Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, September 7
Murfreesboro, TN
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
1-1
45
vs
26
Tennessee State University
1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
TSU
6
0
13
7
26
Middle Tennessee
0
10
14
21
45
Team Stats
TSU
MT
Total Yards
466
604
Pass Yards
259
367
Rushing Yards
207
237
Penalty Yards
60
57
1st Downs
22
31
3rd Downs
7
4
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
35:48
24:12
1st Quarter
TSU 6, MT 0
TSU - ROWLAND, Chris 96 yd pass from ROSENDAHL, C. (ZITA, Antonio kickblocked) 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:55
2nd Quarter
TSU 6, MT 3
MT - HOLT, Crews 30 yd field goal 12 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:25
TSU 6, MT 10
MT - ENGLAND-CHISOLM 80 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:11
3rd Quarter
TSU 6, MT 17
MT - LEE, Ty 22 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:13
TSU 13, MT 17
TSU - ROWLAND, Chris 60 yd pass from HUGHES, Micheal (ZITA, Antonio kick) 9 plays, 76 yards, TOP 5:20
TSU 13, MT 24
MT - PIERCE, Jarrin 30 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:39
TSU 19, MT 24
TSU - CORBIN, DeMarco 2 yd run (HUGHES, Micheal passfailed), 1 plays, 2 yards, TOP 0:05
4th Quarter
TSU 19, MT 31
MT - MOBLEY, Chaton 1 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:43
TSU 26, MT 31
TSU - ROBERSON, T. 26 yd run (ZITA, Antonio kick), 10 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:07
TSU 26, MT 38
MT - WINDHAM, CJ 28 yd pass from O'HARA, Asher (HOLT, Crews kick) 9 plays, 85 yards, TOP 4:54
TSU 26, MT 45
MT - MOBLEY, Chaton 38 yd run (HOLT, Crews kick), 3 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:05
Game Leaders
CMP
22
TD
4
YDS
367
INT
1
Raiders take down old rival TSU in home opener
9/7/2019 11:06:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It was hard to tell old Ohio Valley Conference rivals Middle Tennessee and Tennessee State hadn't played in 21 years when they met Saturday in Murfreesboro.
A well-fought affair ended with the Blue Raiders' first win of the season (1-1), 45-26, though the underdog FCS Tigers (1-1) kept things close all night in true rivalry fashion.
"I'm proud of our team," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "It was a great win, and I'm happy that we won. We didn't play at times as good as we would have liked to have played, so we have to get better.
"To our fans, a lot of people showed up, and that was good to see. … Hopefully they'll continue to do that the rest of the season."
Middle Tennessee was close to losing control in the first half but called upon its all-conference safety, Reed Blankenship, to make a few big plays.
On TSU's first drive of the night, the Tigers marched all the way inside the 10 before Blankenship, a Preseason All-Conference USA selection, started his incredible first half with an interception, his first of the season.
Then, after a Blue Raider punt, TSU again marched down the field and scored the game's first touchdown, but on the PAT, Blankenship broke through the line to stuff the kick.
He was far from done.
The Tigers punted twice more before finding their groove again in the second quarter, using 12 plays to get to the MT 12 and threatening to widen their 6-3 lead. On third down, though, a pass into the end zone was picked by Blankenship, his second of the night and eighth of his career.
The junior ended the first half with a team-high six tackles, finishing the game with nine to go with two INTS and the blocked PAT.
"I saw a formation and kind of knew what they were going to throw," Blankenship said. "That's just all about preparation.
"We didn't play a complete game tonight. We're going to refocus this next week and come out against Duke ready to play."
As Blankenship did his best to keep his team in the ballgame, the Blue Raider offense started to find its groove late in the first half.
MT accounted for 173 total yards in the second quarter, including an 80-yard pass from quarterback Asher O'Hara to freshman receiver D.J. England-Chisolm, his first-career TD and only catch of the night, to build a narrow 10-6 halftime lead.
The momentum continued into the second half, as O'Hara caught fire both with his arm and feet. He completed 10-of-12 passes in the second half for 186 yards and added another 67 yards on six carries, leading the Blue Raiders to TDs on five of their six possessions after the half.
O'Hara, making his second career start and first at home for MT, became the first player in program history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game. He finished with 367 yards passing, completing 22-of-30 throws with four TDs and an interception, and added another 103 yards rushing on 11 attempts.
"We came out just not really on our game, but we slowly got to that point," O'Hara said. "We just weren't finishing stuff [in the first half] … but we got back to what we do in practice every day and stuff like that."
