Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, November 16
Murfreesboro, TN
3:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
3-7 , 2-4
28
vs
31
Rice University
1-9 , 1-5
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Rice
10
21
0
0
31
Middle Tennessee
0
14
7
7
28
Team Stats
RICE
MT
Total Yards
377
458
Pass Yards
222
338
Rushing Yards
155
120
Penalty Yards
56
63
1st Downs
17
21
3rd Downs
7
3
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
35:26
24:34
1st Quarter
RICE 3, MT 0
RICE - BARNES, Chris 42 yd field goal 7 plays, 15 yards, TOP 4:00
RICE 10, MT 0
RICE - ROZNER, Brad 30 yd pass from STEWART, Tom (BARNES, Chris kick) 6 plays, 53 yards, TOP 3:31
2nd Quarter
RICE 17, MT 0
RICE - ROZNER, Brad 18 yd pass from STEWART, Tom (BARNES, Chris kick) 8 plays, 50 yards, TOP 4:02
RICE 17, MT 7
MT - O'HARA, Asher 2 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 9 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:26
RICE 17, MT 14
MT - LEE, Ty 90 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 1 plays, 90 yards, TOP 0:14
RICE 24, MT 14
RICE - WALTER, Aston 34 yd run (BARNES, Chris kick), 2 plays, 40 yards, TOP 0:50
RICE 31, MT 14
RICE - ROZNER, Brad 34 yd pass from STEWART, Tom (BARNES, Chris kick) 9 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:53
3rd Quarter
RICE 31, MT 21
MT - O'HARA, Asher 7 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 6 plays, 43 yards, TOP 2:17
4th Quarter
RICE 31, MT 28
MT - MARSHALL, Jimmy 20 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 6 plays, 91 yards, TOP 2:03
Game Leaders
CMP
22
TD
2
YDS
338
INT
1
Blue Raiders fall to Rice, 31-28
11/16/2019 7:42:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A bad start put Middle Tennessee in too big of a hole to climb out of Saturday with the Rice Owls visiting Floyd Stadium.
In their annual Salute to Veterans & Armed Forces game and first matchup all-time with the Owls (1-9, 1-5), the Blue Raiders (3-7, 2-4) were defeated 31-28. It put the blue and white's bowl eligibility dreams out of reach for the first time in eight years.
"I'm really disappointed in how we performed in the first half," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Stockstill said. "It was just a poor performance in the first half, and we didn't give ourselves a chance.
"We didn't quit … and I told them afterwards I was proud that they didn't quit and that they kept fighting."
The tough night started right away for MT. On the game's first play, senior Ty Lee caught a pass for 14 yards over the middle and fumbled. Rice recovered at the Blue Raiders' 39 and subsequently kicked a field goal from 42 yards.
The field goal proved to be big, as Middle Tennessee scored a touchdown with 3:22 left in the game to cut the Owls' lead to 31-28. Rice ran out the clock on the ensuing drive.
"Mindset-wise, [offensive coordinator Tony Franklin] had a great message to us … that you have to keep your head down and believe in each other," redshirt sophomore quarterback Asher O'Hara said. "We tried … we just couldn't finish it."
Middle Tennessee got into a 17-0 hole in the first half before finally finding some rhythm.
O'Hara capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing score to get things started. Then, on the Blue Raiders next drive, Lee made amends for his fumble with a 90-yard touchdown reception, giving him a program-record-tying 23 receiving TDs for his career.
Lee finished with seven grabs for 154 yards and the TD, his first 100-yard outing of the season and 4 yards away from his career high.
"We came out, we fought hard, we tried — we just came up short," he said. "[The receiving TD record] hasn't sunk in yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be happy about it later."
After Lee's long score, the Blue Raiders cut the deficit to 17-14 and looked to have grabbed all the momentum.
Rice wouldn't give in that easy, though.
The Owls scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half, taking a 31-14 lead into the halftime locker room. It was an offensive explosion for a team averaging 14.9 points per game, which ranked 127th out of 130 FBS programs.
"We couldn't defend the deep ball over the top of us," Stockstill said. "It was just a bad, bad performance offensively and defensively in the first half."
Middle Tennessee's defense got the job done in the second half, holding Rice scoreless with just 115 total yards.
