Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 103. Middle Tennessee
I'm (a) Blue (Raider), Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di
The Rick Stockstill team. Stockstill has coached Middle Tennessee for 17 of their 24 seasons at the Division 1-A level. Which is so long that his son, Brent, was 11 when he got the job. Brent committed to Middle Tennessee, had a record-setting career, graduated, and is now the QB Coach and Passing Game Coordinator for Middle Tennessee. And his dad is still coaching there.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+------------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+------------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 36 | Middle Tennessee State | 2001 | 5.725 | 8-3 |
| 40 | Middle Tennessee State | 2009 | 4.994 | 10-3 |
| 58 | Middle Tennessee State | 2018 | -4.338 | 8-6 |
| 59 | Middle Tennessee State | 2012 | -4.652 | 8-4 |
| 67 | Middle Tennessee State | 2013 | -8.963 | 8-5 |
| 71 | Middle Tennessee State | 2015 | -10.348 | 7-6 |
| 73 | Middle Tennessee State | 2022 | -11.236 | 8-5 |
| 65 | Middle Tennessee State | 2000 | -11.247 | 6-5 |
| 68 | Middle Tennessee State | 2016 | -12.706 | 8-5 |
| 67 | Middle Tennessee State | 2006 | -12.738 | 7-6 |
| 76 | Middle Tennessee State | 2017 | -12.93 | 7-6 |
| 79 | Middle Tennessee State | 2014 | -15.354 | 6-6 |
| 82 | Middle Tennessee State | 2021 | -15.811 | 7-6 |
| 85 | Middle Tennessee State | 2007 | -23.539 | 5-7 |
| 87 | Middle Tennessee State | 2008 | -24.492 | 5-7 |
| 86 | Middle Tennessee State | 2005 | -25.111 | 4-7 |
| 83 | Middle Tennessee State | 2004 | -26.848 | 5-6 |
| 93 | Middle Tennessee State | 2010 | -28.775 | 6-7 |
| 103 | Middle Tennessee State | 2019 | -29.12 | 4-8 |
| 90 | Middle Tennessee State | 2003 | -30.779 | 4-8 |
| 109 | Middle Tennessee State | 2020 | -32.334 | 3-6 |
| 90 | Middle Tennessee State | 2002 | -32.947 | 4-8 |
| 104 | Middle Tennessee State | 1999 | -46.678 | 3-8 |
| 112 | Middle Tennessee State | 2011 | -55.394 | 2-10 |
+------+------------------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 2703 (103rd)143-148 record
2 conference titles
4-6 bowl record
0 consensus All-Americans
8 NFL players drafted
This is definitely the best resume we’ve seen so far. Middle Tennessee has sustained somewhat consistent success over their 24 years as an FBS team, making bowl games in 42% of their seasons and reaching winning records in 50% of them. 8 players drafted isn’t particularly impressive, but one of them is All-Pro safety Kevin Byard, and another is veteran WR Richie James.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2011 (2-10 overall, 1-7 Sun Belt)
Middle Tennessee had their lowest win total in 30 years, including their time in the FCS. An opening game at Purdue was actually close, MTSU’s 47 yard FG blocked on the last play to lose 24-27. After getting mauled by Georgia Tech the next week, they’d lose 35-38 to Troy. QB Logan Kilgore was showing a lot of promise, throwing for 330 yards and 2 TD against Purdue and 415 yards and 5 TD against Troy. MTSU would get their first win on a 33 yard Kilgore passing TD with just 11 seconds left to beat Memphis. A few weeks later Kilgore would set a school record for consecutive pass completions, going 19-19 to start the game in a 38-14 win over FAU. Kilgore struggled down the stretch though, and the defense couldn’t stop anyone. In the last game of the season, MTSU’s mind was already on 2012 as they were dominated 59-7 by North Texas, giving up 313 rushing yards and 4 TD to North Texas RB Lance Dunbar. Kilgore ended up having a mediocre year overall, ranking 7th out of 9 starting QBs in the Sun Belt in passer rating.
5. 2013 (8-5 overall, 6-2 Conference USA)
By 2013, QB Kilgore was in his 3rd year as a starter, and the Blue Raiders had moved from the Sun Belt to Conference USA. Kilgore had a better year than 2011, and threw for 2507 yards 16 TD 13 INT on 7.1 YPA. He became the first player in school history to accumulate 2000+ yards in 3 straight seasons, and set the school record for passing yards with 7849. After starting the season 3-4, MTSU played eventual C-USA runner-up Marshall. Down 45-49 with just 3 seconds to go, MTSU was 9 yards from the win. Kilgore fired a bullet over the middle to WR Tavarres Jefferson, who came down with it in the end zone for the 51-49 walkoff win. That proved to be a season-changing win, as MTSU would win their last 4 to finish 8-4 and 6-2 in their new conference. A 6-24 loss in the bowl to Navy solidifies this as MTSU’s 5th best team and no higher. Sophomore safety Kevin Byard led the team in INTs with 5, and was 2nd in tackles with 106. He’d go on to be drafted in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL Draft and is a 2x First-team All-Pro.
