Drc Freshmen Take Center Stage...long

[OldTimer]

Football: Freshmen take center stage

UNT, MTSU will rely on young quarterbacks today

12:44 AM CDT on Saturday, October 27, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

There might not be a pair of coaches with more in common in the Sun Belt Conference than Todd Dodge of North Texas and Rick Stockstill of Middle Tennessee, considering their history and current situation.

Both Dodge and Stockstill were major college quarterbacks -- Dodge played at Texas, Stockstill at Florida State.

Both are still relatively new as Bowl Subdivision head coaches – Stockstill is in his second year; Dodge in his first.

And perhaps most pertinent of all, they are both facing the same challenge this season, while developing freshman quarterbacks who took over for more seasoned players in midseason heading into their game at Fouts Field today.

Dodge is trying to nurture Giovanni Vizza, while Stockstill has turned to Dwight Dasher. Both are considered dual-threat players who their teams will depend on in a game that shapes up to be critical for the Blue Raiders and still has some meaning for a struggling UNT squad that is essentially out of the race for the Sun Belt title.

MTSU (3-5 overall) is still very much alive in the conference title race at 2-1 in league play, while UNT (1-6, 1-3) is essentially dead in the water.

“The kids are fine emotionally,” Dodge said. “We are not as good as if we would have won the close games we lost, but we are showing good attitudes.”

UNT hopes that attitude starts to translate into wins behind Vizza, who enters today’s game with 999 passing yards on the season. The freshman has started the Mean Green’s last three games and guided UNT to its lone win of the season over Louisiana-Monroe after taking over for junior Daniel Meager.

MTSU has followed a similar path to a midseason surge that has seen the Blue Raiders win three of their last four games and nearly knock off Virginia. MTSU began the season with junior Joe Craddock as its quarterback, but turned to Dasher when its starter was injured.

“We have given Dwight more and more and he has done a good job of leading the team,” Stockstill said. “I am very confident in Dwight. He makes mistakes, but he is doing a lot of good things out there. You do a little more each practice and then do a little more each Saturday.”

Dasher has been perhaps the biggest reason MTSU has won three of its last four games. The former Georgia high school standout threw for 118 yards and rushed for an additional 96 last week in a win over Arkansas State.

Memphis never found a way to contain Dasher two weeks ago when he rushed for 180 yards -- a record for a Blue Raider quarterback -- while throwing for 230 in a win over Memphis.

Dasher ranks fifth in the Sun Belt in total offense with an average of 207.9 yards a game.

Vizza and Dasher are both a threat to run, but have different strengths.

“Giovanni is a better passer,” Stockstill said. “Dwight didn’t come up in a high-profile passing offense and has things he has to improve on. Dwight is probably the better runner. There are some similarities. They are both good quarterbacks who will be great down the road.”

Both have had their moments in the past few weeks, but it has been Dasher who has come away with consecutive wins over Memphis and ASU while Vizza and UNT have struggled in a series of disheartening losses.

The 45-7 shellacking Troy handed UNT last week was its worst margin of defeat in a Sun Belt game, a league the Mean Green joined in 2001. That outcome was stunning just a week after UNT won its only game of the season thus far over Louisiana-Monroe at home behind Vizza.

“Their pride has been scratched a little bit, but we still have them together,” Dodge said of his team. “They see that we still have five games left.”

What’s at stake

North Texas’ lone win of the season came against Louisiana-Monroe two weeks ago at Fouts Field, where the Mean Green is trying to build some type of home-field advantage, a task it can come closer to completing with a win over Middle Tennessee.

UNT also can avenge one of its most embarrassing losses in recent memory, a 35-0 shellacking at the hands of MTSU last year at Fouts. The Mean Green’s margin of defeat was its worst in a Sun Belt Conference game until last week when Troy surpassed that mark in a 45-7 win over UNT.

The Blue Raiders are on a roll heading into their game against UNT having won their last two games. A win would keep MTSU in the race for the Sun Belt title.

Matching up

UNT’s offense vs. MTSU’s defense

UNT is coming off statistically its worst performance of the season offensively. The Mean Green finished with a season-low 205 yards of total offense in a loss to Troy, while the seven points it scored matched its season low set in a loss to Arkansas.

UNT’s failure to produce was all the more stunning considering the Mean Green’s defense forced seven turnovers. UNT went for a first down four times on fourth down and failed to convert any of those opportunities.

The Mean Green will have no hope if it doesn’t improve on those totals against MTSU, the best defensive team in the Sun Belt. The Blue Raiders lead the league in scoring defense and total defense with an average of 24.0 points and 362.0 yards allowed a game.

The Blue Raiders also lead the Sun Belt in sacks with 21, while UNT ranks last in sacks allowed with 29.

Edge: MTSU

UNT’s defense vs. MTSU’s offense

UNT’s defense forced seven turnovers in a loss to Troy last week, but allowed 493 yards, not to mention 45 points in a loss to Troy.

The Mean Green comes into its game against MTSU ranked last nationally in scoring defense with an average of 46.3 points allowed a game and 117 out of 119 teams in total defense with an average of 521.3 yards allowed a game. Every opponent UNT has faced this season has scored at least 21 points.

