Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, September 10
Fort Collins, CO
3 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
1-1 , 0-0
34
at
19
Colorado State
0-2 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Middle Tenn.
10
17
7
0
34
Colorado St.
0
0
19
0
19
Photo by: Matt Posey/MT Athletic Communications
Blue Raiders rush past Rams in the Rockies
9/10/2022 7:01:00 PM | Football
MTSU led by as many as 34 points in the first September road win since 2017.
FORT COLLINS, Co. — Middle Tennessee Football scored on the first play from scrimmage and never looked back, defeating Colorado State 34-19 on Saturday afternoon Canvas Stadium.
Tra Fluellen intercepted Clay Millen immediately after the opening kickoff and ran the takeaway back 32-yards for the pick-6, setting the tone for a game in which MTSU (1-1) led by as many as 34 points in the second half and 27-0 at halftime. CSU (0-2) would make a run in the third quarter, with 19 points in the frame. But the Blue Raiders pitched a shutout in the final quarter to ice the game.
Frank Peasant ran for two touchdowns and 93 yards to lead the Blue Raiders on the ground. Chase Cunningham threw for 266 yards and a touchdown. Quindarius Dunnigan led MTSU with 2.5 of the team's nine sacks, one of 11 different Blue Raiders with at least a half a tackle for a loss on the afternoon. Izaiah Gathings led MTSU with 92 receiving yards on 11 catches.
By the Numbers
31: Number of completions for Chase Cunningham, a career-high for the MTSU Quarterback. The Knoxville native's previous career high for completions was 28 in 2021 at Charlotte.
9: Number of sacks for the MTSU defense. Nine sacks are tied for the most in a single game in program history (Arkansas State, 2007).
11: Catches from Izaiah Gathings, his sixth career ten-catch game. That mark ties him with eight other Blue Raiders for the seventh most by one receiver in a game.
2.5: With two and half sacks, Quindarius Dunnigan tied the sixth-most sacks for one Blue Raider in a single game.
Blue Raider Notes
TO THE HOUSE: Tra Fluellen put the Blue Raiders on the board with a pick-six on the first play from scrimmage. It was the junior safety's first career pick-six. It went down as the 41st defensive score for the Blue Raiders under Rick Stockstill and the 26th interception for a score. It was also the first time Middle Tennessee had scored on the first play from scrimmage since August 29, 2013, when Jordan Parker ran 65 yards for a touchdown to open the game against Western Carolina.
GATHINGS SHINES: Senior wide receiver Izaiah Gathings enjoyed his best game as a Blue Raider on Saturday against Colorado State. Gathings hauled in a Blue Raider best 11 receptions for another MTSU best 92 yards. The transfer was just shy of his collegiate career-high in catches of 14 set in 2019 against Charleston Southern as a member of the Gardner Webb program. The 11 catches ranked eighth on the all-time list.
DEFENSE BACK AT IT: After leading the nation in turnovers gained in 2021, the Blue Raider defense looked to be back in last year's form. The unit came up with three takeaways in the first half and finished the game with four. The defense set the tone of the game with a pick six by Tra Fluellen on the first drive of the game.
THE RUST IS OFF: Quarterback Chase Cunningham, who missed the final five games of the 2021 season with an injury, returned to his efficient ways at Colorado State. The senior finished 31 for 39 for 266 yards to record his fourth career 200-yard passing game and his first since throwing for 297 yards in a win at UConn on Oct. 22, 2021. His 31 completions went down as a career-best and ranked seventh on MTSU's all-time list.
MOVING THEM BACK: The Blue Raiders' nine sacks tied the program record set October 20, 2007, against Arkansas State. Defensive end Quindarius Dunnigan led the charge into the Colorado State backfield with the first 2.5 sacks of his career to go along with a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Marley Cook and linebacker Christian Dixon added 2.0 sacks apiece. Cook recorded the first multi-sack game of his career. Eleven different Blue Raiders were credited with tackles for loss.
