CFB Week 9 Wednesday
- Kyle Kirms
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
MIDDLE TENNESSEE @ DELAWARE - 7:30 PM
We all know what happened last week. I was big on Delaware... lost 2 units here. Up to that point, Delaware was 11th in the country in least turnovers, led the conference in least penalties and led the conference in least 3 and outs. That game started and for pretty much the entire 1st half, we saw the exact opposite.
So was that a temporary thing? Or will Delaware get back on track here against an opponent that shouldn't be a problem for them? Well right off the bat, we know we're looking at the right type of matchup for points.
Good news for Delaware is this should be a good spot for them to bounce back on the offensive side of the ball. They're back at home... against a Middle Tennessee defense that can't seem to cover anybody. MTSU also has a couple injury concerns in the secondary. I believe they're still gonna be missing S Juwon Gaston. He didn't play in their last game. They've also been missing CB Trevon Ferrell since Week 1. Now they've got another CB Jackson Lowe on the injury report listed as questionable. That's a new one. So the secondary is banged up on top of being a bad pass defense.
This should be a good matchup for Delaware's offense to get back on track. On the other side of the ball, I don't necessarily think the Delaware defense is good... but I will say, the defense didn't lose them that game last week. Jacksonville State scored 38 points but it's not cuz the offense was consistently moving the ball.
But Jacksonville State is a run-first offense all the way. That was a decent matchup for Delaware's defense. We've seen this defense struggle against the pass at times this year... and that's all Middle Tennessee does.
Remember, Middle Tennessee may be a terrible football team... but one thing they do have is an experienced QB. Nicholas Vattiato is a 6th year senior and a 4 year starter. He got off to a slow start... but he's coming off his best game of the season by far.
Look at the 4 games before Jacksonville State... this defense just can't get off the field. Vattiato might be able to move the ball in this one.
Neither team has a strong pass rush... we should see a fast paced game with a lotta throwing. I'm on a good number in this one. I'm on OVER 52.5.
MISSOURI STATE @ NEW MEXICO STATE - 9 PM
Another game where we should see a lot of throwing.
But we still don't know if Jacob Clark is going to return for Missouri State. He missed last game against Middle Tennessee and they lost outright. HC Ryan Beard says Jacob Clark is "Day to Day". It's looking like this Missouri State offense is not the same without Clark.
And they're gonna need Clark in this one... because Deuce Bailey is more of a scrambler. Missouri State's offense is not the same pass-first offense with Deuce Bailey at QB. The reason that's significant... the strength of this New Mexico State team so far this year has been the defensive front. They've actually done an excellent job against the run. NMSU MIGHT be getting their main ILB Tyler Martinez back also. That's one of the best players on the team and he's been out the last couple games. CB Dakerric Hobbs is out for the season (Week 4).
I don't think New Mexico State's defense is particularly good... but I think it's safe to say it's a step above Middle Tennessee's and the offensive production we saw with Deuce Bailey at QB wasn't great. Now maybe the bye week is what they needed. But I'd be concerned backing this offense if Jacob Clark isn't back.
On the other side of the ball, I'm coming around on this New Mexico State offense. Since getting TK King back, Logan Fife has shown me he can put points up. They can't run the ball at all... but they do have a passing attack.
Missouri State hasn't shown us much of a pass rush. Logan Fife should have clean pockets to work from. Missouri State has also been susceptible to explosive plays. Fife has shown us he's comfortable throwing the ball downfield.
We've seen this Missouri State defense struggle against the pass in back to back games... and they've gotten thrown on every single time they saw a team that throws the ball.
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