Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
5-5 , 3-3
Florida International University
1-9 , 0-6
Team Stats
FIU 0, MTS 7
MTS - Marshall,Jimmy 12 yd pass from Vattiato,Nicholas (Rankin,Zeke kick) 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:00
FIU 3, MTS 7
FIU - Gabriel,Chase 53 yd field goal 11 plays, 40 yards, TOP 04:33
FIU 3, MTS 14
MTS - Ali,Yusuf 1 yd pass from Vattiato,Nicholas (Rankin,Zeke kick) 15 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:57
FIU 3, MTS 21
MTS - Peasant,Frank 2 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 12 plays, 58 yards, TOP 05:05
FIU 3, MTS 28
MTS - Riley,Quincy 45 yd interception (Rankin,Zeke kick)
FIU 3, MTS 31
MTS - Rankin,Zeke 24 yd field goal 5 plays, 10 yards, TOP 02:27
FIU 3, MTS 34
MTS - Rankin,Zeke 46 yd field goal 5 plays, 16 yards, TOP 01:49
FIU 3, MTS 36
MTS - Cook,Marley 0 yd safety
FIU 3, MTS 43
MTS - Pettaway,Martell 57 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 1 plays, 57 yards, TOP 00:13
FIU 3, MTS 50
MTS - Lane,Jaylin 29 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 9 plays, 74 yards, TOP 04:10
FIU 10, MTS 50
FIU - Williams,Maleek 8 yd run (Gabriel,Chase kick), 8 plays, 53 yards, TOP 04:18
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Blue Raiders dominate FIU, 50-10
11/13/2021 5:44:00 PM | Football
Six different MT players score in victory
Freshman Nick Vattiato shined in his second career start at quarterback, completing 20-of-24 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Martell Pettaway led the Blue Raiders on the ground with 11 carries for 95 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Jimmy Marshall led all MT receivers with four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Quincy Riley scored on an interception return for a touchdown, six of eight points scored by the MT defense including a safety from Marley Cook.
Middle Tennessee struck first on their very first drive, converting a fourth and short in the middle of a 14-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 12-yard Jimmy Marshall touchdown catch. The tight end blocked and released on the swing pass outside, racking up yards after the catch to sprint into the endzone and give MT a 7-0 lead.
FIU hit a 53-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3, which held through the end of the first quarter.
Yusuf Ali kept the scoring going on MT's next drive, running a tight one-yard out on the goaline to secure the catch and fight through a tackle into the endzone to give MT a 14-3 lead. The Blue Raiders converted two fourth downs on the 15-play, 75-yard drive, including a pass to Jordan Ferguson for the defensive end's first career reception.
After a three and out from FIU, Middle Tennessee converted their third straight drive into a touchdown when Frank Peasant punched the ball in from two yards out. The 12-play, 58-yard drive featured MT's fourth fourth-down conversion of the game.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Quincy Riley jumped the route of Randall St. Felix, intercepting the pass from Max Bortenschlager and returning it 45-yards to the house for a pick-6 to give MT a 28-3 lead.
And again, on the very next play from scrimmage, Middle Tennessee earned their second takeaway of the game when Greg Grate jarred the ball loose from Tyrese Chambers on the screen and Decorian Patterson hopped on the loose ball to give MT the ball on the FIU 16. Zeke Rankin kicked a 24 yard field goal at the end of the ensuing drive to increase the Blue Raider's lead to 31-3.
Rankin would hit a career-long 46-yard field goal with 1:26 left in the half following a Reed Blankenship interception to give MT a 34-3 lead at halftime.
Marley Cook got the Blue Raiders on the board first out of the locker room, sacking Bortenschlager in the endzone to earn a safety for MT, extending the score to 36-3. After the ensuing free kick gave Middle Tennessee the ball at their own 43, Martell Pettaway unleashed a 57-yard touchdown run on the sweep to the right, sprinting untouched past the goalline to give MT a 43-3 lead.
Jaylin Lane would keep the offense hot at the start of the fourth quarter, taking a third down jet sweep 29 yards to the house, dodging multiple FIU Panthers through traffic to further expand the Blue Raiders lead to 50-3.
FIU added a late touchdown as both teams rotated their squads to give us the final 50-10 margin.
POSTGAME NOTES
CAPTAINS: Today's game captains were Reed Blankenship, Jordan Ferguson, DQ Thomas, Jarrin Pierce and CJ Windham.
OPENING DRIVES: MT scored on its opening drive for the second straight week and the third time this season when Jimmy Marshall hauled in a 12-yard TD reception from QB Nicholas Vattiato. The 14-play drive covered 75 yards and took six minutes off of the clock.
DEFENSE SCORES … AGAIN: MT's defense continued to be one of the nation's premier scoring units against FIU. The Blue Raiders entered the game fourth nationally with four defensive touchdowns and added to that total when Quincy Riley turned in a 45-yard interception return in the second quarter. It was Riley's fifth interception of the season and first defensive TD of his career. The five interceptions tie for 10th in a single season.
NATION'S BEST: The Blue Raiders defense added four takeaways against FIU to increase their national-leading total. MT entered the game with 25 takeaways and pushed that total to 29 with takeaways on three consecutive FIU possessions. The first came courtesy of an interception from Quincy Riley midway through the second quarter. One possession later, Gregory forced a fumble that was recovered by Docorian Patterson. On the next FIU possession, Reed Blankenship hauled in his ninth career interception. Ralph Mency added the fourth takeaway with a fourth-quarter fumble recovery. MT scored 12 points off turnovers against FIU and has scored 94 points off of turnovers this season.
PETTAWAY CRUISES: RB Martell Pettaway's 57-yard TD run in the third quarter was his career high, besting the 55-yard score he turned in against Texas as a member of the West Virginia football team in 2018. Pettaway had a big game, rushing for a game-high 95 yards on 11 carries to lead a 261-yard rushing attack for the Blue Raiders.
STRONG BOUNCE BACK: QB Nicholas Vattiato came back strong after a difficult game in his first start at WKU. Vattiato completed his first nine passes and 12 of his first 13, including a pair of first-half touchdowns. The freshman signal caller was 15-of-18 for 112 yards before halftime. He didn't slow down, completing 83 percent of his aerials for the game. Vattiato finished the game 20-of-24 for 147 yards and two touchdowns before exiting the game early in the fourth quarter.
STREAK STAYS ALIVE: WR Jarrin Pierce had three catches against FIU to extend his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 31 games, which is tied for the 11th longest such streak nationally and the sixth longest all time at Middle Tennessee. Pierce has caught at least one pass in every game of his Blue Raider career.
QUICK HITTERS: WR Jarrin Pierce and safety Greg Grate made their team-leading 20th consecutive start against FIU today … Jordan Ferguson hauled in his first career reception on a 4th-and-2 play in the second quarter. Ferguson brought in a 6-yard reception that led to MT's second TD … Redshirt freshman PK Zeke Rankin connected on both of his field goal attempts, including a career-best 46-yarder in the second quarter … Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Marley Cook collected his first career safety in the third quarter.