QUICK HITTERS: DE Jordan Ferguson made his team-leading 24th consecutive start against CSU today … Ferguson also played in his team-leading 47th career game … OL Seth Falley made his first career start as a Blue Raider at right guard … Quindarius Dunnigan recorded his first career sack in the first quarter … Ja'Kerrius Wyatt recorded his second career fumble recovery late in the second quarter to stop a potential CSU scoring drive … RB Frank Peasant had two rushing touchdowns in the first half against CSU which is the most rushing scores for Peasant in a single game … WR Elijah Metcalf registered his first collegiate TD reception to open the third quarter … Decorian Patterson registered his third career interception and first of the season late in the fourth quarter.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Stockstill
"Really proud of our team. I thought we had a really good week of preparation. I thought our mental intensity and focus all week long was good. I talked to them on Sunday on controlling what we can control and just worry about ourselves. Don't worry about all the outside noise and being 14 point underdogs, five million feet above sea level, all that kind of stuff. I thought we were really really good today.
"Jumped out to a 34-0 lead there at the beginning of the third quarter. I thought that drive coming out of the locker room, at halftime it's 27-0 and then we score, I thought that was really good. We came out of the locker room with great energy and executed really well. Defensively, we did a nice job and then about the middle of the third quarter, they hit some balls behind us. But, they're a talented team, that receiver is really good, we knew that coming in.
"But it's never over. You never can relax. You play this game for 60 minutes and we did that. Created a lot of sacks, created a lot of turnovers, we executed well offensively. We were a lot better on third down percentage. We were able to run the ball against a really good team. Just really proud of the competitive spirit our team showed tonight. Our coaches also did a phenomenal job. Give them a lot of credit as well."
Up Next
MTSU will return home to play Tennessee State for 615 Night and Family Weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Football on social media on Facebook (/BlueRaiderFooball), Twitter (@MT_FB) and Instagram (@mt_fb).
Tra Fluellen intercepted Clay Millen immediately after the opening kickoff and ran the takeaway back 32-yards for the pick-6, setting the tone for a game in which MTSU (1-1) led by as many as 34 points in the second half and 27-0 at halftime. CSU (0-2) would make a run in the third quarter, with 19 points in the frame. But the Blue Raiders pitched a shutout in the final quarter to ice the game.
Frank Peasant ran for two touchdowns and 93 yards to lead the Blue Raiders on the ground. Chase Cunningham threw for 266 yards and a touchdown. Quindarius Dunnigan led MTSU with 2.5 of the team's nine sacks, one of 11 different Blue Raiders with at least a half a tackle for a loss on the afternoon. Izaiah Gathings led MTSU with 92 receiving yards on 11 catches.
By the Numbers
31: Number of completions for Chase Cunningham, a career-high for the MTSU Quarterback. The Knoxville native's previous career high for completions was 28 in 2021 at Charlotte.
9: Number of sacks for the MTSU defense. Nine sacks are tied for the most in a single game in program history (Arkansas State, 2007).
11: Catches from Izaiah Gathings, his sixth career ten-catch game. That mark ties him with eight other Blue Raiders for the seventh most by one receiver in a game.
2.5: With two and half sacks, Quindarius Dunnigan tied the sixth-most sacks for one Blue Raider in a single game.
Blue Raider Notes
TO THE HOUSE: Tra Fluellen put the Blue Raiders on the board with a pick-six on the first play from scrimmage. It was the junior safety's first career pick-six. It went down as the 41st defensive score for the Blue Raiders under Rick Stockstill and the 26th interception for a score. It was also the first time Middle Tennessee had scored on the first play from scrimmage since August 29, 2013, when Jordan Parker ran 65 yards for a touchdown to open the game against Western Carolina.
GATHINGS SHINES: Senior wide receiver Izaiah Gathings enjoyed his best game as a Blue Raider on Saturday against Colorado State. Gathings hauled in a Blue Raider best 11 receptions for another MTSU best 92 yards. The transfer was just shy of his collegiate career-high in catches of 14 set in 2019 against Charleston Southern as a member of the Gardner Webb program. The 11 catches ranked eighth on the all-time list.
DEFENSE BACK AT IT: After leading the nation in turnovers gained in 2021, the Blue Raider defense looked to be back in last year's form. The unit came up with three takeaways in the first half and finished the game with four. The defense set the tone of the game with a pick six by Tra Fluellen on the first drive of the game.
