Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
3-5 , 2-2
Florida International University
4-4 , 2-3
Team Stats
FIU 7, MT 0
FIU - GAITER,T 18 yd pass from MORGAN,J (BORREGALES,J kick) 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:22
FIU 7, MT 7
MT - WEST, Terelle 1 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 7 plays, 82 yards, TOP 3:02
FIU 7, MT 14
MT - MARSHALL, Jimmy 5 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 3 plays, 23 yards, TOP 1:25
FIU 14, MT 14
FIU - ALEXANDER,M 23 yd pass from MORGAN,J (BORREGALES,J kick) 4 plays, 45 yards, TOP 0:47
FIU 17, MT 14
FIU - BORREGALES,J 33 yd field goal 8 plays, 79 yards, TOP 1:16
FIU 17, MT 21
MT - O'HARA, Asher 6 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:55
FIU 17, MT 24
MT - HOLT, Crews 30 yd field goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 1:29
FIU 17, MT 31
MT - WEST, Terelle 2 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 5 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:28
FIU 17, MT 37
MT - O'HARA, Asher 2 yd run (HOLT, Crews kickfailed), 3 plays, 5 yards, TOP 1:16
FIU 17, MT 43
MT - WEST, Terelle 37 yd run (O'HARA, Asher rushfailed), 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 4:15
FIU 17, MT 50
MT - MCDONALD, Jayy 92 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 1 plays, 92 yards, TOP 0:14
Game Leaders
Blue Raiders dominate on Homecoming
10/26/2019 6:33:00 PM | Football
Take down FIU, 50-17
With FIU (4-4, 2-3) visiting Floyd Stadium, the Blue Raiders (3-5, 2-2) utilized a heavy rushing attack and good defense to send the Panthers back to Miami with a 50-17 defeat.
It was a good, redemptive victory for MT, which lost to FIU on the road last year, its only conference loss during the regular season.
"I'm really proud of what we did out there today," Raiders Head Coach Rick Stockstill said. "I got after them pretty good at halftime … and I really liked how we approached the second half, the energy we came out with.
"I'm really proud of our team and how we handled the elements. It was a great win."
FIU took a 17-14 lead into halftime, when the clouds and Middle Tennessee's offense broke open.
A driving rainstorm didn't stop once play resumed, causing the field to look more like a pond than a gridiron for the last two quarters. With the soggy conditions, the Blue Raiders turned to their ground attack to take care of business.
They scored four times in the second half on rushes, with another drive ending in a field goal, as they scored 34 unanswered. In the last two quarters alone, they racked up 316 yards, all but three on the ground, and their 471 total rushing yards set a season high and were the fourth most in program history.
"We just kind of connected in all phases," redshirt sophomore quarterback Asher O'Hara said. "The offense hasn't been doing good these last two weeks … I just felt like today we just all connected and put it together."
The heavy rain helped MT's defense dominate the second half.
As their offense ran rampant over the Panthers, the Blue Raiders' stoppers did their part, holding FIU to 31 yards and zero points in the final two quarters, including negative-4 yards in the third quarter. They also forced four turnovers, all fumble recoveries, including two in the second half.
Thanks to its defense, Middle Tennessee's offense started its drives on average from its own 40, including three in Panther territory.
"It was just fun," redshirt senior defensive end Tyshun Render said. "It wasn't a big crowd once the rain started coming, so we knew we needed to bring our own juice and our own energy. It's just like practice — we practice hard, and we played hard."
MT was led offensively by a three-heading rushing monster. O'Hara led the way with 22 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns, and he also had a passing score in the first quarter. Junior running back Jayy McDonald had 138 rushing yards and a TD, and redshirt senior Terelle West had another 130 rushing yards and three TDs on nine totes. All three players set personal highs in rushing yards.
Defensively, Render had three tackles, 1.5 going for loss, and a pass breakup, and he forced and recovered a fumble. Khalil Brooks, Jordan Branch and Dalton Frantz had the other fumble recoveries for the Blue Raiders.
The win puts a good taste in Middle Tennessee's mouth after two straight losses. Its bowl eligibility hopes are still very much alive with four contests remaining, including a matchup at Charlotte next week, against whom the Blue Raiders are 4-0 all-time.
"We ain't dead yet," Stockstill said. "A lot of people might have hung us out there, but we compete and play hard.
"There's a lot of pride, a lot of character in that locker room. … It's a tremendous credit to our players and their mental toughness."
