Stockstill wary of CMU size

The Middle Tennesse State coach doesn't have a speed edge, either.
DETROIT (AP) -- Middle Tennessee State knows it can't win the Motor City Bowl with strength. And it's not so sure it can win with speed against Central Michigan.
"They are a lot bigger than we are at every position," coach Rick Stockstill said. "And we aren't all that fast, either. We have some guys who can run, but you wouldn't look at our team and say we've got a ton of speed."
Yet, the first-year coach senses possibilities for tonight's game at Ford Field.
"This is a blue-collar team," he said. "They weren't supposed to be able to get this far, so there's no telling what they are still capable of doing. They are going to work extremely hard. We just have to play smart and get some breaks."
Middle Tennessee State is playing in its first Division I-A bowl, less than a decade after joining the NCAA's top classification.
"It's great to be the first team to do this," Blue Raiders quarterback Clint Marks. "We have a chance to do something that we've all dreamed about."
Postseason history
While Central Michigan has a little more postseason history, it's been a dozen years since it lost 52-24 in the 1994 Las Vegas Bowl.
"It's a good time to be a Chippewa," athletic director Dave Heeke said. "Our campus has a buzz about this team."
Central Michigan and Middle Tennessee State took different paths to this game. After a brutal non-conference schedule in which they lost lopsided games to Louisville, South Carolina and Oklahoma, the Blue Raiders collapsed in their final regular season game. They blew a 20-7 lead to Troy in the final three minutes, costing them the outright Sun Belt Conference title.
The Chippewas, on the other hand, rolled to a 31-10 victory over Ohio in the Mid-American Conference championship game, also at Ford Field.
"That's a huge advantage for us," All-MAC defensive end Daniel Bazuin said. "We've played here, so it isn't something new for us. Plus we are close to our fans, so this should be like a home game for us."
That doesn't mean everything has gone smoothly for Central Michigan. Coach Brian Kelly, after missing out on the Michigan State and Iowa State jobs, left for Cincinnati shortly after his team beat Ohio.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn, a longtime Kelly assistant dating to their Division II national titles at Grand Valley State, took over.
"Coach Q is a very intense dude," linebacker Red Keith said. "He's been working us hard in practice. I'm talking about practice, here, not a game. Practice."
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