Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs Liberty Flames Game Preview and Prediction - 10/09/2021

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 9, 2021

Venue:  Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, VA

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  MTSU +19.5, Liberty -19.5; Over/Under:  58 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  MTSU +19.5, Liberty -19.5; Over/Under:  58 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  MTSU +19.5, Liberty -19.5; Over/Under:  58 points

 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders:  2-3 (4th place, C-USA East)

Liberty Flames:  4-1 (3rd place, FBS Independents)

 

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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders:  won at home on Oct. 2 against the Marshall Thundering Herd 34-28.

Liberty Flames:  won on the road on Oct. 2 against the UAB Blazers 36-12.

 

 

 

MTSU is coming into this game with a 2-3 record overall and they are 0-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. MTSU is getting a break from their conference schedule here as they have back-to-back games against teams from the FBS Independents conference in their next two. Their 3 losses came against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the UTSA Roadrunners and the Charlotte 49ers while their 2 wins came against the Monmouth Hawks and against Marshall in their last game. That Marshall win snapped a 3 game losing streak that they were on after winning their season opener. Chase Cunningham did struggle a bit in their last win as he completed 12/21 passes for 105 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Chaton Mobley had a massive day as he led the team in rushing with 132 yards and 1 touchdown on 15 carries. He was basically their entire running game in that one. Their receiving corps had a very quiet day though as Jaylin Lane led the team with 34 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on 1 reception. Gregory Grate Jr. led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones while Jordan Ferguson was right behind him with 6 solo tackles and 1 assisted one. Jurriente Davis and DQ Thomas both had 1 sack each in that game while Deidrick Stanley II and Jalen Jackson both had 1 interception each. They have scored 150 points in their first 5 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 147 points against them. Their offense is averaging 341.6 YPG and their defense is allowing 434.8 YPG.

 

 

Liberty is coming into this game with a 4-1 record overall and they are 2-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. Their 1 loss on the year came against the Syracuse Orange while their 4 wins came against the Campbell Fighting Camels, the Troy Trojans, the Old Dominion Monarchs, and against UAB in their last game. Malik Willis played very well in their last game as he completed 13/19 passes for 287 yards and 1 touchdown. Johnathan Bennett also got a few snaps and he completed 2/2 passes for 44 yards and 1 TD. Malik Willis had a great day with his passing game but he also led the team on the ground with 144 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 carries. He was basically their entire running game in that one. Demario Douglas had a great day for the receiving corps as he led them with 128 yards on 4 receptions while CJ Daniels also had a nice day with 69 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on 2 receptions. Storey Jackson led the defense with 5 solo tackles, 2 assisted ones, 1 sack and 1 interception in that game. He had the only interception for their defense in that one. Ralfs Rusins actually led the team in sacks with 1.5 while Chris Boti had the other 1/2 sack and Aakil Washington and Jayod Sanders both had 1 each as well. They have scored 171 points in their first 5 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 73 points against them. Their offense is averaging 442.8 YPG while their defense is allowing 266.4 YPG.

 

Liberty has won a majority of their games by over 20 points and they are not getting the best opponent in this matchup. Liberty are coming in as a 20 point favorite almost with the current betting odds. MTSU has been struggling to win their games and they have been against much weaker opponents than Liberty. Liberty is a very good team and they have a NFL caliber quarterback in Malik Willis. They also have a very good defense as well as they have only allowed 1 opponent that they have faced this year to score more than 20 points on them. Liberty is just a much better team and they will blow MTSU out in this game at home. The best bet to place in this one is Liberty to cover the spread.

 

Middle Tennessee Liberty Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 9, 2021 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Liberty 41 MTSU 13.

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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: 10-16 O/U as an underdog of 10.5 to 21 points. 44-59 O/U as an underdog. 32-39 O/U as a road underdog.

Liberty Flames: 37-14 ATS in all games. 15-3 ATS when the total is between 56.5 and 63. 15-7 ATS as a favorite. 13-6 ATS in home games. 28-12 ATS in games played on turf. 31-11 ATS in non-conference games.

 

 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders:  None.

Liberty Flames:  J. Lofton (WR) Ques Sat - Knee injury. J. Kourtis (OL) Out Indefinitely - Knee injury.  K. Coleman (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: Chaton Mobley is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in rushing yards this season. He is coming off of a big game where he had over 100 yards rushing and he will be looking to carry that great play over into this game. Look for him to get a lot of touches here.

 

Liberty Flames: Malik Willis is one player to watch here. He leads his team in passing yards, rushing yards, and in touchdowns. He is a very skilled quarterback that is bound for the NFL and he will be the one who leads this team to victory. Look for him to make some big plays and wild throws as he looks to do whatever he can to get his team a win here.

 

 

"Bailey came to me Sunday morning and told me he had made the decision not to play football any longer. We talked about it, shook hands and I wished him well and let him know how much I appreciated his time here." - Rick Stockstill after starting quarterback Bailey Hockman decided to quit the team.

 

 

“We plan pretty hard on those and we work hard and our players typically execute fairly well there. We have been pretty successful and I guess why it’s so disappointing that we didn’t get it in there and give ourselves a chance to win the game.” - Hugh Freeze on their loss to Syracuse a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

WR Gathings, Izaiah 

WR England-Chisolm, DJ 

WR Pierce, Jarrin 

HB Gilchrist, Will 

QB Cunningham, Chase 

RB Rasul, Amir 

 

WR Shaa, Kevin 

WR Frith, Noah 

WR Stubbs, DJ 

TE Huntley, Johnny 

QB Willis, Malik 

RB Mack, Joshua 

 

Passing: C. Cunningham (743)

Rushing: C. Mobley (176)

Receiving: J. Marshall (252)

Touchdowns: J. Lane (3)

Sacks: J. Ferguson (2)

Tackles: G. Grate Jr. (27)

 

Passing: M. Willis (1105)

Rushing: M. Willis (418)

Receiving: D. Douglas (375)

Touchdowns: M. Willis (6)

Sacks: S. Jackson (2.5)

Tackles: S. Jackson (24)

 

Coaches:

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: Rick Stockstill (16th season)

Liberty Flames: Hugh Freeze (3rd season)

 

71 degrees F showers, 89% humidity, 50% chance of rain, up to 8 mph wind speeds E.