OTHER PICKS
Texas A&M 52, Northwestern State 13Ohio State 45, Oregon State 10Oklahoma 34, Florida Atlantic 19South Carolina 42, Coastal Carolina 7Ole Miss 34, Texas Tech 31Clemson 58, Furman 3Kentucky 30, Central Michigan 21Missouri 48, UT-Martin 16Arkansas 33, Eastern Illinois 14Florida 49, Charleston Southern 16Miami 31, LSU 24Florida State 24, Virginia Tech 21Mississippi State 41, Stephen F. Austin 18Memphis 45, Mercer 20Wisconsin 38, Western Kentucky 7Penn State 33, Appalachian State 16Colorado 35, Colorado State 20
The on-again, off-again football rivalry between Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State University will be on Saturday night at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Then it will be turned off indefinitely, with no matchups having been set for the foreseeable future.
“I think it’s a great game for middle Tennessee, and I think it’s a game that showcases the talents of middle Tennessee kids,” Commodores fifth-year coach Derek Mason said Wednesday, referring to the state’s region and not just the school.
“Our roster, in my tenure, has gone up as far as having middle Tennessee kids, and Coach (Rick) Stockstill has done a good job of finding talent in middle Tennessee as well. I think it’s a great game that both fan bases want to see and would like to see in the future.”
Vanderbilt has defeated MTSU each of the past three seasons, winning convincingly 47-24 two years ago in Nashville and 28-6 last season in Murfreesboro. This is MTSU’s 20th season in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and there is little doubt victories over Vanderbilt in 2001, 2002 and 2005 helped ignite a lot of the success the Blue Raiders have enjoyed.
The Commodores hold a healthy 15-3 series lead, but future Vanderbilt schedules include home-and-home series with Stanford, Colorado State, Purdue, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Hawaii, UNLV, East Tennessee State University and – this one’s a bit bizarre – Georgia State.
ETSU is scheduled to visit Vanderbilt in 2019 and 2021, but there is no MTSU as of now after Saturday night.
“We get a chance to play it one more time, and I am excited about it,” Mason said. “It should be a great game, and you get the chance to see two really good quarterbacks who I think have the potential to go on and play at the next level. I think the state of Tennessee wins on a game like this.”
Kyle Shurmur set Vandy’s single-season mark for touchdown passes last season with 26, while Brent Stockstill (the coach’s son) holds every major MTSU aerial standard, having thrown for 8,951 yards and 77 touchdowns in his career.
Pasquali’s Pix (Volume XXIII)
Tennessee Tech at UTC: Well now, didn’t the Mocs competing inside Finley Stadium suddenly get awkward? Mocs 31, Golden Eagles 16.
Alcorn State at Georgia Tech: This is a rematch of the 2015 thriller that Tech won 69-6 while having nine rushers average at least 6 yards per carry. Yellow Jackets 59, Braves 3.
Austin Peay at Georgia: The Bulldogs are playing four Volunteer State opponents (Austin Peay, MTSU, Tennessee and Vanderbilt) in the same season for the first time. Bulldogs 55, Governors 6.
Auburn vs. Washington: This matchup has two stout defenses and two proven quarterbacks, with Jarrett Stidham back for his second season with the Tigers and Jake Browning his 26th with the Huskies. Huskies 24, Tigers 17.
Tennessee vs. West Virginia: Jeremy Pruitt has the better clue of what to do with fading hair, but Dana Holgorsen has the better quarterback. Mountaineers 34, Volunteers 20.
Michigan at Notre Dame: Shea Patterson should give Jim Harbaugh much more of an offensive spark this season, but it will not be enough this game. Fighting Irish 27, Wolverines 24.
MTSU at Vanderbilt: Who could have imagined Kentucky (Mark Stoops) and Vandy (Mason) ever ranking 1-2 in SEC East coaching deans? Commodores 33, Blue Raiders 28.
Louisville vs. Alabama: First-year Cardinals defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder takes on the Crimson Tide for the first time since a 49-0 nail-biting defeat at the 2012 Iron Bowl. Crimson Tide 48, Cardinals 13.
Last year:
Winners – 267
Leadership reps – 66
Pasquali had an 80.2-percent success clip last season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 424-757-6524.