The Blue Raiders begin their push for possible bowl eligibility with a three-game home stand starting Saturday. The postseason wishes of the MT squad hang on the game day ability of the Golden Panthers of Florida International University.
Coming off a close win last week at Florida Atlantic University, MT will look to quarterback Dwight Dasher, who struggled last week despite scoring the game-winning touchdown with a dramatic 77-yard run. The running game as a whole stepped up big in the win, something the Blue Raiders haven’t seen since running back Phillip Tanner went down with a knee injury.
Sophomore running back D.D. Kyles will have the opportunity to build on the career day he had last week when he rushed for 140 yards. He’ll try to do this against a Golden Panther defense giving up an average of 225 yards per game and over five yards per carry.
“D.D. did a great job hitting the holes this past week and he has really stepped up as a player,” said junior offensive lineman Mark Fisher.
For Dasher, going up against FIU could be just what he needs to bounce back after only throwing for 90 yards against the Owls, as the Golden Panthers have given up an average of 251 yards through the air per game. Combine poor pass coverage with the poor run defense, and it sets Dasher up to do well in all aspects of his game.
“I always thought Dwight could make all the throws and he has proved that this season,” said head coach Rick Stockstill.
“There is not a doubt in my mind that he can do everything we want him to do.”
The confidence in Dasher’s bounce-back ability is warranted, considering the monster game he had against Western Kentucky after performing poorly the week before.
Defensively, MT’s biggest task this week will be containing FIU quarterback Paul McCall, who has thrown for 1,884 yards and 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions so far in 2009. But a shaky, less than protective offensive line has caused McCall to be sacked 22 times already this season.
“The hits he has taken this year and gotten up from shows he is an extremely tough young man,” Stockstill said. “I don’t know him, but I bet he is a great leader and a guy who practices hard and studies the game tremendously.”
The problems with the o-line should favor blitz packages with senior linebackers Cam Robinson and Danny Carmichael, who led the team with three and 3.5 sacks, respectively.
“With Danny and Cam playing behind us they make up for a lot of mistakes the defensive line makes,” said senior defensive tackle Brandon Perry.
The Blue Raiders are keeping silent about the elephant in the room the last few weeks of the season. The last time MT was bowl eligible was 2006, and rumors of at-large bids are already swirling despite still being one or two wins away from securing anything.
“There’s not one ounce of talk about it,” Stockstill said. “The bowl deal is out there and we know it’s out there.
“The bottom line is that we have to get to 6-3. That’s all we’re focused on and not worried about two weeks from now, three weeks from now, or what happens in December.”
Kickoff for the FIU game is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. at Floyd Stadium Saturday.
MT bowling for eligibility against Panthers
Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Updated: Thursday, November 5, 2009
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