Run It Back: An MTSU Dynasy

[Bigsheen]

Love the fourth quarter comeback to seal the deal for the 'ship, especially to cap it off with a 79-yard Mathers run. That's how you do it right there! Interested to see what bowl game you get now.

Also, the PAC-12 title game, neither of those teams were ranked and they're in their conference championship game? Yikes, down year for the boys out west.

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bigsheen

Love the fourth quarter comeback to seal the deal for the 'ship, especially to cap it off with a 79-yard Mathers run. That's how you do it right there! Interested to see what bowl game you get now. Also, the PAC-12 title game, neither of those teams were ranked and they're in their conference championship game? Yikes, down year for the boys out west.

Both of Mathers' long TD runs had me jumping out of my seat with excitement - literally! The first one where reversed field and took it to the house was huge to get us going. The 79-yard run we were just looking to kill clock. He got great blocking and made one guy miss and it was off to the races!

I saw which bowl game we were invited to and who our opponent will be. Should be a fun matchup and gives us a chance to see how we really stack up with a P5 team.

The PAC-12 was wayyyy down this year. Going to be interesting to see if they can snap out of it next season or if they will continue to stay down. I'm hoping USC can resurrect themselves though!

[R1zzo23]

The Sooner signal caller ascended the ranks and proved to be the best player in college football this year with a scintillating offensive performance game in and game out. After leading his team to the College Football Playoff, can he add a national title to his resume in just a month's time?

Heisman Watch - Updated: Dec 20, 2016
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Baker Mayfield	QB	Oklahoma		2,848, 36 TD, 4 INT, 764 rush yds, 8 TD
Deshaun Watson	QB	Clemson		3,505 yds, 34 TD, 6 INT, 512 rush yds, 6 TD
Donnell Pumphrey	HB	San Diego State		1,720 yds, 16 TD, 18 rec, 252 yds, 3 TD
Chad Kelly	QB	Ole Miss		3,901 yds, 35 TD, 11 INT, 355 rush yds, 4 TD
Dalvin Cook	HB	Florida State		1,249 yds, 18 TD, 25 rec, 355 yds

2016 National Award Winners
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Maxwell Award	Deshaun Watson (JR)	QB	Clemson
Walter Camp Award	Jacobi Owens (SR)	HB	Air Force
Chuck Bednarik Award	Dontavious Heard (SR)	CB	Middle Tennessee State
Bronko Nagurski Trophy	Airius Moore (JR)	ROLB	NC State
Davey O'Brien Award	Deshaun Watson (JR)	QB	Clemson
Doak Walker Award	Jacobi Owens (SR)	HB	Air Force
Fred Biletnikoff Award	Josh Reynolds (SR)	WR	Texas A&M
John Mackey Award	Evan Engram (SR)	TE	Ole Miss
Outland Trophy	Pat Elflein (SR)	C	Ohio State
Rimington Trophy	Pat Elflein (SR)	C	Ohio State
Lombardi Award	Arden Key (SO)	RE	LSU
Linebacker of the Year	Airius Moore (JR)	ROLB	NC State
Jim Thorpe Award	Dontavious Heard (SR)	CB	Middle Tennessee State
Lou Groza Award	Justin Yoon (SO)	K	Notre Dame
Ray Guy Award	Will Gleeson (JR)	P	Ole Miss
Returner of the Year	Rod Ducksworth (SR)	WR	Middle Tennessee State

How about two Blue Raiders taking home three different national awards? Rod Ducksworth's Returner of the Year trophy is considered a fraud since he saw almost twice as many return opportunities than the 2nd closest candidate. Dontavious Heard won his awards based on massive amounts of tackles compared to the rest corners in the country. If fans aren't happy about them winning awards, what will they say about the All-American team results?

Other award results:

• Walter Camp: HB I'tavious Mathers - 4th
• Bednarik: CB Charvarious Ward - 2nd
• Nagurski: CB Dontavious Heard - 9th
• Walker: HB I'tavious Mathers - 3rd
• Biletnikoff: WR Richie James - 7th
• Mackey: TE Tyler Pettis - 3rd
• Thorpe: CB Charvarious Ward - 2nd
• Groza: K Canon Rooker - 4th

