CUSA Game of the Week Preview and Players to Watch:MTSU vs East Carolina

By: Rich Douglas

The Pirates and the Blue Raiders square off in a game that has meaning for both teams.  East Carolina decimated UNC last week, and is looking to get the momentum really rolling in conference play to capture a conference title.  MTSU is trying to make some noise themselves, and a win against ECU would go a long way to bowl eligibility.  

When MTSU has the ball:

The Blue Raiders offense really has not come together yet this season, totaling just 4.95 yards per play on offense with a low point last week against BYU with just 212 yards on 75 plays.  Logan Kilgore has been pretty inefficient as the starter, posting just one game with a yards per attempt of over 6.5, and that was against FCS competition.  He’s only completing 56.6% of his passes and had 6 Tds to just 5 TDs .  The offensive lien though can take some of the blame, allowing a sack or a hurry on 15% of his dropbacks this year.  This has meant the offensive production has come from RBs Jordan Parker and Reggie Whatley.  Parker averages 20 carries a game, and is picking up 4.6 yards per carry with some explosive ability (showcased by 13 runs of 10 yards or more).  He’s been a bull on third and short, converting 8 of his 11 carries for first downs.  Whatley though is the true lightning for the platoon, taking 9 of his 40 carries for more than ten yards, and averaging 7.08 yards per attempt.  He’s also been nearly unstoppable in the maroon zone, with 7 runs of 10 yards or more in 24 carries and a 6.7 yards per carry mark. 

The Pirates defense has been a little tough to gauge this season, allowing Old Dominion and UNC to score more than 30 points apiece, but they’ve limited opponents to under 5 yards per play.  They’ve been especially stout against the run allowing just 2.55 yards per carry and only 1.6 in the second halves of games.  Three players are tied for the team lead of four tackles for loss apiece, with junior LB Brandon Williams leading the team with 30 stops overall.  Senior backer Derrell Johnson also has four negative stops, and is second with 28 overall.  The Pirates do get after the passer as well, lead by Terrell Stanley and Lee Pegues who have three apiece.  Johnson is also a talented pass rusher, with 2.5 sacks and 5 QB hurries.  Chip Thompson leads a solid secondary with an Int, 3 passes defended and 18 tackles.

When ECU has the ball:

Shane Carden is looking much improved in his second season as a starter, completing 72.6% of his passes for a healthy 7.5 yards per attempt with 11 TDs and just 4 Ints.  He's been good on third downs, converting 18 of 37 attempts, and going at better than 60% on third and nine or less.  He's targeted Justin Hardy, who's caught 32 balls for a 10.1 average.  Hardy has gone 8 for 11 on converting third downs.  Senior RB Vintavious Cooper is having an excellent season catching the ball as well, second on the team in receptions (20) and yards (185).  He also averages 4.63 yards per carry on in the run game, and has converted 5 of his 6 third down carries for first downs.  The offense has converted 49% of their third downs, despite averaging 7.5 yards needed to gain.  It could be even higher if the offensive line hadn't surrendered 12 sacks and 10 more hurries already this season.

MTSU's defense has not been very good so far this season, allowing all of their opponents, excluding Memphis, to score 20 points or more and average 5.7 yards per play on offense.  The Raiders have also surrendered a horrendous 49% conversion rate on third downs so far.  The standout of the unit is TT Barber, a sophomore LB who at 216 pounds has 59 tackles already, 5 of them for loss with a pair of sacks and an interception.  Dearco Nolan is the best pass rusher, leading the team with three sacks and a QB hurry.  Opposing passers have found holes in this secondary, completing 63.2% of their passes for 7.6 yards per attempt.  It has been opportunistic though, picking off 8 passes, lead by Kevin Byard with 2.  Six other players have intercepted a pass.  

What's our take:

MTSU stepped up into C-USA from the Sun Belt, and theyre a bit outclassed right now.  East Carolina is one of the top teams in the conference, and should handle the Blue Raiders pretty easily.