Blue Raiders drop season finale to Bearkats

Saturday, November 25

Huntsville, TX

11:00 AM

Middle Tennessee

4-8 , 3-5

Sam Houston

3-9 , 2-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Middle Tenn.

Sam Houston

11/25/2023 2:47:00 PM | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes Gamebook 2023 Final Football Stats Photo Gallery

A game-tying field goal attempt was wide right as time expired in Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Middle Tennessee football fell in the final minute on the road against Sam Houston, dropping their season finale 23-20 at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Raiders (4-8, 3-5 CUSA) started hot on offense, driving 62 yards in 10 plays, with Nicholas Vattiato beginning the afternoon 7-for-7 passing for 49 yards on the opening drive. Frank Peasant's three-yard touchdown run capped off the opening minutes and got MTSU on the board first.

Sam Houston (3-9, 2-6 CUSA) would counter with a field goal on their opening drive, but the Blue Raiders kept their foot on the gas, with Vattiato finding Zack Dobson 43 yards down the field on a pass to set MTSU up inside the Bearkat five-yard line. A holding penalty pushed MTSU back and the Blue Raiders settled for a 32-yard field goal from Zeke Rankin. The Bearkats added two field goals of their own in the second quarter after several stout defensive stands in Blue Raider territory, giving MTSU the slight 10-9 lead at halftime.

Marvae Myers would start the second half with a bang for MTSU, snagging an interception behind his body with a great jumping catch, returning the ball inside the Bearkat 20, setting up a 31-yard Rankin field goal to increase the Blue Raiders' lead to 13-9.

Sam Houston would take their first lead of the afternoon early in the third quarter on a 31-yard interception return for the touchdown, Vattiato's second of three interceptions on the afternoon, creating a 16-13 advantage that would hold most of the second half. But MTSU would retake the lead on a 97-yard drive, capped off by a five-yard touchdown run from DJ Riles, with just under three minutes to play.

The Bearkats, however, would throw the last punch, scoring with 12-play, 72-yard drive to retake the lead with under a minute to go. MTSU would get one last kick with a chance to tie it, but Rankin's 47-yard attempt was wide right, ending the game.

By the Numbers
3-for-12: Middle Tennessee's success rate on third down on Saturday. The Bearkats were able to convert 50 percent of their third down opportunities (10-for-20).

3: Blue Raiders who completed a pass on Saturday. Both DJ Riles and Holden Willis joined Vattiato in completing a pass against the Bearkats.

2.7: Combined yards per rush for MTSU and Sam Houston. The Blue Raiders bore the lower end of the rushing total, only managing 2.4 yards per rush on the ground, while the Bearkats averaged 3.0 yards per carry.

Blue Raider Notes
• MTSU scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the game today for the third time in the last five games. The Blue Raiders have also accomplished the feat in back-to-back weeks and four times total on the season.
• With today's 97-yard scoring drive, the Blue Raiders have now put together 35 scoring drives of 90 or more yards under Head Coach Rick Stockstill.

Offensive Player Notes
#5 | DJ Riles | QB | r-Fr
• Had a TD on a 5-yard run to cap a six play, 97-yard drive.

#9 | Elijah Metcalf | WR | r-So.
• Has caught at least one pass in 18 straight games which is the longest streak of any Blue Raider

#11 | Nicholas Vattiato | QB | r-So.
• With 240 passing yards today, Vattiato ran his season total to 3,091. He becomes just the fifth player in school history to record a 3,000-yard passing season.
• With 29 completions against Sam Houston, Vattiato now has 286 for the season to rank fourth on the single-season list. He surpassed Clint Marks (259) and Brent Stockstill (262) to move into fourth place. • Reached the 200+ passing yards mark for the 13th time in his career, tying Asher O'Hara for fifth-most among Blue Raider quarterbacks.

#13 | Javonte Sherman | WR | So.
• Hauled in seven passes against Sam Houston to set a new career high. His previous best mark was five catches against Murray State earlier this season.

#19 | Zack Dobson | WR | r-Sr.
• Tallied a team high 98 yards on five receptions against Sam Houston.

Defensive Player Notes
#2 | Jorden Starling | DT | r-Sr.
• Played in his 62nd career game today, adding to his school record for most games played. The previous record entering 2023 was 60 established by DQ Thomas.

#6 | Jakobe Thomas | S | r-So.
• Posted a team high nine tackles against Sam Houston.

#46 | Marvae Myers | S | r-Jr.
• Turned in seven tackles, including a career-best 2.0 TFLs and an INT against Sam Houston.
• Had an interception on Sam Houston's first drive of the second half to give him a pick in back-to-back games. Myers had his first career pick in last week's win over UTEP.

Special Teams Player Notes
#7 | Zeke Rankin | PK | Jr.
• With two field goals on the day (32-yard and 31-yard field goal) against Sam Houston Rankin now has 36 career made field goals, to rank sixth place all-time.

Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Stockstill
"Very tough, hard fought, competitive game. Went down to the wire. Obviously the turnovers hurt us. We played good defensively the second half. Up until that last drive, (then) we couldn't get off the field. And then offensively we didn't do anything in the second half until the last two drives. We got a touchdown to put ourselves in a position to get a field goal. Just didn't get it done."

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