to go along with his 138 rushing yards. It should be interesting to see how well the offense runs against the Blue Raiders considering that, outside of senior tackle Larry Shappley, ULM doesn't have an offensive lineman with starting experience. MT can win this one, but ULM is a dangerous opponent.
MT 35-28
Nov. 15 at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
The Blue Raiders are still trying to erase the memory of last year's loss against the Hilltoppers. MT fans are hoping freshman kicker Alan Gendreau can prevent any more games from being decided on missed field goals.
Last year, MT was the lone Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent that fell to WKU.
The Hilltoppers will rely heavily on their rushing game to beat the Blue Raiders. In last year's contest, WKU's two-headed quarterback attack of senior David Wolke and sophomore K.J. Black only threw a combined 15 passes compared to their 19 combined rushing attempts. The Hilltoppers were able to stifle the Blue Raider defense with their numerous quarterback keepers and run-heavy attack, but they won't be able to beat MT for a second straight year for three reasons: this time Dasher won't be making his first collegiate start against WKU, the Hilltoppers are replacing four of their top six tacklers from a year ago, including leading-tackler Andre Lewis and starting linebacker Dusty Bear and this time MT will be prepared for Black and Wolke.
MT 35-14
Nov. 22 vs. North Texas Mean Green
UNT is trying to rediscover its identity under second-year coach Todd Dodge.
Last season, Dodge implemented his spread offense on a squad that has traditionally been a run-first team. Former running backs Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas had carried the ball for the Mean Green from 2001-2007 en route to becoming the first and second-leading rushers in SBC history, respectively.
UNT has some weapons on offense, such as senior receiver Casey Fitzgerald, who caught 111 balls for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2007 to lead the SBC in all three categories. The problem with UNT is that for every touchdown they score, they give up two. Last season, the Mean Green scored an average 24.8 points a game while surrendering 45.1.
There's a lot of hype surrounding Dodge's son, freshman quarterback Riley, but unfortunately he doesn't play defense. Todd Dodge has done a nice job recruiting, signing eight three-star players according to rivals.com, but a nice group of freshmen won't give the Blue Raiders any trouble. In two years, UNT might contend for an SBC championship, but not until Dodge gets the players he needs on the team.
This game should be a high-scoring affair, but MT's defense should hold the Mean Green offense in check, while the Blue Raider offense amasses some gaudy numbers.
MT 48-31
Dec. 3 at Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
A year ago, ULL dashed MT's hopes for a chance to play in the New Orleans Bowl when it defeated the Blue Raiders 34-24 at Floyd Stadium in the next-to-last game of the season.
Quarterback Michael Desormeaux demolished the MT defense on his way to racking up 175 rushing yards and 152 passing yards. In fact, the Ragin' Cajuns ran all over the MT defense, averaging 6.5 yards a carry.
ULL doesn't pass the ball much, but since Desormeaux isn't a great passer (55 percent completion rating, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2007) and the running game is such a weapon, it doesn't need to rely on the pass. ULL had two 1,000+ yard rushers in Desormeaux (1,141 yards) and All-SBC first team selection Tyrell Fenroy (1,021). The Ragin' Cajuns were so successful on the ground they averaged 5.6 yards a carry as a team.
The problem is that their defense was as bad as their offense was good last season.
The Ragin' Cajuns gave up an average 446.7 offensive yards an outing last year, but the defense played well against the Blue Raiders, only allowing 256 total yards while preventing MT from scoring in the fourth quarter after ULL was down 24-21 at the end of the third frame.
The key for the Blue Raiders in this game is to establish the run. ULL is very small on the defensive front and if the offensive line can push around ULL's small linemen, MT should be able to score at will. However, if last year's game is any indication, the Blue Raiders are going to have some problems with the Ragin' Cajuns dynamic rushing attack.
ULL 35-28
Projected record: 7-5 (4-3 SBC)
MT is a very young team that is lacking depth in many areas and those types of teams are difficult to judge.
Whether or not the Blue Raiders will have success this season hinges on a number of factors, but most importantly whether or not they can recover from losing some of the school's all-time greatest players on defense (Walden, Jones and Robinson), if they can find some depth on both the offensive line and in the receiving corps and if they can get some early contributions out of this year's recruiting class.
If MT responds positively to those three points, it could very well contend for the SBC championship, but if it can't find the depth it needs the Blue Raiders could finish in the bottom half of the conference standings.
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