Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
NOTEBOOK: Football finally returns home for rivalry game in Floyd Stadium
9/12/2022 5:04:00 PM | Football, General, Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee football finally returns home to the confines of Floyd Stadium this weekend, taking on Tennessee State in an OVC rivalry renewed for 615 Night on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Coming off an excellent bounce-back win over Colorado State, head coach Rick Stockstill said he could see confidence on the faces in his team after the win but cautioned them that another strong week of preparation was needed to sustain that level of play.
"When you win, it breeds confidence, when you lose, it creates doubt at times," Stockstill said. "I think everybody should be a lot more confident going into this week. But just like last week, you look at the mistakes that you made, the things that you did well, and you build on them and correct them. What you did last week had no bearing on what's going to happen this week. We've just got to continue to work, stay focused and keep our eye on what's important."
Coached by Eddie George, best known for appearing with his wife, R&B singer Tamara "Taj" Johnson, on Survivor: Tocantins (as well as, you know, his 1995 Heisman Trophy winning season at Ohio State and storied career with the Tennessee Titans), Tennessee State enters Saturday's game 0-2 on the season after close losses to both Eastern Washington and Jackson State, two FCS powers.
Stockstill highlighted the athletic talent on both sides of the ball that MTSU will face, praising the Tigers skill positions as well as their multiple front defense, highlighting the "NFL flavor" on both sides of the ball for TSU. The close proximity of the Nashville based Tigers also has Stockstill and the Blue Raiders excited to kick off the home slate with a regional rival.
"You go back to Middle Tennessee in the OVC days and the long history of playing Tennessee State or Tennessee Tech and all those OVC teams that you played for a long time, there's a lot of history, a lot of tradition, a lot of rivalries that have been developed over a long period of time playing these teams," Stockstill said. "It generates a lot of memories for your fan base. They can talk about this game 20 years ago, 10 years ago when we played it. So, I think it's pretty cool, pretty neat that we get to play this game."
The close proximity builds familiarity between the two rosters too, with plenty of players on both teams familiar with each other from playing with or across from each other during high school and even college. The Tigers' leading receiver, Zach Dobson, formerly was a running back/receiver for the Blue Raiders.
"My boy Zach Dobson, I can't wait to play this week," defensive end Jordan Ferguson said. "We're going to get after him a little bit this week, and I know he's going to try to get after us."
Fans are encouraged to get to their seats at least 15 minutes before kickoff on Saturday to witness a special game ball delivery.
Quindarius Dunnigan is your C-USA Defensive Player of the Week
After earning his first 2.5 career sacks against Colorado State, Quindarius Dunnigan earned his first career conference weekly award, being named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his dominant performance in Fort Collins. The Chattanooga, Tenn. native hit career highs with seven tackles, including 3.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup. The 2.5 sacks equaled the sixth most in a Blue Raider game.
"Quindarius Dunnigan, last year, he couldn't play because of an injury the whole season," Ferguson said of his D-Line teammate during the game week press conference. "People didn't see how hard he worked this whole off season and last year not being able to play. What he did in the spring and the summer and fall camp, you get to see all that hard work pay off for him. Once you make that big play, the sky's the limit for you and you just want to keep doing more."
Volleyball takes all three matches to win Middle Tennesse Invitational
With three victories on the weekend, Middle Tennessee volleyball took down a pair of in-state rivals en route to the Blue Raider Invitational Championship. Defeating Grambling State in straight sets and Belmont in five sets on Friday, with a four-set win over UT-Martin on Saturday, MTSU rode a balanced attack to their weekend sweep, with five players finishing the weekend with at least 25 kills.
Right side hitter Kayla Henley took home tournament MVP honors after just missing out on averaging a double-double in kills (10.33) and digs (9.67). Freshmen outside hitters Adri Rhoda and Trae McCutchan also earned all-tournament honors for the Blue Raiders.
Senior libero Marley Banton also hit a huge career milestone, ending the UT-Martin match with exactly 1,000 career digs in her career. She's the 13th Blue Raider to reach that mark in their time in Murfreesboro.
