The Wiz of Odds

Middle Tennessee State

Middle Tennessee State successfully made the transition from the Sun Belt Conference to Conference USA in 2013, winning eight games and earning a bowl bid for the first time since 2010. But the Blue Raiders likely will be pushed to get eight wins in 2014. Nonetheless, look to see the team in the postseason for the second year in a row.

Middle Tennessee State

Take a close look at Middle Tennessee State's poster. The first person to find the hidden phrase will be invited to guest host a segment of coach Rick Stockstill's radio show this fall. The school also sent out a series of tweets teasing last week's release of the poster. You can view the tweets here, here and here. Last but not least, there is a YouTube video after the jump of the poster photo shoot.

Click the image to enlarge. Thanks to Bradley.

Middle Tennessee State

Middle Tennessee State, which won 10 games in 2009, slipped to six victories in 2010. The Blue Raiders open at Purdue, then play host to Georgia Tech. On Nov. 5, Middle Tennessee plays at Tennessee.

Click the image to enlarge. Poster designed by Old Hat Creative.

Best Bowl Pregame Speech

Here's how Miami of Ohio interim coach Lan Guidry got his players fired up before Thursday's Godaddy.com bowl game against Middle Tennessee State. It worked. The RedHawks won, 35-21.

Thanks to Tom Kirkendall of Houston's Clear Thinkers.

Middle Tennessee State

Middle Tennessee State lost its opener to Minnesota, 24-17, ending a seven-game winning streak. The Blue Raiders should start a new one Saturday when they play host to Austin Peay. Quarterback Dwight Dasher remains suspended after accepting a $1,500 loan in violation of NCAA amateurism legislation. The prescribed penalty for such a violation is a 30% reduction in the number of games in a season (equal to three or four games), but coach Rick Stockstill is optimistic that Dasher could be back on the team later this week. Until he returns, sophomore Logan Kilgore is the starter.

As a run-up to the start of the season, the Wiz will display one poster each day until our supply is exhausted.

Then we turn it over to readers, who will vote on the poster of the year. In the meantime, send your team's poster schedule to jayzuma (at) gmail.com.

Last year, the site displayed 69 posters. This is poster No. 70 for 2010. Thanks to Bradley!

The Finalists for Readers' Choice Poster of the Year

The Wiz is happy to present the 10 finalists for Readers' Choice Poster of the Year.

Each of these teams have survived a rugged primary to reach this point, and now it's your turn to select a winner. Voting will close on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at midnight (Eastern). You get only one vote. Repeat voters are blocked by IP address.

The finalists: Iowa State, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Penn State, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, USC and Mississippi. View all of the finalists after the jump and click an image for a closer view.