4. 2012 (8-4 overall, 6-2 Sun Belt)
Keeping the trend of 2011-13 seasons here, the best Kilgore QBed season was 2012. After their worst ever season in 2011, they appeared headed for the same or worse in 2012. A 27-21 opening loss to FCS McNeese State was embarrassing. McNeese scored 24 straight to go up 24-6 by the end of the 3rd quarter, and MTSU barely made it a game. Everything changed after the loss. 3 straight wins included FAU, Memphis, and a 49-28 victory over eventual ACC Coastal Division champion Georgia Tech! The rest of the year was a bit lucky, if not fluky, at times. MTSU went 5-3 in their last 8 games with 4 of their wins by one possession, and blowout losses including 3-45 to Mississippi State and 0-45 to Arkansas State. MTSU was developing a strange penchant for blowout losses to end the year, having fallen 59-7 to North Texas the year before and now 0-45 to Arkansas State. Kilgore had his best year as a passer with 2571 yards 16 TD 6 INT on 7.7 YPA. RB Benny “NFL is scripted” Cunningham was on an absolute tear to start the year, rushing for 600 yards and 11 TD in just 5 games, but unfortunately suffered a season ending knee injury against FIU. He was so good, he made 2nd Team All-Sun Belt with just 5 games played!
3. 2018 (8-6 overall, 7-1 Conference USA)
2018 was legendary QB Brent Stockstill’s final year as a 4-year starter. The son of the head coach, he had an illustrious career with 12,483 passing yards, 106 TD, and just 35 INT. He saved his best for last in 2018, completing 70.3% for 3544 yards 29 TD and 10 INT, winning C-USA POTY. Knowing it was their last chance at a title, the head coach father-QB son duo scratched and clawed their way to the Conference USA championship game, capping the regular season with a 27-3 win over UAB, who they’d face the next week. In the middle of their best ever year themselves, UAB got the better of the Blue Raiders the second time, winning 27-25 on a 28 yard FG to take the lead with 3:23 to go. With 1:05 left and UAB about to punt, Middle Tennessee made an illegal substitution to give UAB the automatic first down and the title. 2018 ranks as the 3rd best season because of impressive wins (27-3 over C-USA champ UAB, 34-24 over 9-4 Marshall) and understandable losses (#3 Georgia, 23-34 to #20 Kentucky, 11-2 App State).
2. 2009 (10-3 overall, 7-1 Sun Belt)
Magical season for MTSU. Only double-digit win season in MTSU history. Most conference wins in a season ever. The stars of this team were easily identifiable—QB Dwight Dasher, and a top defense. Dasher stood just 5’9 208, but pound for pound was one of the best players in the country. He finished top 10 in the nation in total offense, throwing for 2789 yards 23 TD 14 INT and rushing for 1154 yards and 13 TD on 5.4 YPC. Dasher saved his best for last in the bowl game, throwing for 162 yards and 2 TD, and rushing for 201 yards and 2 TD in a 42-32 win over Southern Miss. The defense had 4 1st Team All-Sun Belt players: DL Chris McCoy logged 7 sacks and 13.5 TFL. DBs Jeremy Kellem, Alex Suber, and Marcus Udell combined for 12 INT, 5.5 sacks, 8.5 TFL, and 2 defensive TDs, leading the Sun Belt’s best secondary. Make no mistake, this was one of the most underrated G5 teams in the country in 2009. 6 of their conference wins came by 17+ points, and their 3 losses were to Clemson, Mississippi State, and Sun Belt champion Troy. Overall on the year they averaged 32 PPG and gave up 23.7 PPG, and finished #40 in my rankings.
1. 2001 (8-3 overall, 5-1 Sun Belt)
Even though 2009 had 2 more wins, 2001 edges it out as the best MTSU team. A high powered offense ranked 8th in the country with 37.1 PPG. A 5-0 start included a 37-28 win at Vanderbilt, 54-17 win over eventual 7-4 team Troy, and an overall average of 45 PPG during the stretch. The offense looked unstoppable, running up 608 yards on Vanderbilt and 685 on Idaho. A 21-24 loss to North Texas would technically give North Texas the tiebreaker over MTSU for the Sun Belt title, but as both teams finished the year 5-1 in-conference, MTSU won a share of the Sun Belt title. 2 more losses down the stretch were 17-45 to Eli Manning’s Ole Miss, and 16-30 to Nick Saban’s LSU. MTSU blew out Arkansas State 54-6 and UConn 38-14 in 2 of the last 3 weeks for good measure. Because they beat/blew out the teams they should’ve and lost to quality SEC opponents, MTSU finished #36 in my rankings, slightly better than 2009. QB Wes Counts led the Sun Belt in passer rating with 72.6% completions 2327 yards 17 TD 4 INT. RB Dwone Hicks ran for 1143 yards and 20(!) TD on 6.0 YPC, and WRs Kendall Newson and Tyrone Calico were drafted in the 7th and 2nd rounds, respectively, in the next 2 NFL Drafts. Led by head coach Andy McCollum, the offensive coordinator was future North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora.
5th Quarter
What do you think about Middle Tennessee? I’ve always loved their uniforms and colors. Should fans be satisfied with Stockstill as coach, or try to get someone to take them to the next level?
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