Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders meet BYU Cougars on Friday for college football. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. MDT). Listen to the live radio broadcast HERE.
BYU (1-2) looks to move to .500 on the season with a win on Friday. Friday should be an easy win for BYU, who are a 23-point favorite, according to ESPN. Still, the team isn't underestimating their opponent, who is 3-1.
"They appear to be a smaller school on paper but they have really good team speed," BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae said, via the Herald Extra. "They are very capable. On defense, they do a variety of things so our guys have had to prepare for a bunch of different looks. They aren't as big but they look just as fast, so we expect a fast opponent and that's what we're preparing for."
One improvement BYU needs is better blocking. Anae said the offensive line lost the battle in the trenches in last week's 20-13 loss to Utah. BYU offensive line coach Garett Tujague agreed.
"My personal take is that any time you lose a football game, it's in the trenches," Tujague said. "They don't have out the nice glass trophies at seven-on-seven tournaments. Games are won and lost - period - in the trenches. It's a fact of life."
Tennessee, meanwhile, have played well thus far. The team opened the season with a 20-40 loss to North Carolina, but bounced back with a 17-15 win over Memphis and a 42-35 win over Florida Atlantic.
The over/under is 57.5 points.
