Middle Tennessee shared its plan to beat Georgia on Monday: “Play perfect.”
The Blue Raiders (1-1) are more than a four-touchdown underdog against No. 3-ranked Georgia in what’s known as a “buy” game at Sanford Stadium.
The Bulldogs (2-0) opened the season with a 45-0 win over FCS Austin Peay in the same sort of contest.
Middle Tennessee, with a .500 or better record in the FBS ranks each of the past six seasons, is thought to have more teeth in its attack.
Certainly, 13-year veteran coach Rick Stockstill is conceding nothing, even after losing 35-7 to Vanderbilt in his team’s season opener.
“When you play games like this, you’ve got to play perfect,” Stockstill said on Monday. “You’ve got to play your best to have a chance.”
The Blue Raiders coach grouped Georgia with other teams coming up on the Middle Tennessee schedule.
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“Georgia’s got good skill, Florida Atlantic is going to have good skill and Marshall is going to have good skill,” Stockstill said. “So we know we’ve got to tackle. We tackled pretty well against Vandy the first game.”
Stockstill’s son, Middle Tennessee quarterback Brent Stockstill, is on the same page as his father when it comes to the game plan.
“We have to play perfect, it’s really not an exaggeration,” Brent Stockstill said. “If you want to hang with a team like that, you have to play perfect.”
Brent Stockstill is the Blue Raiders all-time leading passer, and he knows what it takes for an upset of this magnitude.
“You have a great plan going in, have the ball bounce your way sometimes, have guys make plays,” he said, “and hopefully you’ve have a chance in the fourth to put one in the end zone and have a chance to win.
“Hopefully we’ll have a great week of practice and play perfect this weekend.”
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