Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, September 1
Nashville, TN
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
0-1
7
at
35
Vanderbilt
1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Middle Tennessee
7
0
0
0
7
Vanderbilt
7
7
7
14
35
Blue Raiders fall in opener at Vandy
9/1/2018 10:29:00 PM | Football
Game Book
Cumulative Stats
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Troubles offensively cost Middle Tennessee Saturday, as the Blue Raiders traveled to Vanderbilt and were defeated 35-7 in their season opener.
It was the fourth loss in a row for the Raiders in the series, which is in its final year in the current contract.
"I told them [after the game], I like this team and I'm not down on this team one bit," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "I'm sick to my stomach that we lost, and they're sick to their stomachs because they lost. We're still going to be a dang good football team.
"I feel a lot better about this team than I did at this point last year."
Middle Tennessee (0-1) looked to have control of the Commodore (1-0) defense in the first quarter, as a 4-yard pass from redshirt senior Brent Stockstill to junior CJ Windham ended a 93-yard drive with a touchdown. It knotted things at seven with two minutes left in the opening frame, and momentum had been snatched.
From there, though, the Blue Raider attack turned inconsistent.
It started with a bad lateral pass from Brent Stockstill to sophomore Brad Anderson that was dropped and returned 3 yards by Vanderbilt's Dayo Odeyingbo for what proved to be the game-winning score with 14 minutes left in the first half.
"We just didn't make enough plays," Rick Stockstill said. "You have to make plays against good teams … we moved it pretty good at times, we just weren't consistent enough."
Middle Tennessee's defense did all it could to hold things close, holding Vanderbilt to just 89 total yards in the first half. But, the costly mistakes and inconsistencies on offense voided the good effort.
The Blue Raiders moved the ball effectively, getting to the Vanderbilt side of the field five times after their scoring drive in the first quarter. However, all five drives ended without points (three punts, an interception and a missed field goal).
"It really was just execution," Brent Stockstill said. "I feel like we moved it ok at times, then we moved across the 50 and they kind of got after us. We need to push it through to the red zone and finish drives better … just overall clean it up better, and I think we'll be ok."
Brent Stockstill finished the game 24 of 36 for 178 yards, one touchdown and an interception, and he added 10 yards rushing. He was sacked six times.
Ten Blue Raiders caught at least one pass, led by Anderson and junior Ty Lee with five catches apiece, Anderson for 37 yards and Lee for 25.
Defensively, redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris led the way with eight tackles, a sack and tackle for loss. Khalil Brooks added five tackles and a tackle for loss, and Chris Melton and Kylan Stribling also had five tackles apiece.
Middle Tennessee will return home for a Week 2 matchup with UT-Martin on Sept. 8. It'll be their first matchup since the 1999 season, and MT holds a 20-7-1 record in the series.
"We just have to learn from our mistakes, watch film, learn what we didn't do right and just bounce back next week," Harris said.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Cumulative Stats
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Troubles offensively cost Middle Tennessee Saturday, as the Blue Raiders traveled to Vanderbilt and were defeated 35-7 in their season opener.
It was the fourth loss in a row for the Raiders in the series, which is in its final year in the current contract.
"I told them [after the game], I like this team and I'm not down on this team one bit," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "I'm sick to my stomach that we lost, and they're sick to their stomachs because they lost. We're still going to be a dang good football team.
"I feel a lot better about this team than I did at this point last year."
Middle Tennessee (0-1) looked to have control of the Commodore (1-0) defense in the first quarter, as a 4-yard pass from redshirt senior Brent Stockstill to junior CJ Windham ended a 93-yard drive with a touchdown. It knotted things at seven with two minutes left in the opening frame, and momentum had been snatched.
From there, though, the Blue Raider attack turned inconsistent.
It started with a bad lateral pass from Brent Stockstill to sophomore Brad Anderson that was dropped and returned 3 yards by Vanderbilt's Dayo Odeyingbo for what proved to be the game-winning score with 14 minutes left in the first half.
"We just didn't make enough plays," Rick Stockstill said. "You have to make plays against good teams … we moved it pretty good at times, we just weren't consistent enough."
Middle Tennessee's defense did all it could to hold things close, holding Vanderbilt to just 89 total yards in the first half. But, the costly mistakes and inconsistencies on offense voided the good effort.
The Blue Raiders moved the ball effectively, getting to the Vanderbilt side of the field five times after their scoring drive in the first quarter. However, all five drives ended without points (three punts, an interception and a missed field goal).
"It really was just execution," Brent Stockstill said. "I feel like we moved it ok at times, then we moved across the 50 and they kind of got after us. We need to push it through to the red zone and finish drives better … just overall clean it up better, and I think we'll be ok."
Brent Stockstill finished the game 24 of 36 for 178 yards, one touchdown and an interception, and he added 10 yards rushing. He was sacked six times.
Ten Blue Raiders caught at least one pass, led by Anderson and junior Ty Lee with five catches apiece, Anderson for 37 yards and Lee for 25.
Defensively, redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris led the way with eight tackles, a sack and tackle for loss. Khalil Brooks added five tackles and a tackle for loss, and Chris Melton and Kylan Stribling also had five tackles apiece.
Middle Tennessee will return home for a Week 2 matchup with UT-Martin on Sept. 8. It'll be their first matchup since the 1999 season, and MT holds a 20-7-1 record in the series.
"We just have to learn from our mistakes, watch film, learn what we didn't do right and just bounce back next week," Harris said.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Team Stats
MT
VANDY
Total Yards
294
346
Pass Yards
178
170
Rushing Yards
116
176
Penalty Yards
40
49
1st Downs
21
19
3rd Downs
8
7
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
31:09
28:51
1st Quarter
MT 0, VANDY 7
VANDY - K. Blasingame 30 yd run (Ryley Guay kick), 5 plays, 58 yards, TOP 2:39
MT 7, VANDY 7
MT - WINDHAM, CJ 4 yd pass from STOCKSTILL, B. (HOLT, Crews kick) 15 plays, 93 yards, TOP 6:58
2nd Quarter
MT 7, VANDY 14
VANDY - Dayo Odeyingbo 3 yd fumble recovery (Ryley Guay kick)
3rd Quarter
MT 7, VANDY 21
VANDY - Chris Pierce 17 yd pass from Kyle Shurmur (Ryley Guay kick) 7 plays, 92 yards, TOP 4:25
4th Quarter
MT 7, VANDY 28
VANDY - Kalija Lipscomb 28 yd pass from Kyle Shurmur (Ryley Guay kick) 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:56
MT 7, VANDY 35
VANDY - J. Wakefield 14 yd run (Ryley Guay kick), 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 7:04
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
S
/ Football
WR
/ FootballBlue Raider Breakdown Postgame Show - September 20th
Sunday, September 21
MTSU Football vs Marshall post-game conference - 9/20/25
Sunday, September 21
Raider Report Week 4 - MTSU vs. Marshall University
Friday, September 19
A look back: 1965 and 1985 Undefeated Blue Raider Football Teams
Wednesday, September 17
