Middle Tennessee (5-5 overall, 3-3 Conference USA) at Western Kentucky (5-5, 3-3)

7 p.m. Friday

Houchens-Smith Stadium

Bowling Green

TV broadcast: CBS Sports Network

Radio: WPTQ-105.3 FM, WWKU-1450 AM

Starting lineups

BLUE RAIDERS

OFFENSE

Ht. Wt. Yr.

QUARTERBACK

12 Brent Stockstill 6-0 221 r-Jr.

RUNNING BACK

11 Brad Anderson 5-8 170 Fr.

X WIDE RECEIVER

37 Patrick Smith 6-0 177 r-Jr.

H WIDE RECEIVER

8 Ty Lee 5-9 163 So.

Y WIDE RECEIVER

1 Shane Tucker 6-0 220 r-Sr.

Z WIDE RECEIVER

81 CJ Windham 6-2 201 So.

LEFT TACKLE

77 Amir Luckett 6-2 287 So.

LEFT GUARD

75 Lucas Hamilton 6-5 300 r-Sr.

CENTER

74 Robert Behanan 6-3 293 r-Jr.

RIGHT GUARD

73 Chandler Brewer 6-6 320 Jr.

RIGHT TACKLE

55 Carlos Johnson 6-3 335 r-Jr.

KICKER

15 Canon Rooker 5-11 192 r-Jr.

DEFENSE

LEFT DEFENSIVE END

94 Tyshun Render 6-4 253 r-So.

LEFT DEFENSIVE TACKLE

90 Rakavian Poydras 6-1 290 r-Fr.

RIGHT DEFENSIVE TACKLE

91 Jordan Ferguson 6-2 287 Fr.

RIGHT DEFENSIVE END

43 Jahmal Jones 6-3 253 r-Sr.

SAM LINEBACKER

16 Khalil Brooks 5-11 200 r-So.

MIKE LINEBACKER

31 DJ Sanders 6-0 233 Sr.

WILL LINEBACKER

30 Darius Harris 6-2 227 r-Jr.

LEFT CORNERBACK

6 Mike Minter 6-0 175 r-Sr.

STRONG SAFETY

7 Jovante Moffatt 6-0 200 Jr.

FREE SAFETY

12 Reed Blankenship 6-1 175 Fr.

RIGHT CORNERBACK

2 Charvarius Ward 6-1 195 Sr.

PUNTER

99 Matt Bonadies 6-1 197 Jr.

HILLTOPPERS

OFFENSE

Ht. Wt. Yr.

QUARTERBACK

14 Mike White 6-4 225 r-Sr.

RUNNING BACK

32 D’Andre Ferby 6-1 225 r-Jr.

WIDE RECEIVERS

16 Quin Jernighan 6-3 210 r-So.

23 Cameron Echols-Luper 6-0 195 Gr.

-or- 9 Xavier Lane 6-4 200 r-Fr.

1 Nacarius Fant 5-9 185 Sr.

-or- 8 Kylen Towner 5-8 175 r-Sr.

TIGHT END

19 Deon Yelder 6-4 255 r-Sr.

LEFT TACKLE

75 Jimmie Sims 6-4 295 r-Sr.

LEFT GUARD

51 Brandon Ray 6-2 300 r-Sr.

CENTER

64 Dennis Edwards 6-1 315 r-Jr.

RIGHT GUARD

74 Tyler Witt 6-2 300 r-Fr.

RIGHT TACKLE

70 Cole Spencer 6-4 285 Fr.

KICKER

37 Ryan Nuss 5-9 200 r-Jr.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE ENDS

42 Derik Overstreet 6-2 250 Sr.

95 Heath Wiggins 6-2 265 r-So.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

96 Julien Lewis 6-3 300 r-Jr.

3 Chris Johnson 6-1 285 Sr.

LINEBACKERS

25 Masai Whyte 6-0 225 r-Jr.

4 Joel Iyiegbuniwe 6-1 230 r-Jr.

NICKELBACK

15 Ta’Corian Darden 5-9 180 r-So.

CORNERBACKS

7 Joe Brown 5-10 195 Sr.

22 DeAndre Farris 5-10 190 r-Jr.

SAFETIES

9 Drell Greene 5-11 200 Jr.

2 Devon Key 6-1 205 r-Fr.

PUNTER

49 Jake Collins 6-1 210 r-Jr.

*Starting lineups subject to change

Position-by-position breakdown

QUARTERBACK: Western Kentucky’s Mike White threw three touchdown passes Saturday in a loss at Marshall but also threw a interception returned for a TD. Middle Tennessee is 2-0 since QB Brent Stockstill returned from injury. ADVANTAGE: WKU

RUNNING BACK: The Toppers are the only team across the 130-team FBS without a rushing play of at least 20 yards. Every other team has at least four such plays. Blue Raiders RB Tavares Thomas made Pro Football Focus’ National Team of Week 11 after rushing for 195 yards and two TDs Saturday in a win against Charlotte. MTSU

RECEIVERS: WKU tight end Deon Yelder returned against Marshall after missing a loss at Vanderbilt due to injury. He’s averaged 52.4 yards per game and 12.1 yards per catch with five total TDs for the Hilltoppers. This will be the final home game for Bowling Green High School graduate Nacarius Fant, who’s averaged 47.2 ypg and 10.3 ypc this year with two TDs. He’s caught a team-high 46 passes. WKU

OFFENSIVE LINE: WKU’s offense surrenders 3.2 sacks per game, which ranks No. 121 nationally and is a sack per game more than MTSU allows (2.1, No. 77 nationally). Franklin-Simpson High School product Cole Kirby is listed as the Blue Raiders’ backup right tackle. MTSU

DEFENSIVE LINE: Middle Tennessee has been strong against the run this year, ranking No. 19 nationally in yards per carry allowed (3.51). The Tops rank 92nd with 4.65 ypc allowed. MTSU

LINEBACKERS: MTSU linebacker Khalil Brooks is the Blue Raiders’ top pass rusher, totaling 6 1/2 sacks and 13 tackles for loss this season. Joel Iyiegbuniwe led WKU last week with a career-high 15 tackles, tied for second-most all-time in a single game for the Hilltoppers. WKU

SECONDARY: The Toppers rank No. 4 nationally in 20+ yard passes allowed (19) despite ranking No. 128 in quarterback sacks (0.9 per game) – a testament to their defensive backs’ ability to cover downfield without help of a pass rush. WKU cornerback DeAndre Farris leads Conference USA with 12 pass breakups. WKU

SPECIAL TEAMS: Middle Tennessee veteran Canon Rooker is 12-of-14 kicking field goals this season, with a long make of 51 yards. WKU’s Ryan Nuss last week missed an extra point attempt and Jahcour Pearson fumbled a kickoff return. Kick returner Kylen Towner has missed the last two weeks and is questionable for Friday’s game. MTSU

Brad’s pick

When the 2017 season began, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky expected their November matchup to factor heavily into the Conference USA East Division race. Both teams have instead turned in mediocre campaigns and are fighting to make a bowl game.

Expect a close game Friday, with the Hilltopper secondary making the difference in WKU’s sixth win of the year.

Western Kentucky 24, Middle Tennessee 21

Season record: 8-2