Q&A with GoMiddle.com

1. Defensively, Middle Tennessee's numbers look good against the pass but atrocious against the run. Is this because people are running and not passing or has the secondary been good?

The numbers are most definitely skewed here. MT has yet to truly to be tested in the secondary. Alabama A&M couldn't do much of anything on offense, Vanderbilt tried early but opted to abandon the passing attack in favor of the run, and Bowling Green was very limited to what they could do given the conditions that both teams were playing in. I will say that the secondary has played well in the limited opportunities that they've had to showcase anything so far this year. While they don't have Kevin Byard in center field anymore, they are much deeper and solidified than they have been in previous years. This game will tell Blue Raider fans a lot about the progression of this unit.

2. Injuries on the offensive side of the ball were the story of Fall Camp. Who exactly was lost for the season and what has it meant to the team for each? Have any others gone down since?

Yeah the injury bug hit - and it hit hard. In Fall Camp alone, MT lost senior WR's Terry Pettis and Shane Tucker for the year in the early goings. Tucker has a slight chance of coming back by season's end, but he does have a redshirt available so the consensus is that they will use that so he can come back for a full season. After those two went down, it kind of started this domino effect. Redshirt freshman WR Joc Bruce (a transfer from Tennessee) went down shortly after for the season, and then senior WR Demetrius Frazier went down for the year in the season opener following a touchdown catch. Against Bowling Green, senior WR Dennis Andrews (a Georgia Tech transfer) went down, but he was able to come back later and finish the contest. His status will be questionable heading into this game, but I do think he'll play.

Defensively, MT lost senior DE Chris Hale in the season opener as well. He'll be back in a couple of weeks, but will not play against Tech. Also, senior DE Steven Rhodes had to have his knee drained following the Bowling Green game, but he is expected to play Saturday. All in all, it's been a brutal stretch for MT on the injury front - especially at the WR position.