Beat Writer Q&A Preview: Middle Tennessee -- Joe Spears

For each week of Western Kentucky's 2020 football season, Tyler Mansfield of InsideHilltopperSports.com will connect with a beat writer who covers the opposing team for a Q&A session.

For Game 3, Tyler chats with Joe Spears, who covers Middle Tennessee for the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Hilltoppers (0-2) are coming off a bye week and seeking their first win of the season after losing to Louisville in Week 1 and Liberty in Week 2. The Blue Raiders are also winless with an 0-3 record.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro. ESPN3 is carrying the broadcast.

Mansfield: Middle Tennessee is off to an 0-3 start and hasn't been able to put together a complete-game performance yet. From your perspective, what has been going wrong for the Blue Raiders through three weeks and what does the team need to do to turn things around?

Spears: MTSU is off to its worst start since 2011 and that team finished the year 2-8. I'm not sure if this team is that bad, but it's hard to predict when and if this team will get a win this year. They were totally outclassed by Army and Troy and while they were statistically better than UTSA, they had way too many self-imposed errors resulting in another loss. The defense hasn't been great but they're forcing turnovers and getting pressure on quarterbacks at a higher rate than they were last week. The biggest issue this year is the offense. Until last week, the run game was non-existent and the quarterback play by Asher O'Hara and Chase Cunningham has been dreadful. Drives usually go three plays and a cloud of dust bringing an already gassed defense back out. While they looked much better against UTSA, there's still a ton of work left to do on that side of the ball. The quarterbacks need to be more consistent. The run game also needs to get going and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin needs to have more trust in his backs. They haven't been getting many touches and because of this, the passing game has struggled. Until last week, there was no balance with this offense.

Mansfield: It's no secret that Asher O'Hara is the key for MTSU. It seems like when he's at his best, then so is the whole team. What have you seen out of O'Hara through these first three games and how can you assess the way he's played during the 0-3 stretch?

Spears: Asher will be the first to tell you that he's struggling this year. Prior to last week he had completed 67% of his passes for 155 yards, touchdowns and three interceptions while also rushing for 63 yards and a single touchdown. After that rough start, O'Hara had a better night against UTSA rushing for 61 yards and completing 31 of 47 for 372 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw two pretty awful interceptions in that game that played a factor in the final result. At times it just looks like O'Hara doesn't look comfortable and will hesitate on his throws with those passes either ending up incomplete or intercepted. O'Hara's strength is his legs and until last Friday, teams had neutralized that side of him. If MTSU can get the run game going with its backs, that'll open up O'Hara to run more and find better passing lanes. Until then, MTSU's offense will remain one-dimensional and that's an issue.

Mansfield: WKU and MTSU have had a great rivalry going on for years. With this being a season in which both teams come in seeking their first wins, how important do you think it is for the Blue Raiders to come out on top in this meeting?

Spears: A lot of people are down on MTSU and for good reason. Outside of UTSA, the first two games were hard to watch. A win here against a good Western team on homecoming would help with getting people back on board. MTSU needs a win of any sort right now and to get one against its biggest rival would be huge for moral and momentum. However, another loss and the grumbles about the future of this program for the season and the foreseeable future will only continue to grow louder.

Mansfield: How do you see Saturday's game playing out? Feel free to leave a score prediction, too.

Spears: I don't see MTSU losing like they did against Army or Troy, but it's hard to see the Blue Raiders coming out of this game with a win. Western is hungry for a win after losses to Louisville and a close one to Liberty. I personally think that the Hilltoppers defense is better than it's shown this year and for an MTSU offense that's struggled and been inconsistent this season, that doesn't bode well. MTSU's defense is better than the numbers show but if the Blue Raiders struggle again and the defense is forced to be on the field for most of the day, it could be another long day.

I'll take Western Kentucky picking up the 28-17 win over MTSU.