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Blue Raiders just looking to play game'mistake free'

Don't ask anyone on the Arizona football team where Middle Tennessee State University is located.

"In the middle somewhere," was all UA junior right guard Marques McFadden said.

The No. 19-ranked Wildcats (1-1) don't have to worry about finding MTSU, which is located in Murfreesboro, Tenn., some 20 miles from Nashville, because the Blue Raiders (0-1) are coming to Tucson this weekend as Arizona opens its home schedule.

MTSU's appearance on the schedule is the final legacy of the Wildcats' old policy of having one "guaranteed win" game against a team of lesser caliber. Past games in this vein included Northeast Louisiana last year (a 45-7 blowout by UA) and Alabama-Birmingham in 1997 (a rain-soaked 24-10 win by UA).

While Arizona is no longer scheduling teams like the Blue Raiders (instead focusing on regional rivalries and more games with the Big Ten), the Wildcats still have to face MTSU this weekend.

This is the Blue Raiders' first year as a Division I-A team, and they have already taken their lumps, losing to Mississippi State 40-7 last Saturday.

"It didn't work out too good the first week," MTSU head coach Andy McCollum said of the transition. "We're a growing program, going from I-AA that was an average team last year (5-5)."

UA head coach Dick Tomey compared the Blue Raiders to his Hawaii teams.

"They have a no-huddle offense, and they've got guys spread everywhere, which is going to be good for us because we've played teams who were more running teams," he said. "Now they're going to spread out and this is going to help us because there are some teams in our league that play that way."

MTSU's spread-out offense sputtered against the Bulldogs though scoring only once with no time left.

"Our kids came out, played hard and we hung in there," McCollum said. "Physically we didn't match up. Mississippi State rolled out three defensive lines at us."

Leading the way for the Blue Raiders offensively is sophomore quarterback Wes Counts, who threw for 183 yards and the lone touchdown against Mississippi State.

"He's a competitor," McCollum said. "He took some shots against a really good Mississippi State defense. His job is to get the ball to the playmakers."

Counts said Arizona's defense is going to present a formidable challenge.

"I don't know how to get past them," he said. "They're so fast, they really get up on the ball so fast. We're going to have to find a way to run the ball."

Running the ball has been a problem as the Blue Raiders managed only 34 yards against Mississippi State.

McCollum said his only goal is to improve from last week, something that might not show against Arizona, a team he called "one of the best in the country."

"We can't turn the ball over and we can't make mistakes," he said. "For us to just be in the game we've got to be as good as Middle Tennessee can possibly be just to have a chance."

As for the future of the UA-MTSU rivalry, don't expect there to be much of one.

"I didn't schedule them," McCollum said, noting how this is only his first season as the Blue Raiders' head coach. "I'm not real smart but I'm smart enough to know that."