MTSU hasn’t been as potent as in previous years, but appears to have found its rhythm behind quarterback Dwight Dasher. The freshman has rushed for 495 yards and is also a threat to throw with 960 yards. Dasher was injured last week, but is expected to play and split time with junior Joe Craddock.

Edge: MTSU

Coaching

UNT head coach Todd Dodge and his staff has struggled in its first season. Dodge has just one win in seven games with a staff made up mostly of coaches who made the jump directly from high school.

Rick Stockstill led MTSU to a share of the Sun Belt Conference title in his first season with the Blue Raiders last year, not to mention an appearance in the Motor City Bowl.

The Blue Raiders struggled early in Stockstill’s second season, losing their first four games, but seem to have righted the ship by winning three of their last four. Stockstill and his staff have much more experience on the Bowl Subdivision level than Dodge and his staff.

Edge: MTSU

Key matchups

UNT OL ADAM VENEGAS VS. MTSU DE TAVARES JONES

UNT’s offensive line has struggled throughout the season and is in for another big challenge this week against MTSU’s defensive front that might be the best in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Blue Raiders lead the Sun Belt in sacks with 21, including a league-best five by defensive end Tavares Jones. MTSU likes to come after opposing quarterbacks and is sure to do so against the Mean Green, which allowed a whopping nine sacks last week in a loss to Troy.

Jones will be a big part of MTSU’s plans, along with fellow senior defensive end Erik Walden. Both are 6-2 and weight just under 250 pounds. Jones had six tackles last week and has a good combination of size and speed that has given opponents problems.

There are a few players who will try to keep Jones in check, including senior Adam Venegas, one of the few veterans on UNT’s offensive front. Venegas is slated to start at right tackle against the Blue Raiders, which would put him in a key matchup with Jones. UNT is also considering moving Venegas back to guard, where he played earlier in his career, to fill in for Tyler Bailey, who is out while recovering from the lingering effects of a car accident he was involved in a two weeks ago. Either way, Venegas will be a key part of the Mean Green’s plans to keep quarterback Giovanni Vizza from taking a beating like the one he suffered last week in UNT’s loss to Troy.

UNT DE JEREMIAH CHAPMAN VS. MTSU QB DWIGHT DASHER

MTSU has won three of its last four games, a surge that has corresponded with the emergence of freshman quarterback Dwight Dasher, a former Georgia high school standout who is as much a threat to run as he is to throw.

Dasher rushed for 180 yards in addition to throwing for 230 yards in a 21-7 win over Memphis two weeks ago and came back to have another big game against Arkansas State last week. ASU struggled to contain Dasher, who threw for 118 yards and rushed for an additional 96 in the Blue Raiders 24-7 victory.

If there is one comforting feeling for UNT heading into its game against MTSU, it’s that the Mean Green will be facing a similar challenge defensively for the second straight week. Troy featured the top dual-threat quarterback in the Sun Belt, Omar Haugabook, during its win over the Mean Green.

Haugabook torched UNT for 287 passing yards and added 42 rushing yards in a 45-7 win. Troy’s offense differs from MTSU’s, but the challenge of containing Haugabook will be similar to what UNT will face against Dasher.

UNT will have to keep Dasher from getting to the perimeter, where he will be a threat to throw on the run or pull the ball down and run with it. The challenge of containing Dasher will fall in part to Jeremiah Chapman. The senior defensive end leads UNT with eight tackles for losses and 3.5 sacks.

Chapman has the speed and strength to keep Dasher bottled up.

Key player

When it comes to rushing the passer, few players in the Sun Belt Conference have a better track record than Middle Tennessee defensive end Erik Walden.

The senior set a MTSU record with 20 1/2 career sacks heading into his senior season, and could be getting healthy just in time for a game against a North Texas team that has struggled all season long to protect its quarterbacks.

Walden missed the Blue Raiders' games against Florida International and Virginia with a toe injury, but will play against the Mean Green this week.

Walden still has the ability to get to the quarterback and should have plenty of opportunities against UNT, which will turn most of its attention toward MTSU's other defensive end, Tavares Jones.

Jones leads the Sun Belt with five sacks and should be matched up with senior Adam Venegas or sophomore Robert Peachey. UNT lost left guard Tyler Bailey to injury this week and is considering moving Vengas to guard.

No matter what the Mean Green decides to do, it will have to pay a lot of attention to Jones, which will leave Walden in one-on-one matchups that he should be able to exploit. Walden has lined up at defensive end and has also spent time at linebacker, where he is able to pick a spot on opponents' offensive lines to exploit while blitzing.

UNT hasn't had much success stopping opponents' best pass rushers this season. Troy finished with nine sacks against the Mean Green last week. While the Mean Green struggled to protect its quarterback against Troy, MTSU thrived while coming after Arkansas State quarterback Corey Leonard.

The Blue Raiders finished with nine sacks against ASU.

"We are expecting them to bring the house," UNT head coach Todd Dodge said of MTSU. "They already like to play man coverage, they are athletic and they are the No. 1 overall defense in the Sun Belt Conference."

[FirefightnRick]

MTSU, the best defensive team in the Sun Belt. The Blue Raiders lead the league in scoring defense and total defense with an average of 24.0 points and 362.0 yards allowed a game.

The Blue Raiders also lead the Sun Belt in sacks with 21,

That's exactly why MTSU is winning with a young QB, just like we did with Drew back in '02. What comes around goes around I suppose?

Rick