? Is it better to be relevant than good?
MTSU football hopes to end its season tonight as both.
The Blue Raiders play Troy at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 in tonight's only major college football game in the country. It marks the second straight year MTSU has finished its season on national TV (Motor City Bowl last season).
"A lot of people don't know about the Sun Belt Conference and don't know about Middle Tennessee," MTSU senior cornerback Bradley Robinson said. "For some of us, this is our last chance to show the nation what we can do. I like ending it with that kind of opportunity."
And though MTSU's postseason chances and Sun Belt title hopes are distant long shots, its final on-field meeting carries plenty of meaning.
Troy beat MTSU 21-20 in last year's regular-season finale with an improbable late rally, taking an outright Sun Belt title and New Orleans Bowl bid away from the Blue Raiders.
Payback tonight would not only ease some of MTSU's frustrations after last week's loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, it would also put the Blue Raiders' record at 6-6 for back-to-back non-losing seasons under coach Rick Stockstill.
"We have a ton to play for at Troy," Stockstill said. "It is a nationally-televised game and these seniors can go out having won 11 of their last 14 conference games if we are fortunate enough to win. That would be a great feat for them."
Troy scored two touchdowns in the final 2:19 last season to erase a 20-7 deficit to MTSU, pulling out the win amid a stunned Floyd Stadium crowd.
Although the 2006 meeting was among the few classic battles between the two schools, the Troy-MTSU rivalry has been heated over the years.
With 14 previous meetings, MTSU (5-6, 4-2 in Sun Belt) has played Troy more than it has any other current Sun Belt school. The Blue Raiders won the first eight games in the series, which began in 1936, but the teams have split the last six meetings.
Troy has won two of three games over MTSU since joining the Sun Belt in 2004. The Trojans' 2004 win cost current MTSU seniors a winning record in their first collegiate season, and last year's outcome blocked the Blue Raiders from their first outright Sun Belt championship.
"I had always heard that this was a rivalry, but I think the way we beat (MTSU) last year only turned up the heat on the whole thing," Troy linebacker Boris Lee said. "We helped take their New Orleans Bowl hopes away, and they'll want to do the same thing to us."
Troy (7-3 overall) is 5-0 in Sun Belt play and eyeing its third bowl bid since joining the league in 2004. The Trojans can clinch at least a share of a second straight Sun Belt title with a win tonight. But there is more on the line than conference standings and the Palladium trophy, which goes to the winner of the teams' annual meeting.
"When you're playing your friends, you want bragging rights, and a lot of us know them," said MTSU offensive tackle Franklin Dunbar, a childhood friend and former high school teammate of Troy cornerback Leodis McKelvin. "He's had bragging rights for the last year, but I had it for the year before that. I guess we're looking to break the tie (tonight)."
Regardless of tonight's outcome, the game's viewership (at least from a TV perspective) will be at an all-time high. Troy coach Larry Blakeney said the game's relevance follows suit.
"This has turned into a spirited rivalry, and none of the luster has been lost," Blakeney said. "Middle is closer to us than anyone else in the league. We cross each other in recruiting, and our kids know their kids. It's a big game for both schools, and there will be plenty of luster on it.
"I don't know how the league (race) is going to pan out, but I feel like we have to win this game. At the very least, I don't want to go into our last game (against Florida Atlantic) having just lost on our home field to our No. 1 rival on national TV."
That alone is enough incentive for MTSU.
MTSU football hopes to end its season tonight as both.
The Blue Raiders play Troy at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 in tonight's only major college football game in the country. It marks the second straight year MTSU has finished its season on national TV (Motor City Bowl last season).
"A lot of people don't know about the Sun Belt Conference and don't know about Middle Tennessee," MTSU senior cornerback Bradley Robinson said. "For some of us, this is our last chance to show the nation what we can do. I like ending it with that kind of opportunity."
And though MTSU's postseason chances and Sun Belt title hopes are distant long shots, its final on-field meeting carries plenty of meaning.
Troy beat MTSU 21-20 in last year's regular-season finale with an improbable late rally, taking an outright Sun Belt title and New Orleans Bowl bid away from the Blue Raiders.
Payback tonight would not only ease some of MTSU's frustrations after last week's loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, it would also put the Blue Raiders' record at 6-6 for back-to-back non-losing seasons under coach Rick Stockstill.
"We have a ton to play for at Troy," Stockstill said. "It is a nationally-televised game and these seniors can go out having won 11 of their last 14 conference games if we are fortunate enough to win. That would be a great feat for them."
Troy scored two touchdowns in the final 2:19 last season to erase a 20-7 deficit to MTSU, pulling out the win amid a stunned Floyd Stadium crowd.
Although the 2006 meeting was among the few classic battles between the two schools, the Troy-MTSU rivalry has been heated over the years.
With 14 previous meetings, MTSU (5-6, 4-2 in Sun Belt) has played Troy more than it has any other current Sun Belt school. The Blue Raiders won the first eight games in the series, which began in 1936, but the teams have split the last six meetings.
Troy has won two of three games over MTSU since joining the Sun Belt in 2004. The Trojans' 2004 win cost current MTSU seniors a winning record in their first collegiate season, and last year's outcome blocked the Blue Raiders from their first outright Sun Belt championship.
"I had always heard that this was a rivalry, but I think the way we beat (MTSU) last year only turned up the heat on the whole thing," Troy linebacker Boris Lee said. "We helped take their New Orleans Bowl hopes away, and they'll want to do the same thing to us."
Troy (7-3 overall) is 5-0 in Sun Belt play and eyeing its third bowl bid since joining the league in 2004. The Trojans can clinch at least a share of a second straight Sun Belt title with a win tonight. But there is more on the line than conference standings and the Palladium trophy, which goes to the winner of the teams' annual meeting.
"When you're playing your friends, you want bragging rights, and a lot of us know them," said MTSU offensive tackle Franklin Dunbar, a childhood friend and former high school teammate of Troy cornerback Leodis McKelvin. "He's had bragging rights for the last year, but I had it for the year before that. I guess we're looking to break the tie (tonight)."
Regardless of tonight's outcome, the game's viewership (at least from a TV perspective) will be at an all-time high. Troy coach Larry Blakeney said the game's relevance follows suit.
"This has turned into a spirited rivalry, and none of the luster has been lost," Blakeney said. "Middle is closer to us than anyone else in the league. We cross each other in recruiting, and our kids know their kids. It's a big game for both schools, and there will be plenty of luster on it.
"I don't know how the league (race) is going to pan out, but I feel like we have to win this game. At the very least, I don't want to go into our last game (against Florida Atlantic) having just lost on our home field to our No. 1 rival on national TV."
That alone is enough incentive for MTSU.