2016 NCAA 1st Team All-Americans
Pos	Player Name	Ht	Wt	Year
QB	Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma	6'1"	212	Sr.
HB	Jacobi Owens, Air Force	6'0"	202	Sr.
HB	Donnell Pumphrey, San Diego State	5'9"	178	Sr.
WR	Braxton Berrios, Miami (FL)	5'9"	180	Jr.
WR	Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M	6'4"	195	Sr.
TE	Evan Engram, Ole Miss	6'3"	235	Sr.
OL	Mitch Hyatt, Clemson	6'5"	295	So.
OL	Cameron Robinson, Alabama	6'6"	327	Jr.
OL	Nico Siragusa, San Diego State	6'5"	330	Sr.
OL	Billy Price, Ohio State	6'4"	315	Jr.
C	Pat Elflein, Ohio State	6'3"	300	Sr.
DL	Garrald McDowell, Ole Miss	6'2"	261	So.
DL	Chris Hale, Mid Tenn State	6'4"	259	Sr.
DL	Jeremy Patterson, Wisconsin	6'3"	335	So.
DL	Shaquille Huff, Mid Tenn State	6'1"	330	Sr.
LB	Jordan Evans, Oklahoma	6'2"	233	Sr.
LB	Koron Crump, Arizona State	6'4"	220	Jr.
LB	T.J. McCollum, Western Kentucky	6'3"	205	Jr.
DB	Dontavious Heard, Mid Tenn State	6'1"	191	Sr.
DB	Fabian Moreau, UCLA	6'0"	180	Sr.
DB	C.J. Hampton, Ole Miss	6'0"	186	Jr.
DB	Alex Dale, Mid Tenn State	5'10"	193	Jr.
K	Justin Yoon, Notre Dame	5'9"	190	So.
P	Will Gleeson, Ole Miss	6'3"	189	Jr.
RS	Rod Ducksworth, Mid Tenn State	6'0"	176	Sr.

2016 NCAA 2nd Team All-Americans
Pos	Player Name	Ht	Wt	Year
QB	Deshaun Watson, Clemson	6'2"	210	Jr.
HB	Dalvin Cook, Florida State	5'11"	213	Jr.
HB	I'tavious Mathers, Mid Tenn State	5'11"	197	Sr.
WR	James Quick, Louisville	6'1"	180	Sr.
WR	Gabe Marks, Washington State	6'0"	188	Sr.
TE	Cole Hikutini, Louisville	6'5"	248	Sr.
OL	Jamarco Jones, Ohio State	6'5"	310	Jr.
OL	Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame	6'8"	310	Sr.
OL	Rod Taylor, Ole Miss	6'3"	329	Jr.
OL	Johnny Caspers, STanford	6'4"	297	Sr.
C	Kyle Fuller, Baylor	6'5"	305	Sr.
DL	Johnny Richardson, Louisville	6'3"	335	Jr.
DL	Trent Thompson, Georgia	6'4"	307	So.
DL	Peter Bailey, Mid Tenn State	6'4"	258	Sr.
DL	Breeland Speaks, Ole Miss	6'3"	310	So.
LB	Dante Booker, Ohio State	6'3"	236	Jr.
LB	Ben Boulware, Clemson	6'0"	240	Sr.
LB	Airius Moore, NC State	6'0"	237	Jr.
DB	Joe Brown, Western Kentucky	5'10"	181	Jr.
DB	Charvarious Ward, Mid Tenn State	6'1"	183	Jr.
DB	Jovante Moffatt, Mid Tenn State	6'0"	190	So.
DB	Jabrill Peppers, Michigan	6'1"	208	So.
K	John Baron II, San Diego State	5'11"	190	So.
P	Alex Robinson, Stanford	6'0"	207	Jr.
RS	Rashaad Penny, San Diego State	5'11"	220	Jr.

2016 NCAA 1st Team Freshman All-Americans
Pos	Player Name	Ht	Wt	Year
QB	Jacob Eason, Georgia	6'5"	235	Fr.
HB	Miles Sanders, Penn State	5'11"	195	Fr.
HB	Michael Weber, Ohio State	5'10"	212	Fr.
WR	Harland Howell, Georgia Tech	6'1"	195	Fr.
WR	Van Jefferson, Ole Miss	6'2"	187	Fr.
TE	Kelvin Smith, North Texas	6'2"	252	Fr.
OL	Bobby Evans, Oklahoma	6'4"	299	Fr.
OL	Greg Little, Ole Miss	6'6"	232	Fr.
OL	Michael Jordan, Ohio State	6'7"	310	Fr.
OL	Cody Ford, Oklahoma	6'3"	317	Fr.
C	Erik McCoy, Texas A&M	6'4"	315	Fr.
DL	Adam Shuler II, West Virginia	6'4"	273	Fr.
DL	Rashan Gary, Michigan	6'5"	286	Fr.
DL	Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma	6'3"	320	Fr.
DL	Dexter Lawrence, Clemson	6'4"	327	Fr.
LB	Mique Juarez, UCLA	6'2"	231	Fr.
LB	Shaq Quarterman, Miami (FL)	6'0"	233	Fr.
LB	John Houston Jr., USC	6'3"	220	Fr.
DB	Jeff Gladney, TCU	6'0"	175	Fr.
DB	Devon Ruseel, Eastern Michigan	5'11"	175	Fr.
DB	Dev Lamour, Buffalo	6'1"	195	Fr.
DB	Justin Tranquill, Western Michigan	5'11"	185	Fr.
K	J.J. Molson, UCLA	6'1"	190	Fr.
P	Marshall Long, Georgia	6'2"	214	Fr.
RS	Byron Murphy, Washington	5'11"	164	Fr.

