North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Middle Tennessee State
11/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 16, 2005
NC STATE (4-5, 2-5) vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE (3-5, 2-3)
DATE: Saturday, November 19, 2005
TIME: Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. (EST) Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC (57,500)
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network: 12:00 p.m. (EST)
TELEVISION: None
OPPONENT----Louisiana-Monroe notched a hard fought road victory last Saturday with a touchdown in the final minute to beat Middle Tennessee 34-31 in a Sun Belt Conference game. Steven Jyles' 23-yard scoring strike to Drouzon Quillen with 43 seconds remaining in regulation, capped the 10-play, 80-yard drive.
After the Indians' touchdown, the Blue Raiders had an opportunity to force overtime. Middle Tennessee began the final drive at its own 30. Quarterback Clint Marks drove the team to the Indians 33. After calling a final timeout with 8 seconds remaining, Colby Smith's 52-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
Middle Tennessee rallied from a 27-17 fourth-quarter deficit, powered by two touchdown runs by Eugene Gross. His 2-yard scamper with 2:45 remaining, capped a 12-play, 73-yard drive to pull the Blue Raiders to 27-24. MTSU recovered the ensuing onsides kick at the ULM 47 yard line. Gross scored three plays later on an 8-yard run to give the Blue Raiders a 31-27 lead - their first of the day.
Louisiana-Monroe (4-5, 4-1) dominated the first half as Middle Tennessee's offense struggled, but the Blue Raiders came to life after the Indians scored to take a 17-0 second quarter lead.
MTSU put together an 80-yard drive to cut the lead to 17-7when Marks threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Gross, who finished the day with four touchdowns. Gross also led the Blue Raiders on the ground with 86 yards on 22 carries.
After Middle Tennessee added a 27-yard Colby Smith field goal on its first possession of the second half, it was a dogfight the rest of the way. Marks finished the game with 272 yards passing on 20-of-32. He threw one interception.
Calvin Dawson rushed for 109 yards for the Indians, who rolled up 459 yards of total offense - 232 on the ground. Jyles completed 28-of-44 passes for 227 yards against an MTSU defense that came in ranked as one of the best in the nation.
Saturday's game at NC State will mark the 77th for the Blue Raiders program in Division 1-A. The match-up with the Wolfpack will be MTSU's third game of the season against a team from a BCS conference.
Middle Tennessee extended Alabama into the third quarter before falling 26-7 in Tuscaloosa and the Blue Raiders won at Vanderbilt 17-15 when the Commodores were undefeated. MTSU blocked a field goal on the last play of the game to pull the upset.
Defense has been the strong suit for the Blue Raiders this season, so last week's performance was a bit of a surprise. Middle Tennessee gave up more points to ULM than it had surrendered in its previous three games.
The Blue Raiders head the NC State game ranked 33rd nationally in total defense (336) and 13th in scoring defense (17.5). MTSU has forced 13 turnovers this season (9 interceptions) and has a +2 turnover margin.
Up front, MTSU has an experienced defensive line that features two, third-year starters in tackles Jeff Littlejohn (6-2, 318, Sr.) and Quinton Staton (6-2, 270, Sr.). Staton has 41 tackles this season which is impressive for an inside lineman. Second year starter at end, Eric Walden, leads the team in sacks (3).
The top tacklers for the Blue Raiders are linebackers J.K. Sabb (5-11, 230, Jr.) and Jon Bonner (6-0, 222, Jr.) They have combined for 97 stops. However, outside linebacker, Tavares Jones, is not as experienced and is scheduled to make his second career start against the Wolfpack.
In the secondary, cornerbacks Bradley Robinson (5-10, 170, So.) and senior Keon Raymond (5-11, 187) have been playing well. Robinson had 9 stops and an interception against Alabama. Last week, Raymond forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and recorded 8 tackles.
Offensively, the Blue Raiders have had some ups and downs. They average 301 total yards and 20 points a game, but like NC State they've had some issues running the football. MTSU's best rushing game was a 263 yard effort against Florida Atlantic, but for the season the Blue Raiders are averaging only 115 yards a game on the ground.
The top rusher is Gross with 613 yards (4.0 ypc.) and 11 touchdowns. Nobody else comes close to his numbers. He's also the team's No. 2 receiver with 25 catches and one touchdown.
Marks (6-2, 203), a redshirt junior and second-year starter, is completing an impressive 66 percent of his passes for 177 yards a game and has thrown for 6 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. The lefthander from Ft. Myers (FL) has thrown for at least 200 yards in his last 3 games.
Senior Cleannord Saintil (5-11, 197) is Marks' top target. He has hauled in 44 passes for nearly 600 yards and 2 touchdowns. True freshman Bobby Williams has become a big play threat. He has 19 catches and leads the team in yards per catch (14.4).
Protecting Marks is an offensive line with three, first-year starters. However, there are two, third-year starters at the tackle positions. Both redshirt juniors Willie Hall (6-6, 310) and Germayle Franklin (6-4, 316) are among the best in the Sun Belt Conference. The Blue Raiders have surrendered 26 sacks (as many as the Wolfpack).
In the kicking game, redshirt junior Colby Smith has been solid and steady. He's averaging nearly 42 yards a punt and has not had one blocked this season. However, Smith is not as good when he has to placekick. He's made only 4 of 11 field goal attempts (his longest 37 yards) and has had one blocked. The MTSU return game appears to be average.
NOTES: The Pack has committed only one turnover in its last two games...State has 15 sacks and 44 tackles for loss in its last four games and is allowing opponents an average of 87 rushing yards during that span...The Pack ran for only 59 yards at Boston College after averaging 247 yards in its previous two games...State is 10-of-46 on third down in its last 3 games (22%)... MTSU is converting 42 percent of its third down opportunities this season... Pack linebacker Stephen Tulloch is No. 2 in the ACC with an average of 11.9 tackles per game....Mario Williams has recorded 10.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks in the last 4 games and is No. 5 in the ACC in tackles for loss... Darrell Blackmon leads the ACC in kickoff returns (31.6)...In its last 4 games, State has been flagged for a total 22 penalties, a major improvement from earlier this season... Marcus Stone threw for a career high 247 yards last week at Boston College. In three career starts Stone has tossed 3 touchdown passes and has been intercepted 3 times...The Wolfpack is 21-3 in non-conference games under Chuck Amato...Under coach Andy McCollum, Middle Tennessee is 1-and-26 when scoring less than 20 points in a game.
INJURIES--NC State: DT John McCargo (foot)-out; OG Kalani Heppe (shoulder separation)-probable; TE John Ritcher (knee sprain)-questionable; WR Geron James (shoulder surgery)-out.MTSU None reported.
Special Offer: Bring your MTSU ticket stub to the RBC Center Box Office after the football game and redeem it for a $5 ticket to watch the Wolfpack basketball team face the Citadel at 6:00pm in the Hispanic College Fund Classic. The RBC Box Office will open at 5:00pm.
