MTSU football coach Derek Mason discusses Week 1 win
Middle Tennessee State football coach Derek Mason talks about the Blue Raiders’ 32-25 win over Tennessee Tech during Week 1.
First-year coach Derek Mason and Middle Tennessee State football will have a daunting task on the road Saturday when the Blue Raiders face Ole Miss (3:15, SEC Network).
Ole Miss is ranked No. 5 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and is No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
MTSU (1-0) is coming off a 32-25 win over rival Tennessee Tech during Week 1, scoring the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left on 30-yard run by Frank Peasant. Ole Miss rolled past Furman 76-0 last week.
Following is a scouting report on the game, including a score prediction by The Daily News Journal’s Cecil Joyce:
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Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin one of the most entertaining in FBS
Ole Miss has arguably one of the most charismatic, and at times controversial, leaders in fifth-year coach Lane Kiffin.
The 49-year-old Kiffin has been well traveled in college football since his short stint as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, where he was fired in 2008, including stops at Tennessee, USC, Alabama (assistant) and Florida Atlantic before taking over at Ole Miss in 2020.
He likes to stay active — and entertaining — on social media, including a recent back-and-forth with LSU Coach Brian Kelly on the X platform, in which Kiffin most recently trolled Kelly following the Tigers’ opening-game loss to USC.
Kiffin has had success at Ole Miss, going 35-15 (20-13 in the SEC), including one the program’s best season in 2023 (11-2, Peach Bowl win).
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Ole Miss football is talented, and it showed during Week 1
Blowout wins over FCS opponents to open the season are not uncommon for power conference teams, but the Rebels’ 76-0 win over Furman was impressive nonetheless.
Ole Miss had 37 first downs and 772 total yards, including 529 passing. Eight players combined to rush for 243 yards with four touchdowns.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart completed 22 of 27 passes for 418 yards with five touchdowns as the team attempted 45 passes in the blowout. Tre Harris, a former Louisiana Tech standout, had eight receptions for 179 yards and two TDs.
Conversely, the Ole Miss defense held Furman to 172 total yards and seven first downs. The Rebels had four sacks.
MORE: MTSU football coach Derek Mason contract details released before season opener
MTSU football no strangers to Top 25 opponents
Ole Miss is the third ranked SEC foe MTSU has played since the start of the 2023 season. Alabama (56-7 loss) was ranked No. 4 when the two played Week 1 and Missouri (23-19 loss) was also ranked when the Blue Raiders played them Week 2 in 2023. Both finished in the top 10.
It’s the seventh consecutive year MTSU has played a ranked opponent. MTSU’s only win against a ranked foe came in 2022, when the Blue Raiders defeated Miami 45-31. Ole Miss defeated MTSU 45-17 in 2001 in the two programs’ lone meeting.
Mason is also familiar with Ole Miss, having played the Rebels seven times while at Vanderbilt. Mason’s Commodores went 2-5, winning in 2016 and 2018, both at home. He was the defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2021 when the Tigers beat Ole Miss 31-20.
MTSU football vs. Ole Miss score prediction
Ole Miss 52, MTSU 13: The Rebels are 41.5-point favorites over the Blue Raiders, and the final score should be around that margin if the hosts play well. MTSU still has some kinks to iron out with a new head coach and 50-plus new players on its roster. Doing that against a team as talented as Ole Miss is a gargantuan task.
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Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
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Publish date : 2024-09-05 09:48:00
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