With five members on the 1st team and three on the 2nd team, it is apparent that the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders had some fantastic statistical performances this season...but it leaves a lot of fans around the country in an uproar. Are these players really the best at their position across the country? Maybe I'tavious Mathers has an argument but the rest are products of huge play counts and many more opportunities at padding stats.

2016 C-USA 1st Team
Pos	Player Name	Ht	Wt	Year
QB	Nick Mullens, Southern Miss	6'1"	196	Sr.
HB	Aaron Jones, UTEP	5'10"	205	Sr.
HB	I'tavious Mathers, Mid Tenn State	5'11"	197	Sr.
WR	D.J. Thompson, Southern Miss	6'3"	300	Sr.
WR	Richie James, Mid Tenn State	5'9"	177	So.
TE	Tyler Pettis, Mid Tenn State	6'5"	240	Sr.
OL	Forrest Lamp, Western Kentucky	6'4"	300	Sr.
OL	Will Hernandez, UTEP	6'3"	340	Jr.
OL	Josh Chester, Mid Tenn State	6'3"	302	Sr.
OL	Clint Van Horn, Marshall	6'5"	314	Sr.
C	Cameron Tom, Southern Miss	6'4"	287	Sr.
DL	Jarrian Roberts, North Texas	6'2"	252	Sr.
DL	Chris Hale, Mid Tenn State	6'4"	259	Sr.
DL	Peter Bailey, Mid Tenn State	6'4"	258	Sr.
DL	Shaquille Huff, Mid Tenn State	6'1"	330	Sr.
LB	Davon Durant, Marshall	6'2"	233	Jr.
LB	Myles Harges, Mid Tenn State	6'2"	225	Jr.
LB	T.J. McCollum, Western Kentucky	6'3"	205	Jr.
DB	Charvarious Ward, Mid Tenn State	6'1"	183	Jr.
DB	Dontavious Heard, Mid Tenn State	6'1"	191	Sr.
DB	Jovante Moffatt, Mid Tenn State	6'0"	190	So.
DB	Alex Dale, Mid Tenn State	5'10"	193	Jr.
K	Canon Rooke, Mid Tenn State	5'11"	182	Jr.
P	Joseph Occhipinti, Western Kentucky	6'3"	190	Sr.
RS	Rod Ducksworth, Mid Tenn State	6'0"	176	Sr.

2016 C-USA 2nd Team
Pos	Player Name	Ht	Wt	Year
QB	Chase Litton, Marshall	6'6"	211	So.
HB	Anthony Wales, Western Kentucky	5'10"	190	Sr.
HB	Ito Smith, Southern Miss	5'9"	195	Jr.
WR	Deon-tay McManus, Marshall	6'1"	230	Jr.
WR	Taywan Taylor, Western Kentucky	6'1"	190	Sr.
TE	Ricky Parks, Southern Miss	6'3"	270	Sr.
OL	Brandon Ray, Western Kentucky	6'2"	285	Jr.
OL	Chandler Brewer, Mid Tenn State	6'6"	315	So.
OL	Darell Williams Jr., Western Kentucky	6'6"	310	Sr.
OL	Marquice Shakir, Mid Tenn State	6'3"	316	Sr.
C	Michael Selby, Marshall	6'2"	283	Sr.
DL	Graysen Schantz, Rice	6'3"	241	Jr.
DL	Trey Hendrickson, FAU	6'4"	270	Sr.
DL	Rashaad Coward, Old Dominion	6'6"	310	Sr.
DL	Ryan Bee, Marshall	6'7"	268	So.
LB	Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Western Kentucky	6'2"	225	So.
LB	Shawn Petty, Marshall	6'2"	241	Sr.
LB	Chris Melton, Mid Tenn State	6'1"	210	So.
DB	Michael Minter, Mid Tenn State	6'0"	172	Jr.
DB	Joe Brown, Western Kentucky	5'10"	181	Jr.
DB	Kendall Gant, Marshall	6'3"	198	Jr.
DB	Braden Leston, Western Kentucky	6'3"	205	Sr.
K	Nick Smith, Marshall	5'10"	175	Jr.
P	Cameron Decell, Rice	6'4"	205	So.
RS	Keion Davis, Marshall	6'1"	205	So.