In total, MT racked up 604 total yards on just 58 plays for a 10.4-yard average, its first time going over 600 total yards since Nov. 26, 2016.
Nine Blue Raiders caught at least one pass, and three finished with more than 60 receiving yards. Jarrin Pierce finished with five catches for 74 yards and a score, while Ty Lee and CJ Windham both had 64 yards and a TD apiece. Chaton Mobley added 104 rushing yards on just nine carries with two TDs, all but 1 yard coming in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, linebacker Khalil Brooks had eight tackles, one for loss, and defensive end Tyshun Render had six tackles, one for loss, and a batted pass.
Middle Tennessee will stay at home in Week 3 when the Duke Blue Devils make their first trip to Murfreesboro for a 6 p.m. Saturday kickoff.
The Blue Raiders are hoping for a better start than against TSU.
"We have to improve," Stockstill said. "I thought the first quarter offensively was as bad as we've been for a long time … and we didn't tackle very good. But, I'm thrilled to death and happy as can beat about winning."
A well-fought affair ended with the Blue Raiders' first win of the season (1-1), 45-26, though the underdog FCS Tigers (1-1) kept things close all night in true rivalry fashion.
"I'm proud of our team," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "It was a great win, and I'm happy that we won. We didn't play at times as good as we would have liked to have played, so we have to get better.
"To our fans, a lot of people showed up, and that was good to see. … Hopefully they'll continue to do that the rest of the season."
Middle Tennessee was close to losing control in the first half but called upon its all-conference safety, Reed Blankenship, to make a few big plays.
On TSU's first drive of the night, the Tigers marched all the way inside the 10 before Blankenship, a Preseason All-Conference USA selection, started his incredible first half with an interception, his first of the season.
Then, after a Blue Raider punt, TSU again marched down the field and scored the game's first touchdown, but on the PAT, Blankenship broke through the line to stuff the kick.
He was far from done.
The Tigers punted twice more before finding their groove again in the second quarter, using 12 plays to get to the MT 12 and threatening to widen their 6-3 lead. On third down, though, a pass into the end zone was picked by Blankenship, his second of the night and eighth of his career.
The junior ended the first half with a team-high six tackles, finishing the game with nine to go with two INTS and the blocked PAT.
"I saw a formation and kind of knew what they were going to throw," Blankenship said. "That's just all about preparation.
"We didn't play a complete game tonight. We're going to refocus this next week and come out against Duke ready to play."
As Blankenship did his best to keep his team in the ballgame, the Blue Raider offense started to find its groove late in the first half.
MT accounted for 173 total yards in the second quarter, including an 80-yard pass from quarterback Asher O'Hara to freshman receiver D.J. England-Chisolm, his first-career TD and only catch of the night, to build a narrow 10-6 halftime lead.
The momentum continued into the second half, as O'Hara caught fire both with his arm and feet. He completed 10-of-12 passes in the second half for 186 yards and added another 67 yards on six carries, leading the Blue Raiders to TDs on five of their six possessions after the half.
O'Hara, making his second career start and first at home for MT, became the first player in program history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game. He finished with 367 yards passing, completing 22-of-30 throws with four TDs and an interception, and added another 103 yards rushing on 11 attempts.
"We came out just not really on our game, but we slowly got to that point," O'Hara said. "We just weren't finishing stuff [in the first half] … but we got back to what we do in practice every day and stuff like that."
In total, MT racked up 604 total yards on just 58 plays for a 10.4-yard average, its first time going over 600 total yards since Nov. 26, 2016.
Nine Blue Raiders caught at least one pass, and three finished with more than 60 receiving yards. Jarrin Pierce finished with five catches for 74 yards and a score, while Ty Lee and CJ Windham both had 64 yards and a TD apiece. Chaton Mobley added 104 rushing yards on just nine carries with two TDs, all but 1 yard coming in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, linebacker Khalil Brooks had eight tackles, one for loss, and defensive end Tyshun Render had six tackles, one for loss, and a batted pass.
Middle Tennessee will stay at home in Week 3 when the Duke Blue Devils make their first trip to Murfreesboro for a 6 p.m. Saturday kickoff.
The Blue Raiders are hoping for a better start than against TSU.
"We have to improve," Stockstill said. "I thought the first quarter offensively was as bad as we've been for a long time … and we didn't tackle very good. But, I'm thrilled to death and happy as can beat about winning."
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