Heading to Murfreesboro!

The Troy radio crew will be heading to Murfreesboro Monday evening for the big Troy-Middle Tennessee State football contest on Tuesday night. The way it normally works is that Jerry Miller, the Road Warrior, is behind the wheel until he just gives out, I usually handle the navigational aspects of the voyage (although Jerry and I have been to Middle Tennessee State so many times for football, basketball, and baseball that I don't have much navigation to do), Chris Blackshear is our social and dinner planner for the evening (and he hit a grand slam on the UAB trip), and Ryan Hayden is the newbie.

The radio play-by-play guy at MTSU is Chip Walters, one of the truly great guys in our league, and he had me on for a segment last week on the coach's show live from a restaurant in Murfreesboro. He actually cued the crowd to give me some applause, and I joked that it'll probably be the last applause anyone from Troy will get from the Blue Raiders. I, like many people around our league, have been looking forward to this game for a long time, and cannot wait for it to get here!

Troy is on an 11-game conference winning streak, and that has put the bullseye squarely on Troy's back. It's been that way for a while, but MTSU really has geared up to give the Trojans their best, and I think Troy will have to play well to earn the good fortune to come away with a win. Watch the turnover battle: Troy's defense --while struggling somewhat-- has been good at forcing turnovers, and the Raiders have given it up a LOT this year.

ESPN2 will televise it Tuesday evening, and we'll have the radio broadcast beginning at 5PM CT from Floyd Stadium. You can hear it on the Troy ISP Sports Network over the air, or online as well right here.

I'll be bringing along the camera, although I'm no Kevin Glackmeyer (who does a great job as Troy University's official photographer when he's not doubling as The Most Interesting Man in the World), so I hope to blog one more time prior to kickoff with some candid shots of the Trojan Nation. Let's hope the Trojans can bring back the Palladium Trophy for the fifth straight year!

One final note away from football: I participated in the Montgomery Half-Marathon on Saturday and sported my Trojan gear. It was GREAT to hear several "Go Trojans" as I ran! The Trojan Nation is strong!!! I'll be running this Saturday morning at the "Fight Like a Girl 5k" in downtown Troy to benefit breast cancer research. For more information on supporting the event and the cause, check out this link on the web.