The stoppers allowed the Blue Raiders' offense to get them back into the game with O'Hara's second rushing score in the third quarter, then he hit junior Jimmy Marshall with a 20-yard passing TD with 3:22 left to cut the lead to three. It just proved to be too little, too late.
"We didn't change much [in the second half], we just told them we have to stick our foot down and play harder," redshirt junior safety Kylan Stribling said. "It's just a mentality."
Marshall's receiving score capped a career night for the 6-foot-5 wideout. He had personal bests with seven receptions and 112 yards, including his team-high-tying fourth TD grab of the year.
On the defensive side, Stribling also had a career night. He had 14 tackles to set a new personal best, including seven solo. Redshirt senior defensive end Tyshun Render added six tackles and a sack, and junior linebacker DQ Thomas also had a sack to go with five tackles.
The Blue Raiders will again be at home next week against Old Dominion on senior night before going to WKU to finish the regular season.
"You have to finish what you start," Stockstill said. "As a man, as a competitor, as a player, you have to compete and play as hard as you can.
"I don't have any doubt in my mind that they'll come out and play in practice, and focus and be ready to go."
In their annual Salute to Veterans & Armed Forces game and first matchup all-time with the Owls (1-9, 1-5), the Blue Raiders (3-7, 2-4) were defeated 31-28. It put the blue and white's bowl eligibility dreams out of reach for the first time in eight years.
"I'm really disappointed in how we performed in the first half," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Stockstill said. "It was just a poor performance in the first half, and we didn't give ourselves a chance.
"We didn't quit … and I told them afterwards I was proud that they didn't quit and that they kept fighting."
The tough night started right away for MT. On the game's first play, senior Ty Lee caught a pass for 14 yards over the middle and fumbled. Rice recovered at the Blue Raiders' 39 and subsequently kicked a field goal from 42 yards.
The field goal proved to be big, as Middle Tennessee scored a touchdown with 3:22 left in the game to cut the Owls' lead to 31-28. Rice ran out the clock on the ensuing drive.
"Mindset-wise, [offensive coordinator Tony Franklin] had a great message to us … that you have to keep your head down and believe in each other," redshirt sophomore quarterback Asher O'Hara said. "We tried … we just couldn't finish it."
Middle Tennessee got into a 17-0 hole in the first half before finally finding some rhythm.
O'Hara capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing score to get things started. Then, on the Blue Raiders next drive, Lee made amends for his fumble with a 90-yard touchdown reception, giving him a program-record-tying 23 receiving TDs for his career.
Lee finished with seven grabs for 154 yards and the TD, his first 100-yard outing of the season and 4 yards away from his career high.
"We came out, we fought hard, we tried — we just came up short," he said. "[The receiving TD record] hasn't sunk in yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be happy about it later."
After Lee's long score, the Blue Raiders cut the deficit to 17-14 and looked to have grabbed all the momentum.
Rice wouldn't give in that easy, though.
The Owls scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half, taking a 31-14 lead into the halftime locker room. It was an offensive explosion for a team averaging 14.9 points per game, which ranked 127th out of 130 FBS programs.
"We couldn't defend the deep ball over the top of us," Stockstill said. "It was just a bad, bad performance offensively and defensively in the first half."
Middle Tennessee's defense got the job done in the second half, holding Rice scoreless with just 115 total yards.
The stoppers allowed the Blue Raiders' offense to get them back into the game with O'Hara's second rushing score in the third quarter, then he hit junior Jimmy Marshall with a 20-yard passing TD with 3:22 left to cut the lead to three. It just proved to be too little, too late.
"We didn't change much [in the second half], we just told them we have to stick our foot down and play harder," redshirt junior safety Kylan Stribling said. "It's just a mentality."
Marshall's receiving score capped a career night for the 6-foot-5 wideout. He had personal bests with seven receptions and 112 yards, including his team-high-tying fourth TD grab of the year.
On the defensive side, Stribling also had a career night. He had 14 tackles to set a new personal best, including seven solo. Redshirt senior defensive end Tyshun Render added six tackles and a sack, and junior linebacker DQ Thomas also had a sack to go with five tackles.
The Blue Raiders will again be at home next week against Old Dominion on senior night before going to WKU to finish the regular season.
"You have to finish what you start," Stockstill said. "As a man, as a competitor, as a player, you have to compete and play as hard as you can.
"I don't have any doubt in my mind that they'll come out and play in practice, and focus and be ready to go."
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