Johnson: Loss gives Raiders something to build on

MURFREESBORO -- Even though the final outcome wasn't what MTSU had envisioned, it wasn't a total loss for the Blue Raiders.

MTSU fell 24-17 to Minnesota Thursday night but proved that it can compete with teams in major conferences.

I know Blue Raider coach Rick Stockstill is not about "moral" victories but he can take the performance of his team against this Big Ten opponent and build on it for the rest of the season.

Just when it looked as if the Golden Gophers were going to run away with the game in the first quarter, the Blue Raiders fought back to even the score at halftime, then take a 17-14 lead early in the second half.

"I thought we fought our guts out," Stockstill said. "I told (our players) to look them in the eye and not flinch, and we didn't flinch. To me, the differences in the game were that we couldn't consistently tackle them, we couldn't convert third downs in the first half and then we had two turnovers and they didn't have any."

MTSU only converted 1-of-8 third down conversions and that proved to be a double whammy.

Not only did it prevent the Blue Raiders from continuing offensive possessions, it gave the ball back to Minnesota's huge and powerful offense.

The Golden Gophers dominated time of possession 45:34 to 14:26 and racked up 27 first downs compared to MTSU's dozen.

On the other hand, Minnesota cashed in on 8-of-16 third down conversions and were 2-of-2 on fourth down conversions.

MTSU played without star quarterback Dwight Dasher, who is suspended indefinitely for accepting a $1,500 loan in violation of NCAA rules.

Sophomore junior college transfer Logan Kilgore proved to be a worthily backup after turning in a fine performance in his first Division I start.

Kilgore completed 13-of 18 passes for 172 yards with one interception that really wasn't his fault.

One can only wonder if Dasher's running ability would have made a difference on third down conversions.