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By Monday, the good feelings from Alabama’s season opening victory against then No. 20 Wisconsin seemed to be gone as Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban got more than slightly annoyed with a reporter who suggested Bama might have an easy game ahead when Middle Tennessee State visits Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
To be fair to the reporter, Alabama is an early 36-point favorite over the Blue Raiders, which makes sense with a national championship contender in the SEC hosting a team picked toward the middle of the pack in Conference USA. But perhaps the true source of Saban’s frustration comes from knowing exactly what kind of team his Crimson Tide is preparing for.
It’s no secret that Saban doesn’t like playing against the fastest-paced, no-huddle offenses that have come into popularity in the last decade, and that is exactly what he faces in Middle Tennessee State.
The Blue Raiders have put up more than 5,000 yards of total offense each of the last two seasons under head coach Rick Stockstill and scored 31.6 points per game last season. They did it in large part by keeping opposing defenses on their heels. Middle Tennessee averaged 75.7 offensive snaps per game last season, which was more than every SEC team other than Mississippi State and Tennessee. In their season-opening 70-14 victory against Jackson State, the Blue Raiders ran 95 offensive plays.
It’s a philosophy that runs program wide. Offensive line coach Geep Wade, for example, stresses stamina and once worked for a Marshall program that averaged more than 90 snaps per game. And unlike some teams that get overly pass happy in when pushing the tempo, the Blue Raiders are quite balanced between the pass and run, averaging 214 yards rushing and 218 yards passing last season.
But quarterback does remain a strength. Junior Austin Grammer, who graduated from American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa, is back after starting all 12 games last year. He threw for 2,557 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 65.4 percent of his passes in 2014 and you would figure he’d be excited to lead the Blue Raiders into his hometown.
Except Grammer was beaten out for the starting job by redshirt freshman Brent Stockstill. And if you were wondering for a second if perhaps some nepotism was afoot with the coach’s son taking the starting job away from an established veteran, consider his stat line from the season opener: 24 of 30 passing for 348 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
So the Blue Raiders promise to present something of a challenge to the Crimson Tide secondary, which was burned for big plays at times last season.
An actual upset seems like a huge long shot. It’s hard to imagine the Middle Tennessee State defense being able to do much to stop the Alabama running game, but it’s easy to see why Saban isn’t exactly in a chipper mood with the Blue Raiders looming.
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders closer look
Top player, offense: Ed Batties, Sr., WR — Batties was the Blue Raiders leading receiver last season and he got off to a hot start to 2015 as well. He had eight catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opening rout of Jackson State. At 6-foot and nearly 200 pounds, Batties has speed to get downfield, but can also handle physical defensive backs.
Top player, defense: T.T. Barber, Sr., LB — Barber was second-team All-Conference USA last season and led Middle Tennessee State with 72 tackles in 2014 and also had a pair of interceptions. In the opener he had three tackles, including a sack.
Top player, special teams: Jeremiah Bryson, Sr., KR — Bryson handled both punt and kickoff returns in the opener and he had 110 total return yards. Bryson is a contributor as a backup running back, but has the best chance to be a game changer in the return game.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
