Blue Raiders second-half stumble leads to loss against Hilltoppers

Saturday, October 15

2:30 PM CT

Middle Tennessee

3-4 , 0-3

Western Kentucky

4-3 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Western Ky.

Middle Tenn.

Photo by: Kaitlyn Hungerford/MT Athletic Communications

10/15/2022 6:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes Game Book Cumulative Stats MTSU Quotes WKU Quotes

By: Sam Doughton, MT Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee could not have asked for more to start the game from their defense. But a second-half rally from Western Kentucky and a stalling offense put the game out of reach, as the Blue Raiders fell to the Hilltoppers 35-17 at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

MTSU (3-4, 0-3 C-USA) took advantage of a fumble on the first offensive play from WKU (4-3, 2-1 C-USA), scoring a touchdown on a 14-yard run from Chase Cunningham to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. But after the Hilltoppers scored two more touchdowns and Zeke Rankin added a Blue Raider field goal, MTSU hit the locker room at halftime trailing just 14-10.

WKU came out the aggressor out of the break, however, scoring three straight touchdowns, two on offense and a pick-6 on defense, to put MTSU away, even with a late touchdown catch from Izaiah Gathings for the Blue Raiders to pull MTSU within two scores.

Teldrick Ross and Devyn Curtis both finished the game with a fumble recovery, while Tra Fluellen picked off WKU's Austin Reed to force a turnover in the second quarter. Yusuf Ali and Jaylin Lane each added six catches, while running backs Joe Ervin and Terry Wilkins combined for nine receptions out of the backfield.

By the Numbers

100: Number of combined pass attempts between the Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders. Both teams featured air raid attacks that looked to throw the ball early and often on Saturday. Chase Cunningham just edged Austin Reed to total attempts, passing 51 times to Reed's 49.

3: Kyle Ulbrich became the first Blue Raider ever to record three punts of more than 70 yards in his career after his 72-yard punt in the second quarter.

8: Zeke Rankin made his eighth-straight field goal with his 34-yard make just before halftime. That moves him to tied fourth in program history for most field goals made in a row.

Blue Raider Notes

CAPTAINS: Today's game captains were Yusuf Ali, Chase Cunningham, Jordan Ferguson, Jaylin Lane, and Ja'Kerrius Wyatt.

TURNING IT OVER: The Blue Raider defense made its mark early, as Teldrick Ross recovered a fumble on WKU's first offensive play. It was MTSU's 13^th turnover gained after entering the game ranked No. 14 in the country in turnovers gained. Ross' fumble recovery marked the third time MTSU had forced a turnover on its opponent's first offensive play of the game.

PICK CITY: Tra Fluellen recorded the Blue Raiders' 10^th interception of the season in the second quarter after the team entered the game ranked seventh in FBS in that category. It was MTSU's 14^th turnover gained on the season and Fluellen's second pick of the season.

THOMAS BREAKS OUT: Jakobe Thomas made a team-leading 11 tackles to set a career high in his first career start. The redshirt freshman from Tullahoma, Tenn., made 10 solo stops to lead the Blue Raiders while also forcing the first fumble of his career.

NEVER SAY DIE: Devyn Curtis' fourth-quarter fumble recovery gave the Blue Raiders their third takeaway of the game with 7:22 to play. It marked the third time in the last four games the Blue Raiders had forced three turnovers.

QUICK HITTERS: DE Jordan Ferguson made his team-leading 29th consecutive start against WKU today … Ferguson also played in his team-leading 52^nd career game … Redshirt freshman safety Jakobe Thomas made his first collegiate start today against WKU … Kyle Ulbrich became the first Blue Raider to have three or more punts of 70 yards or longer after his 72-yard punt in the second quarter … Zeke Rankin tied the fourth-longest streak in program history with his eighth consecutive made field goal late in the second quarter. He ended the game four shy of the program record of 12 … Terry Wilkins recorded the first reception of his career in the third quarter … Izaiah Gathings scored his first touchdown of 2022 in the fourth quarter.

Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Stockstill

"First of all, give Western Kentucky credit, because they got us here tonight. I thought we made some improvement defensively from the last couple weeks. We struggled giving up explosive plays, we played more zone coverage here tonight and less man coverage. I thought our secondary and our linebackers were doing a lot better job. We kept the ball in front of us."

"We knew they were going to throw a lot of screens and take the front out of the game, because they get the ball out so quick. But I thought our front still did a good job, in the run, got a little bit of pressure when they could. A couple of times, their quarterback hurt us with quarterback draw, he scrambled out one time. They're an explosive offense, you can't give them anything, and we gave them a couple of things."

"Offensively, we just never really established an identity. We were very inconsistent the whole night, we weren't very good on third down. We'd get something going and then shoot ourselves in the foot. At times we were our worst enemy."

Up Next

Middle Tennessee enjoys its open date in the schedule next week, before hitting the road for two straight games, starting with an October 29 tilt against UTEP. Kickoff in the Sun Bowl is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio network.

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