Eisert, Rhoda take C-USA Weekly Honors for second week in a row
This afternoon, the conference honors continued to roll in for MTSU Athletics, with MTSU Volleyball once again taking home Conference USA's setter of the week (Taylor Eisert) and freshman of the week (Adri Rhoda) honors for the second week in a row.
Eisert became the first ever MTSU setter to win setter of the week twice from the conference office, while also being the first ever three-time weekly award honoree from C-USA, after winning freshman of the week during the 2020-21 season. Eisert led all C-USA setters with 10.75 assists per set this past weekend, helping MTSU hit .288 as a team.
Rhoda takes her second C-USA Freshman of the Week award after leading MTSU with 35 kills on the weekend. The Hutchinson, Minn. native led all starting C-USA freshmen in kills per set, points per set, service aces per set, and blocks per set last week. She's just the second Blue Raider freshman to take home two conference freshman of the week awards in program history.
Tennis Complex Groundbreaking set for Thursday
The Build Blue project reaches another major milestone this week, as Dr. Sidney A. McPhee will join MTSU Athletics for the groundbreaking of the new Outdoor Tennis Complex at 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 15.
Located at the corner of Greenland Drive and Middle Tennessee Boulevard, this new outdoor facility built on the current location of the Buck Bouldin Tennis Courts will serve as the primary home for the Blue Raiders during the outdoor tennis season, with plenty of seating options for Blue Raider fans to cheer on MTSU.
Supporters wishing to attend can park in the Greenland Drive parking lot next to the Murphy Center.
Wally Tidwell Pro-Am crowns 2022 winners
Across town at the Adams Tennis Center, the annual Wally Tidwell Pro-Am was a smashing success amidst a wet weekend in Murfreesboro, thanks to the indoor courts at the tennis center. The annual kickoff to the MTSU tennis season, the Wall Tidwell Pro-Am matches MTSU supporters with tennis student athletes for a weekend of fun doubles tennis action.
Check out the men's and women's flight winners from this year below!
MTSU-WKU Blood Drive starts October 3rd
*eyes emoji* Watch the MT_MBB social channels tomorrow for a big announcement...
Coming off an excellent bounce-back win over Colorado State, head coach Rick Stockstill said he could see confidence on the faces in his team after the win but cautioned them that another strong week of preparation was needed to sustain that level of play.
"When you win, it breeds confidence, when you lose, it creates doubt at times," Stockstill said. "I think everybody should be a lot more confident going into this week. But just like last week, you look at the mistakes that you made, the things that you did well, and you build on them and correct them. What you did last week had no bearing on what's going to happen this week. We've just got to continue to work, stay focused and keep our eye on what's important."
Coached by Eddie George, best known for appearing with his wife, R&B singer Tamara "Taj" Johnson, on Survivor: Tocantins (as well as, you know, his 1995 Heisman Trophy winning season at Ohio State and storied career with the Tennessee Titans), Tennessee State enters Saturday's game 0-2 on the season after close losses to both Eastern Washington and Jackson State, two FCS powers.
Stockstill highlighted the athletic talent on both sides of the ball that MTSU will face, praising the Tigers skill positions as well as their multiple front defense, highlighting the "NFL flavor" on both sides of the ball for TSU. The close proximity of the Nashville based Tigers also has Stockstill and the Blue Raiders excited to kick off the home slate with a regional rival.
"You go back to Middle Tennessee in the OVC days and the long history of playing Tennessee State or Tennessee Tech and all those OVC teams that you played for a long time, there's a lot of history, a lot of tradition, a lot of rivalries that have been developed over a long period of time playing these teams," Stockstill said. "It generates a lot of memories for your fan base. They can talk about this game 20 years ago, 10 years ago when we played it. So, I think it's pretty cool, pretty neat that we get to play this game."
The close proximity builds familiarity between the two rosters too, with plenty of players on both teams familiar with each other from playing with or across from each other during high school and even college. The Tigers' leading receiver, Zach Dobson, formerly was a running back/receiver for the Blue Raiders.
"My boy Zach Dobson, I can't wait to play this week," defensive end Jordan Ferguson said. "We're going to get after him a little bit this week, and I know he's going to try to get after us."
Fans are encouraged to get to their seats at least 15 minutes before kickoff on Saturday to witness a special game ball delivery.
