DAVID HUNTER, Post Contributor
Posted: Thursday, September 9, 2010 12:00 am

MTSU faces a familiar opponent Saturday at Floyd Stadium as the Blue Raiders try to win its first game of the 2010 season.

Austin Peay makes its first trip to Murfreesboro since President Bill Clinton was in office. The Blue Raiders won that 1997 meeting 59-10. Times have changed for MTSU since that game 13 years ago.

Since then, MTSU advanced to Division I and moved from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Sun Belt Conference. While, the Governors have stayed put.

Back then, the current players were probably in elementary school and the long history of the series including 11 straight wins by MTSU was not discussed in preparation of this Saturday’s matchup.

“The coaches missed that in the scouting report,” MTSU senior running back Phillip Tanner said. “We just take it as another game on the schedule.”

The Blue Raiders are looking to bounce back from a 24-17 loss to Minnesota last Thursday. In that game, Minnesota controlled the time of possession by holding the ball for 45 minutes. This week, it plays another offensive line that has several players weighing in at more than 300 pounds, but they’re still not as big as the Golden Gophers.

“Austin Peay has a big offensive line, but the disparity is not like it was against Minnesota,” MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill said. “We should match-up better against Austin Peay. We will be smaller than most teams we play. Once we get into conference, we should be more even. In the Minnesota game, the size disparity was so glaring.”

While the Blue Raider offense broke in a new starting quarterback, sophomore Logan Kilgore last week. He finished his first start by completing 13 of 18 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown, but he also threw an interception. Stockstill said he wants Kilgore to work on making better decisions.

“We want him to improve on his decision-making process,” Stockstill said. “That is not to say he made poor decisions, but there were a few mental mistakes that were the result of trying to do too much. I thought he threw the ball well. For the most part he made some good decisions, but we can always improve and get better. He stayed poised and did not panic.”

Even with the loss, the Blue Raiders are still focused on the overall goals for this season and they have not changed.

“Expectations are still the same,” Tanner said. “We want to win an outright conference title and go to the New Orleans Bowl. I told coach I felt better this year after the first game and I did last year after the first game. We took out things we need to work on and things we need to improve upon. Minnesota is over with now; we are focused on Austin Peay.”

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday at Floyd Stadium.