During the next several weeks, ODUSports.com will introduce you to the opponents for the 2014 Monarchs. ODU’s first-ever home Conference USA game will be on a Friday night against Middle Tennessee.
Game Day
Sept. 26, 2014 – Norfolk, Va. – Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium
The Quick Facts Middle Tennessee
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Nickname: Blue Raiders
First Year of Football: 1911
Conference: Conference USA
Head Coach: Rick Stockstill
2013 Record: 8-5, 6-2
About the Blue Raiders
Head Coach Rick Stockstill completed his eighth season at Middle Tennessee, leading the Blue Raiders to their fourth bowl game in eighth years. Stockstill has four winning seasons and a career record of 51-49.
Middle Tennessee returns its top two rushers from a year ago in Jordan Parker and Reggie Whatley. Parker, a high school teammate of Taylor Heinicke’s, Andrew Everett’s and Nick England’s at Collins Hill High School in Georgia, rushed 146 times for 745 yards and six touchdowns while Whatley carried 101 times for 657 yards and three scores.
The Blue Raiders graduate three-year starting quarterback Logan Kilgore, who passed for 2,500 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2013. Austin Grammer backed up Kilgore last season and passed for 190 yards and a touchdown as a freshman.
Middle Tennessee loses its top two receivers but returns Marcus Henry, who finished third on the squad with 38 catches for 549 yards and three touchdowns.
T.T. Barber and Kevin Byard return as Middle Tennessee’s top two leading tacklers. Barber led the team with 119 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and had three interceptions while Byard had 106 tackles and five interceptions.
In the NFL
Middle Tennessee currently as four players on NFL rosters, as of the start of the 2013 season, and two in the CFL. Former NFL quarterback Kelly Holcomb, who played for five NFL teams in an 11-year career, played for the Blue Raiders from 1991-94.
The Game
The Monarchs play the Blue Raiders in the first-ever Friday game in school history. Conference USA announced last week that the game was moved to Friday for television.