Quindarius Dunnigan is your C-USA Defensive Player of the Week
After earning his first 2.5 career sacks against Colorado State, Quindarius Dunnigan earned his first career conference weekly award, being named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his dominant performance in Fort Collins. The Chattanooga, Tenn. native hit career highs with seven tackles, including 3.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup. The 2.5 sacks equaled the sixth most in a Blue Raider game.
"Quindarius Dunnigan, last year, he couldn't play because of an injury the whole season," Ferguson said of his D-Line teammate during the game week press conference. "People didn't see how hard he worked this whole off season and last year not being able to play. What he did in the spring and the summer and fall camp, you get to see all that hard work pay off for him. Once you make that big play, the sky's the limit for you and you just want to keep doing more."
Volleyball takes all three matches to win Middle Tennesse Invitational
With three victories on the weekend, Middle Tennessee volleyball took down a pair of in-state rivals en route to the Blue Raider Invitational Championship. Defeating Grambling State in straight sets and Belmont in five sets on Friday, with a four-set win over UT-Martin on Saturday, MTSU rode a balanced attack to their weekend sweep, with five players finishing the weekend with at least 25 kills.
Right side hitter Kayla Henley took home tournament MVP honors after just missing out on averaging a double-double in kills (10.33) and digs (9.67). Freshmen outside hitters Adri Rhoda and Trae McCutchan also earned all-tournament honors for the Blue Raiders.
Senior libero Marley Banton also hit a huge career milestone, ending the UT-Martin match with exactly 1,000 career digs in her career. She's the 13th Blue Raider to reach that mark in their time in Murfreesboro.
Eisert, Rhoda take C-USA Weekly Honors for second week in a row
This afternoon, the conference honors continued to roll in for MTSU Athletics, with MTSU Volleyball once again taking home Conference USA's setter of the week (Taylor Eisert) and freshman of the week (Adri Rhoda) honors for the second week in a row.
Eisert became the first ever MTSU setter to win setter of the week twice from the conference office, while also being the first ever three-time weekly award honoree from C-USA, after winning freshman of the week during the 2020-21 season. Eisert led all C-USA setters with 10.75 assists per set this past weekend, helping MTSU hit .288 as a team.
Rhoda takes her second C-USA Freshman of the Week award after leading MTSU with 35 kills on the weekend. The Hutchinson, Minn. native led all starting C-USA freshmen in kills per set, points per set, service aces per set, and blocks per set last week. She's just the second Blue Raider freshman to take home two conference freshman of the week awards in program history.
Tennis Complex Groundbreaking set for Thursday
The Build Blue project reaches another major milestone this week, as Dr. Sidney A. McPhee will join MTSU Athletics for the groundbreaking of the new Outdoor Tennis Complex at 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 15.
Located at the corner of Greenland Drive and Middle Tennessee Boulevard, this new outdoor facility built on the current location of the Buck Bouldin Tennis Courts will serve as the primary home for the Blue Raiders during the outdoor tennis season, with plenty of seating options for Blue Raider fans to cheer on MTSU.
Supporters wishing to attend can park in the Greenland Drive parking lot next to the Murphy Center.
Wally Tidwell Pro-Am crowns 2022 winners
Across town at the Adams Tennis Center, the annual Wally Tidwell Pro-Am was a smashing success amidst a wet weekend in Murfreesboro, thanks to the indoor courts at the tennis center. The annual kickoff to the MTSU tennis season, the Wall Tidwell Pro-Am matches MTSU supporters with tennis student athletes for a weekend of fun doubles tennis action.
Check out the men's and women's flight winners from this year below!
MTSU-WKU Blood Drive starts October 3rd
*eyes emoji* Watch the MT_MBB social channels tomorrow for a big announcement...
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
DE
/ Football
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DE
/ Football
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMTSU Football vs Marshall post-game conference - 9/20/25
Sunday, September 21
2025 Blue Raider Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Friday, September 19
A look back: 1965 and 1985 Undefeated Blue Raider Football Teams
Wednesday, September 17
MTSU Football at Nevada cinematic recap – 9/13/25
Tuesday, September 16