THE RUST IS OFF: Quarterback Chase Cunningham, who missed the final five games of the 2021 season with an injury, returned to his efficient ways at Colorado State. The senior finished 31 for 39 for 266 yards to record his fourth career 200-yard passing game and his first since throwing for 297 yards in a win at UConn on Oct. 22, 2021. His 31 completions went down as a career-best and ranked seventh on MTSU's all-time list.
MOVING THEM BACK: The Blue Raiders' nine sacks tied the program record set October 20, 2007, against Arkansas State. Defensive end Quindarius Dunnigan led the charge into the Colorado State backfield with the first 2.5 sacks of his career to go along with a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Marley Cook and linebacker Christian Dixon added 2.0 sacks apiece. Cook recorded the first multi-sack game of his career. Eleven different Blue Raiders were credited with tackles for loss.
QUICK HITTERS: DE Jordan Ferguson made his team-leading 24th consecutive start against CSU today … Ferguson also played in his team-leading 47th career game … OL Seth Falley made his first career start as a Blue Raider at right guard … Quindarius Dunnigan recorded his first career sack in the first quarter … Ja'Kerrius Wyatt recorded his second career fumble recovery late in the second quarter to stop a potential CSU scoring drive … RB Frank Peasant had two rushing touchdowns in the first half against CSU which is the most rushing scores for Peasant in a single game … WR Elijah Metcalf registered his first collegiate TD reception to open the third quarter … Decorian Patterson registered his third career interception and first of the season late in the fourth quarter.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Stockstill
"Really proud of our team. I thought we had a really good week of preparation. I thought our mental intensity and focus all week long was good. I talked to them on Sunday on controlling what we can control and just worry about ourselves. Don't worry about all the outside noise and being 14 point underdogs, five million feet above sea level, all that kind of stuff. I thought we were really really good today.
"Jumped out to a 34-0 lead there at the beginning of the third quarter. I thought that drive coming out of the locker room, at halftime it's 27-0 and then we score, I thought that was really good. We came out of the locker room with great energy and executed really well. Defensively, we did a nice job and then about the middle of the third quarter, they hit some balls behind us. But, they're a talented team, that receiver is really good, we knew that coming in.
"But it's never over. You never can relax. You play this game for 60 minutes and we did that. Created a lot of sacks, created a lot of turnovers, we executed well offensively. We were a lot better on third down percentage. We were able to run the ball against a really good team. Just really proud of the competitive spirit our team showed tonight. Our coaches also did a phenomenal job. Give them a lot of credit as well."
Up Next
MTSU will return home to play Tennessee State for 615 Night and Family Weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Football on social media on Facebook (/BlueRaiderFooball), Twitter (@MT_FB) and Instagram (@mt_fb).
Team Stats
MTN
CSU
Total Yards
380
246
Pass Yards
266
256
Rushing Yards
114
-10
Penalty Yards
47
67
1st Downs
20
16
3rd Downs
7
3
4th Downs
2
2
TOP
31:19
28:41
1st Quarter
MTN 7, CSU 0
MTN - Fluellen,Tra 32 yd interception (Rankin,Zeke kick)
MTN 10, CSU 0
MTN - Rankin,Zeke 25 yd field goal 11 plays, 63 yards, TOP 03:59
2nd Quarter
MTN 17, CSU 0
MTN - Peasant,Frank 1 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 7 plays, 41 yards, TOP 02:39
MTN 20, CSU 0
MTN - Rankin,Zeke 35 yd field goal 17 plays, 76 yards, TOP 06:35
MTN 27, CSU 0
MTN - Peasant,Frank 1 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 3 plays, 18 yards, TOP 00:40
3rd Quarter
MTN 34, CSU 0
MTN - Metcalf,Elijah 42 yd pass from Cunningham,Chase (Rankin,Zeke kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:19
MTN 34, CSU 6
CSU - Horton,Tory 48 yd pass from Millen,Clay () 3 plays, 61 yards, TOP 01:13
MTN 34, CSU 13
CSU - Horton,Tory 69 yd pass from Millen,Clay (Camper,Cayden kick) 2 plays, 70 yards, TOP 00:43
MTN 34, CSU 19
CSU - Horton,Tory 17 yd pass from Millen,Clay () 7 plays, 36 yards, TOP 02:43
Game Leaders
CMP
31
TD
1
YDS
266
INT
1
Players Mentioned
DT
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DT
/ Football
S
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
S
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DT
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