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M i d d l e
T e n n e s s e e
2008 Game-by-Game Recaps
GAME 11 l NOV. 22, 2008 l ATTENDANCE: 14,307 FLOYD STADIUM l MURFREESBORO, TN
GAME 12 l DEC. 3, 2008 l ATTENDANCE: 15,321 CAJUN FIELD l LAFAYETTE, LA
NORTH TEXAS
13
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
28
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
52
LOUISIANA
42
MURFREESBORO - MTSU’s Phillip Tanner ran around, over and through North Texas. The junior running back scored six touchdowns, breaking the Sun Belt Conference record and tying the school record (set by Dwone Hicks in 2000 before MTSU was in the Sun Belt), as MTSU whipped North Texas 52-13. “I’ve been getting impatient, and (running backs coach Willie Simmons) told me not to complain, just to score every time I got the ball,” Tanner said. “So my goal was to score every time I touched it, and I guess I almost did.” Tanner had only 14 rushing attempts, three kick returns and one reception, but he rushed for a career-high 159 yards and gained 301 all-purpose yards, the third most in MTSU history. Tanner had already reeled off one of the best performances in school history by halftime. He rushed for 157 yards and five TDs in the first half and then returned the opening kickoff of the second half 92 yards for his sixth score — tying Hicks for the most single-game TDs (6) and points (36) in MTSU history. Tanner ran relentlessly, breaking three or four tackles on most of his TD runs. He scored on rushes of 1, 12, 19, 36 and 66 yards before his 92-yard kick return. Tanner is a Dallas native who played high school football about 45 minutes from the NT campus. As a side note to Tanner’s day, MTSU (5-6) won its third straight game behind an overall dominating performance and scored its most single-game points since 2001. Offensively, the Blue Raiders racked up a season-high 489 yards (380 in first half) in the game and scored 45 points in the first half. Defensively, they recovered two fumbles in the first seven minutes that led to a pair of scoring drives. MTSU quarterback Joe Craddock hit Eldred King for a 45-yard TD pass on the game’s third offensive play. Freshman kicker Alan Gendreau made a 28-yard field goal on MTSU’s second drive for his eighth consecutive made field goal — a streak that ties the school record. Tanner broke three tackles and spun through a fourth en route to a 12-yard TD run to put MTSU ahead 17-0 with 6:20 remaining in the first quarter. North Texas (1-10) scored back-to-back TDs and had one extra-point kick blocked, and then Tanner scored five consecutive TDs to put MTSU ahead 52-13 following the second-half kickoff. Craddock finished 19-of-31 passing for 251 yards, one TD and one interception. Patrick Honeycutt had seven receptions for 91 yards. Safety Kevin Brown led MTSU with eight tackles, and defensive end Jamari Lattimore had two sacks. The Blue Raiders recorded a season-high five sacks for a third straight game. Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F North Texas 13 0 0 0 13 Middle Tennessee 17 28 7 0 52 1st Quarter 13:17 MT 8:39 MT 6:20 MT 4:53 NT :18 NT 2nd Quarter 12:01 MT 9:31 MT 7:20 MT 4:28 MT 3rd Quarter 14:43 MT
F o o t b a l l
King 45 pass from Craddock (Gendreau kick) Gendreau 28 FG Tanner 12 run (Gendreau kick) Fitzgerald 57 pass from Vizza (Knott kick) Montgomery 11 run (kick blocked) Tanner 1 run (Gendreau kick) Tanner 19 run (Gendreau kick) Tanner 66 run (Gendreau kick) Tanner 36 run (Gendreau kick) Tanner 92 kickoff return (Gendreau kick)
FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Fumble Returns-Yards Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
NT 20 36-143 221 39-25-0 75-364 0-0 2-14 7-155 2-87 6-36.3 4-3 8-60 33:14 6 of 18 2 of 6 1-2 0-0
MT 24 28-237 252 36-20-2 64-489 0-0 3-32 3-139 0-0 4-39.0 2-1 5-46 25:28 5 of 10 0 of 0 4-4 5-30
LAFAYETTE - A bowl was not to be for MTSU. The Blue Raiders lost 42-28 to Louisiana-Lafayette in the season finale, finishing one win shy of bowl eligibility and a possible postseason berth. “It adds to the disappointment. It adds to the hurt,” MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said. “I’m very disappointed because we lost the game, and we had a chance to get into a bowl game.” MTSU finished with a 5-7 record after its fifth consecutive loss in a regular-season finale. ULL improved to 6-6 and will seek its first bowl bid since 1970. The source of MTSU’s undoing was obvious to the 15,321 in attendance at Cajun Field. MTSU committed three turnovers during a span of about seven minutes in the fourth quarter. With MTSU trailing 35-28 and