Minnesota vs Middle Tennessee State Preview

Want to get a read on the first game of the 2010 season for Minnesota and Middle Tennessee? You need to know that the best player on either team will not be able to suit up.

Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher, tabbed as the preseason offensive player of the year in the Sun Belt Conference, recently became the centerpiece of an "ongoing inquiry" by university officials and a major part of a campus police investigation, according to an incident report on file with campus police in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Reporter Adam Sparks of the (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) Daily News Journal documented the story. He noted that in the report, Dasher is accused of not repaying a loan and stealing checks from a teammate, Middle Tennessee offensive lineman Colin Boss, to use as collateral for the loan. No charges were immediately filed against Dasher by any individual or law enforcement entity.

MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill said in the wake of the incident that Dasher is still part of the team, but the word came down last week that Dasher will not be able to play in this game, and very possibly a large portion (maybe all) of the 2010 season. One can’t overstate the extent of this loss for the Blue Raiders.

In 2009 – as a junior – Dasher became one of four players in Football Bowl Subdivision history to pass for at least 2,500 yards and rush for at least 1,000 yards in one season. As a senior, Dasher was expected to deliver the goods once again and make the Blue Raiders even more formidable. The smart money in the Sun Belt – pardon the expression – flowed to MTSU because Troy, winner of three of the last four conference titles, lost stud quarterback Levi Brown to graduation in the offseason. Middle Tennessee had the best signal caller in the Belt, and the Blue Raiders, coming off a 10-3 season, stood to benefit.

To go into the Dasher situation a bit more, Mr. Sparks of the Daily News Journal also reported that Dasher received money from 80-year-old Oliver Donnell, leading to the subsequent inquiry into the MTSU program. Donnell is a patient at York VA Medical Center in Murfreesboro. The relationship between Donnell and Dasher was not entirely clear. In the incident report, Donnell said the checks Dasher gave him as collateral were from a Temple Terrace, Fla., bank with Boss's name on them. The checks were never cashed. One wonders just how much this cloud of controversy will affect Middle Tennessee’s season. It’s already put the Sun Belt favorites at a severe disadvantage against the Golden Gophers from the Big Ten.

For Minnesota, the buzzword isn’t controversy, but quality… or rather, a lack thereof. Without NFL-paycheck-collecting receiver Eric Decker, senior quarterback Adam Weber will have no one to throw to. Minnesota will generally find it extremely difficult to manufacture points and produce scoring drives with any appreciable consistency. There’s just nothing dynamic about this offense, despite the fact that a new coordinator, Jeff Horton, is being brought in to call plays in Minneapolis. The new outdoor stadium that’s been built for the Gopher football team will mean that fans get a suntan, but it’s not likely to add any starch to that side of the ball.

The Gophers would surprise a lot of folks if they finished anything higher than eighth place in the Big Ten. Many pigskin pundits originally felt Minnesota picked the wrong Sun Belt team to play… but now that Dwight Dasher is out, that statement is no longer true.

> More 2009 College Football Previews from CollegeSports-fans.com