CFB Week 10 Wednesday
- Kyle Kirms
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
JACKSONVILLE STATE @ MIDDLE TENNESSEE - 7:30 PM
Jacksonville State almost loses outright to Sam Houston State... then bounces back and dominates Delaware in what was a statement game. It hasn't looked pretty... but somehow Jacksonville State is sitting at 3-0 in conference.
Middle Tennessee is coming off 3 straight conference losses. They actually aren't played terribly though. All 3 were one score games and Middle Tennessee outgained their opponents in all 3.
So I it's safe to say the Jacksonville State offense looks better since making the QB change to Caden Creel... but they still can't really throw the ball. Creel injured is elbow late in the Delaware game and is "trending towards playing".
The reason I mention that... Middle Tennessee's defense isn't good. But they do have respectable numbers against the run.
This Middle Tennessee State defense truly did play well last week against Delaware.
You could say that Middle Tennessee hasn't seen a run game like Jacksonville State yet. Not that they haven't played anyway... they just haven't seen a physical run game like this. So I doubt they'll be able to take that away.
On the other side of the ball, we know Middle Tennessee is gonna throw the ball cuz that's what they do.
Jacksonville State really hasn't looked strong defensively. They're 3-0 in conference... it's certainly not cuz the defense is making a ton of stops. They're winning the turnover battle 5-1 in these games.
And Middle Tennessee's offense isn't nearly as bad as they're perceived. Vattiato can throw the ball... they've moved the chains and sustained drives in these conference games.
This Middle Tennessee team is playing well. It you take a look at these games... there's no blowouts on here. They were up 28-20 in the 4th quarter against Marshall.
I think the move is to go Middle Tennessee here. Obviously, they're 1-6 so there's always a concern about quitting on the coach. Pretty sure Mason is gonna be gone after this year. But they fought to the very last play against Delaware last week.
FIU @ MISSOURI STATE - 8 PM
FIU has given us quite the roller coaster ride.
FIU's offense has been pretty inconsistent but there has been an unexpected bright spot. I wasn't expecting much of a run game out of FIU this year but Kejon Owens is going nuts. He's one of the nation's leading rushers and he's had back to back monster games on the ground.
This team's season isn't over at all. They need to take 3 of their last 5 to play in a bowl game and they don't have the toughest schedule.
This is actually one of their tougher remaining games. Missouri State's won two in a row... both on the road... and they've got their QB, Jacob Clark, back.
FIU should be able to move the ball on this Missouri State defense. QB Keyone Jenkins is listed as questionable. Both TEs Braiden Staten and Dallas Payne listed as questionable. RT Daniel Michel listed as questionable.
They played some good defense in their last 2 games but they really struggled to make stops against Western Kentucky. They've played 3 consecutive games against pass-first offenses.
FIU is the most balanced offense they've seen in a while. Based on how Owens is running the ball, they might have to commit to stopping the run (FIU has been dominating time of possession this year)... which should open up opportunities for Jenkins to make throws.
On the other side of the ball, we know Missouri State is gonna throw the ball. This is a pass-first offense all the way and now they've got their QB on the field.
It wasn't an amazing game but he did throw for 268 yards and 3 TDs.
As far as FIU's defense... I have no idea. In 4 games, they played great defense against the pass... against teams that throw the ball, too.
But their other two FBS games, they got completely smoked.
I will say... this defense is pretty battle tested. They've seen a lot of good offenses. In fact, Jacob Clark and the Missouri State passing attack is a step down in competition compared to the offenses they've seen.