driving into ULL territory, running back Desmond Gee fumbled. The Cajuns recovered and scored four plays later on a gimmick play. Wideout Jason Chery took a direct snap from the shotgun formation, and quarterback Michael Desormeaux, lined up at receiver, took a reverse pitch and tossed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Louis Lee. It was the dagger in the Blue Raiders’ heart. On MTSU’s next drive, Craddock’s pass was thrown behind Phillip Tanner and deflected to ULL’s Daylon McCoy for the interception. MTSU tried to rally, driving to the ULL 7-yard line, but a bad shotgun snap turned it over for a third time. MTSU piled up 409 total yards of offense. ULL gained 395 yards. The Blue Raiders rallied three times to tie the score, but they never led. Tanner rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns, but 49 of his yards came on the opening drive. After he was bottled up, Craddock caught fire. The senior signal caller finished 22-of-28 passing for 242 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Freshman wideout Sancho McDonald had career highs of six receptions for 98 yards and a TD. Eldred King also had a TD catch. The Blue Raiders tried desperately to bottle up ULL’s two senior offensive stars. Such efforts were hit or miss. ULL running back Tyrell Fenroy, the Sun Belt’s all-time career rusher and scorer, had 83 rushing yards and two TDs. Desormeaux had 42 rushing yards and 243 passing yards and four TDs. The pair became just the second tailback-quarterback tandem in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards each in back-to-back seasons. The loss snapped MTSU’s three-game winning streak. The Cajuns snapped a three-game losing skid. Score by Quarters Middle Tennessee Louisiana 1st Quarter 10:45 ULL 8:41 MT 2:16 ULL 2nd Quarter 11:20 ULL 6:18 MT 3rd Quarter 8:39 MT 5:23 ULL 4th Quarter 14:53 MT 11:06 ULL 6:43 ULL
1 7 14
2 7 7
3 7 7
4 7 14
F 28 42
Aubrey 4 pass from Desormeaux (Edmiston kick) Tanner 2 run (Gendreau kick) Fenroy 4 run (Edmiston kick) Fenroy 3 run (Edmiston kick) Tanner 4 run (Gendreau kick) King 22 pass from Craddock (Gendreau kick) Green 5 pass from Desormeaux (Edmiston kick) McDonald 15 pass from Craddock (Gendreau kick) Chery 18 pass from Desormeaux (Edmiston kick) Lee 37 pass from Desormeaux (Edmiston kick)
FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Fumble Returns-Yards Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
MT 26 40-167 242 29-22-1 69-409 0-0 1-1 6-88 0-0 2-28.5 3-2 6-49 28:41 9 of 12 0 of 0 3-4 2-9
UL 23 43-152 243 25-18-0 68-395 0-0 1-10 2-42 1-0 3-37.0 0-0 5-44 31:19 5 of 10 1 of 1 5-5 0-0
RUSHING: North Texas-Montgomery,C. 12-77; Vizza,Giovanni 17-29; Henderson,K. 4-27; Shorter,John 1-6; Meager,Daniel 2-4. Middle Tennessee-Tanner, Phillip 14-159; McDaniel, Spike 4-29; Dasher, Dwight 4-26; Coleman, N. 2-14; Gee, Desmond 1-7; Craddock, Joe 2-6; Beyah, Malcolm 1-minus 4.
RUSHING: Middle Tennessee-Tanner, Phillip 23-78; Gee, Desmond 6-37; Dasher, Dwight 4-35; Craddock, Joe 6-31; TEAM 1-minus 14. Louisiana-Fenroy, Tyrell 24-83; Desormeaux, Mic 11-42; Chery, Jason 5-28; Dupre, Matt 1-0; TEAM 2-minus 1.
PASSING: North Texas-Vizza,Giovanni 25-39-0-221. Middle Tennessee-Craddock, Joe 19-31-1-251; Dasher, Dwight 1-5-1-1.
PASSING: Middle Tennessee-Craddock, Joe 22-28-1-242; Dasher, Dwight 0-1-0-0. Louisiana-Desormeaux, Mic 18-25-0-243.
RECEIVING: North Texas-Fitzgerald,C. 12-118; Stickler,B. 7-67; Dickerson,K. 2-13; Montgomery,C. 2-minus 2; Johnson,R. 1-21; Lott,Alex 1-4. Middle Tennessee-Honeycutt, P. 7-91; King, Eldred 4-68; Caldwell, Wes 4-62; McClover, Chris 2-19; Beyah, Malcolm 1-8; Tanner, Phillip 1-3; Dugger, Caleb 1-1.
RECEIVING: Middle Tennessee-McDonald, S. 6-98; King, Eldred 6-76; Gee, Desmond 4-27; Tanner, Phillip 2-11; McLeod, Byron 1-12; Caldwell, Wes 1-11; Honeycutt, P. 1-4; Beyah, Malcolm 1-3. Louisiana-Chery, Jason 6-68; Lee, Louis 3-62; Jones, Erik 3-41; Falgout, Richie 2-35; Fenroy, Tyrell 2-28; Green, Ladarius 1-5; Aubrey, Luke 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS: North Texas-Adams,Adryan 1-48; Robertson,C. 1-39. Middle Tennessee-None. FUMBLES: North Texas-Robertson,C. 1-1; Stickler,B. 1-1; Vizza,Giovanni 1-0; Montgomery,C. 1-1. Middle Tennessee-McDaniel, Spike 1-1; Dasher, Dwight 1-0. Total elapsed time: 2:59; Weather: Mostly Cloudy, W 4 MPH, 43 degrees
INTERCEPTIONS: Middle Tennessee-None. Louisiana-McCoy, Daylon 1-0. FUMBLES: Middle Tennessee-Honeycutt, P. 1-0; Gee, Desmond 1-1; TEAM 1-1. Louisiana-None Total elapsed time: 3:15; Weather: Partly Cloudy, SSE 10, 68 degrees
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