STARKVILLE — The Middle Tennessee State University football team will arrive in Starkville without the Sun Belt Conference’s current leading rusher and the nation’s No. 3 scorer.
An MRI scan revealed MTSU senior tailback Benny Cunningham suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his left knee Saturday in a 34-40 victory at Florida International University.
MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said his team will try to regroup this week as it prepares to face No. 15 Mississippi State at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) at Davis Wade Stadium.
“I hate this from a personal level because I feel like he got cheated,” Stockstill said. “He was really starting to hit a groove, and for him to not play his full senior year is devastating. I’ve been fortunate in this profession to coach some really, really good players, and Benny is one of those guys.”
Cunningham injured his knee in the fourth quarter. He rushed for a career-high 230 yards on 36 carries and two touchdowns. His performance earned him his second Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor this season.
In a 49-28 upset victory at Georgia Tech University two weeks earlier, Cunningham had 217 yards and five touchdowns.
Stockstill said Cunningham will have surgery by the end of this week. Cunningham leads the Sun Belt Conference in rushing with 600 yards and 11 touchdowns. He ranks 13th and third nationally in those statistical categories.
Cunningham had been the best and most consistent offensive weapon for MTSU (4-2), which has doubled its win total from last season.
“This changes a lot,” Stockstill said. “Last year, we were pretty good offensively until Benny got hurt. Losing Benny really depletes us, and we’ve got other injuries, too, so we have some decisions to make.”
MSU coach Dan Mullen said Monday he and his staff are familiar with the tailback MTSU will turn to to lead a rushing attack that averages nearly 200 yards per game.
LSU transfer Drayton Calhoun was a SuperPrep All-American and a member of the ESPNU 150 recruiting rankings as a senior at Tucker High School in Blackstone, Ga., in 2008. His recruiting profile gives Mullen and his coaches an understanding of the personnel Stockstill and the Blue Raiders will rally behind.
“That’s always tough when you have a star player go down for the psyche, it hurts for the team,” Mullen said in his weekly media conference. “I think the team does rally around that guy, and you have the opportunity to see some extraordinary performances.”
MSU’s Banks, Green receive national attention
MSU senior defensive back Johnthan Banks was named Monday to the Paul Hornung Award weekly honor roll for the second time this season, and senior tight end Marcus Green was named to the midseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, which is given annually to the best collegiate tight end.
One of three players to be recognized, Banks earned the honor after helping to limit a University of Tennessee passing attack that was ranked 10th in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 329 yards per game to just 148 yards Saturday night in a 41-31 victory. The Maben native held junior wide receiver Justin Hunter to two catches, and helped hold quarterback Tyler Bray to a career lows as a starter in completions (13) and yards (148). The team captain was thrown at five times and allowed two catches for 28 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Banks forced and recovered a fumble that changed the momentum of the game and allowed MSU to secure its sixth victory.
“The mind-set he came back with was I want to be a great player and I want to lead this team and leave my mark on the program and do great things for the program — not just as an individual player but as a team and a leader as a team,” Mullen said. “He backs it up with how he carries himself and his work ethic in the weight room in training. He backs it up with his performance on game day.”
Green was one of 26 players named to the midseason watch list. Semifinalists will be selected Nov. 12. The Scooba native had a career-high six catches for 71 yards and a career-best tying two touchdowns against Tennessee.
“I know it seems like, ‘Wow, they got the ball to the tight end,’ ” Mullen said. “They gave us the tight end a little bit this week. I think Tyler (Russell) did a fantastic job (dispersing the ball). He does not hone in on trying to get the ball to anybody in particular. He’s going to see what the defense gives him.”
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