While there may have been some beef on whether or not the MTSU players belonged on the All-American teams,
there's no debating that the Conference USA champions deserved a ton of love for the conference 1st and 2nd teams. With 14 players on the 1st team and another four on the 2nd team, it was very clear that the Blue Raiders were the class of the conference. Of those 18 players, only half of them are scheduled for graduation while redshirt sophomore Richie James will contemplate declaring for the draft early. That's still a lot of firepower returning to the lineup for this program.

[R1zzo23]

The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, champions of Conference USA, have been invited to play in the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl. Their opponents will be the Tigers of Missouri. This will be Coach Potter's second chance at knocking off an SEC opponent in his first season at MTSU after losing at Vanderbilt in Week 2 of this year. That 34-27 overtime loss in a hard-fought battle gave the Blue Raiders the confidence they needed to rattle off six straight wins after their second straight defeat to start the season. While Missouri finished the season just 6-6 and barely bowl eligible, there's no doubt they will give MTSU all they can handle.

[R1zzo23]

Matchup Preview *|* December 31, 2016
	@
Missouri Tigers (6-6)		Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (10-3)
Offensive Stats Comparison 14.7 (#123) Points Per Game 36.7 (#3) 272.3 (#121) Total Offensive Yards 472.8 (#3) 150.8 (#108) Passing Yards 314.5 (#2) 121.5 (#117) Rushing Yards 158.4 (#79) Defensive Stats Comparison 340.1 (#52) Total Yards Allowed 414.8 (#120) 172.3 (#40) Passing Yards Allowed 292.0 (#126) 167.8 (#78) Rushing Yards Allowed 122.8 (#2) +2 (#50) Interceptions -13 (#123) Injury Report Game Notes After winning their first five games (albeit against less-than-stellar opponents), the Missouri Tigers of the SEC went on to lose six of their last seven games with their only win coming at Kentucky. Sure, there were five ranked teams to account for those six losses but they can't be heading into this bowl game with much confidence or momentum at all. Their offensive team statistics are pretty pathetic based on averages, but playing against some of the best defenses the country has to offer on a weekly basis will make most offenses look inept. With the game taking place on New Year's Eve, will Mizzou decide to pack it in and look forward to the party at night and forget about a meaningless football game or try to end the season on a high note?

Missouri Tigers Depth Chart - 2016
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	J'Mon Moore (80)	Chris Black (77)	Keyon Dilosa (78)
TE	Sean Culkin (82)	Jason Reese (76)	Brendan Scales (74)
LT	Tyler Howell (80)
LG	Nate Crawford (81)
C	Alec Abeln (82)
RG	Kevin Pendleton (76)
RT	Paul Adams (76)
WR	Nate Brown (80)	[TE] Sean Culkin (77)	Cam Hilton (76)
QB	Drew Lock* (79)	Marvin Zanders (75)	Jack Lowary (72)
FB	[TE] Sean Culkin (56)
HB	Ish Witter (80)	Natereace Strong* (76)	Trevon Walters (73)
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Charles Harris (92)	Marcell Frazier (77)
LDT	Josh Augusta (81)	Rickey Hatley (80
RDT	Terry Beckner Jr. (79)	A.J. Logan (78)
RDE	Nate Howard (75)	Marcell Frazier (77)
WLB	Donavin Newsom (82)	Terez Hall (76)
MLB	Michael Scherer (89)	Terez Hall (75)
SLB	Joey Burkett* (78)	Terez Hall (76)
CB	Aarion Penton* (86)	Logan Cheadle (77)
SS	Anthony Sherrils (84)
FS	Tavon Ross (79)
CB	John Gibson III (80)	Anthony Hines (75)	Finis Stribling IV (75)

[thesportsguru11]

Light 'em up in the Liberty Bowl Rizzo! Would love to see a win to finish a strong first year.

[JustADumbGamer]

I remember doing a dynasty for Middle Tennessee State back in...NCAA Football 11, I believe. Loved their uniforms, but I honestly forgot about them until seeing this.

I'll be following! Good luck in your bowl game!

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by thesportsguru11

Light 'em up in the Liberty Bowl Rizzo! Would love to see a win to finish a strong first year.

That's the plan! I think they are going to be better than their record indicates but I'm still hopeful we can put it all together and end the season on a very high note.

Quote: Originally Posted by JustADumbGamer

I remember doing a dynasty for Middle Tennessee State back in...NCAA Football 11, I believe. Loved their uniforms, but I honestly forgot about them until seeing this. I'll be following! Good luck in your bowl game!

Yeah man, I ran an 8-year dynasty with MTSU in NCAA 08 and loved it. Hoping I can rekindle that same flame with this program again. Their uniforms are tremendous and that's what helped me pick them in 08 and had to run it back with them again.