MTSU's football team was whipped by Vanderbilt 47-24 last season, and the Commodores are the favorite entering Saturday's 7 p.m. season opener at Floyd Stadium.
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"It's always fun to be able to do something people say you can't do," MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said. "It doesn't matter if its sports and coaching or life. When somebody tells you that you can't do something, your competitive juices start flowing and you want to prove that you can.
MTSU junior quarterback Brent Stockstill echoed his father's sentiments.
"I love it. I think everybody here loves it," he said. "We're a group of guys that got overlooked by bigger schools in the country, so we're here for a reason. We all have a chip on our shoulder, that's how we work.
"That's how we approach practice and camp every day. So it's another good challenge for us against a great team so I think we're all excited to embrace the underdog role."
MTSU led Vanderbilt 10-5 after one quarter last year before the Commodores blitzed the Blue Raiders with a 28-7 run in the second quarter.
Leading the charge was standout running back Ralph Webb, who rushed for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He obviously has to be a focal point for the Blue Raider defense.
"Ralph is an excellent back. You're always go in defensively to stop the run and try to make the team one-dimensional," coach Stockstill said. "That's going to be a tall challenge with as good of a back as Ralph is. But again, their offensive line is really big. They are experienced and they have some guys coming back who have played a bunch.
"So again, it goes back to the line of scrimmage. In a game like this, it's going to be very critical. Anytime you play big backs like they have, you've got to do a good job of tackling and you've got to do a good job of getting hats to the ball to prevent any broken tackles, missed tackles or yards after contact.
Coach Stockstill said containing Webb isn't on the defensive line's shoulders, but rather, the entire defense.
"I've been pleased with those guys. They have a lot of energy," he said. "They play hard and have been chasing the ball really well. But a defensive line doesn't stop the run. On defense, you've got to have all 11 guys to stop the run because the defensive line is involved in it, the linebackers are in it, your safeties and corners are in it from a support standpoint. So it's not just if we stop the run, you don't just talk to the defensive line, you're talking to all 11 hats out there.
"I like the progression that our defensive line has made. Coach Tommy West has done a fantastic job coaching those guys and developing them. We're young, we're inexperienced out there a little bit. That doesn't matter. They're good players and they're going to come ready to play Saturday night."
MTSU is facing a brutal schedule the first month of the season as it travels to Syracuse next week and Minnesota on Sept. 16, followed by a home game Sept. 23 against MAC foe Bowling Green.
"The last four years we've opened up with an FCS team," coach Stockstill said. "Not taking anything away from those guys, but there is a difference in the caliber of talent that you're going to be playing from those guys to an SEC team in Vanderbilt. It amps up your focus throughout the summer. The opponent doesn't dictate in how you prepare, but this is different. We understand that it is different. We understand the challenge. We understand the opponent that we're playing.
"You've got to be ready to go out of the blocks. You can't afford a slip up. First games are always different because you don't know what changes your opponent has made. Obviously they don't know what changes we made. So there's always that unknown in the first game. It's always there. But our mental intensity has been really good these last two or three weeks in preparation for this game."
