LITTLE ROCK — The losses keep piling up for Middle Tennessee, but so have the victories.
Middle Tennessee (8-3, 6-1 Sun Belt), picked to finish eighth in the conference during the preseason, heads to Jonesboro to face Arkansas State (8-3, 6-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Bank Stadium with a fourgame winning streak and a shot at the outright league title.
That in itself is quite a feat, considering the Blue Raiders have lost eight starters this season, with wide receiver, running back and defensive back taking the hardest hits.
“The injury bug has hit us pretty good the last half of the season,” Middle Tennessee Coach Rick Stockstill said. “We can’t make an excuse. We’ve got to keep plugging along and competing.”
The latest to go down was linebacker Craig Allen, Middle Tennessee’s leading tackler who sustained a herniated disc in his neck last Saturday during a 24-21 victory against Troy. Allen was injured while trying to tackle running back Shawn Southward with six minutes left in the game, and he remained on the ground, unable to move his limbs, as paramedics worked on him for 16 minutes before transporting him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Allen underwent surgery earlier this week and remains in stable condition.
Middle Tennessee also lost leading receiver Anthony Amos (68 receptions, 960 yards and 9 touchdowns) to a concussion in the game, along with reserve running back Jeremiah Bryson (turf toe).
They join an ever-expanding injury report that includes starting running back Benny Cunningham (knee), starting wide receiver Reggie Whatley (rib), starting wide receiver Tavarres Jefferson, starting cornerback Kenneth Gilstrap (broken leg) and cornerback Jared Singletary (back injury).
It’s been a season of resilience for the Blue Raiders, who overcame an embarrassing 27-21 opening-week loss to Football Championship Subdivision-member McNeese State to knock off Georgia Tech — which plays Florida State for the ACC title Saturday — 49-28 a month later on the road.
“To be sitting here with five or six days left in the season, and to be in [a tie for] first place, that speaks volumes,” Stockstill said Monday. “I can’t say enough about the toughness of this football team. We’re not letting an injury or two, or eight or nine, keep us from competing.”
Not surprisingly, Middle Tennessee doesn’t earn many style points. Its offense ranks among the middle of the pack in the conference at 410 yards per game (No. 5), and its average of 29.0 points per game also ranks fifth. Its defense has given up plenty of yards (434.4) and ranks ninth in the Sun Belt, but it is second in points allowed at 26.5 per game.
The difference has been turnover margin. Middle Tennessee leads the Sun Belt with a plus-12 turnover margin, forcing five alone against Troy on Saturday.
“They just keep finding ways to win,” ASU Coach Gus Malzahn said. “They get turnovers and don’t turn the ball over. They’re very opportunistic if they’re around the ball, and they don’t give up big plays.”
Middle Tennessee’s offense is led by junior quarterback Logan Kilgore, who is completing 63.8 percent of his passes and averages 223.4 yards per game. Recently, it’s also leaned more on freshman running back Jordan Parker, who has 778 yards and 3 touchdowns on 148 carries.
“Logan has done a great job adapting,” Stockstill said. “He’s protected the football and run this offense the best he can. It’s a bunch of smoke and mirrors right now.”
Malzahn offered a similar assessment.
“He can create plays when things break down, and he doesn’t take sacks,” Malzahn said. “The key is slowing that quarterback. He’s playing very well right now.”
Injuries in the secondary have forced Middle Tennessee’s defense into a more vanilla game plan, with the Blue Raiders rushing only three down linemen while dropping eight men into zone coverage. It gives up yards, Stockstill said, but it avoids 1-on-1 breakdowns that can lead to big plays.
“The only thing we can do is keep the ball in front of us and survive one more play on each possession,” Stockstill said of facing ASU, which is averaging 35.6 points a game. “I don’t want to say it’s bend don’t break, but we’re just trying to hang in there.”
Sports, Pages 21 on 11/30/2012