Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
1-3 , 0-0
Colorado State
1-2 , 0-0
Second-half comeback sets back Blue Raiders against Rams
9/23/2023 9:34:00 PM | Football
Colorado State scores 21 straight points in the second half to defeat MTSU
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee football came out with a gameplan and won the battle of the field position and scheme in the first half, but a 21 straight points from a resurgent Colorado State team proved too much to overcome, as the Blue Raiders fell 31-23 on Saturday night at Floyd Stadium.
After a field goal from Colorado State (1-2) opened up the game's scoring, Holden Willis started the scoring for MTSU (1-3) on the Blue Raiders' second drive, catching a pass from Nicholas Vattiato in between zones of the CSU defense along the near sideline, making five Rams miss on his 36-yards after the catch for a 49-yard touchdown catch. A CSU touchdown was followed by a 31-yard field goal from Zeke Rankin to tie the game 10-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The two squads exchanged punts for six consecutive drives, before Willis once again set up MTSU for a score. Nicholas Vattiato floated a ball on third down into the red zone, where the six-foot-four wideout won the jump ball battle to put MTSU inside the five with under 30 seconds left in the half. Vattiato then scampered into the endzone untouched from four yards out on the QB draw to the Blue Raiders a halftime lead, 17-10.
The Rams would be the aggressors in the second half, however, tying the game in the third quarter then scoring on their first drive of the fourth quarter to take a 24-17 lead. A blown up designed lateral play on the ensuing Blue Raider drive turned bad into worst for the home team, as Colorado State scooped the fumble on the play and scored to double the lead to 31-17.
MTSU showed fight, driving down for a 10-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Elijah Metcalf to give the Blue Raiders a chance late, but a blocked PAT made things even trickier late in the fourth quarter. A late stop would give MTSU a chance at the two-minute drill to tie the game, but Vattiato's final hail mary pass was stripped in the windup, resulting in a fumble as triple zeros hit the clock to finish of the Blue Raiders' hopes.
By the Numbers
162-33: Advantage on yards on the ground for MTSU, who possessed the superior rushing attack on Saturday night.
115: Receiving yards for Holden Willis, a career-high for the South Florida transfer. It's the first time in 2023 MTSU has had a receiver reach 100 receiving yards in a single game.
Blue Raider Notes
• First 100-yard performance by a Blue Raider receiver since Jaylin Lane caught 10 passes for 111 yards in the 2022 Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 24, 2022.
• Third consecutive 200-yard passing performance by Vattiato – seventh of his career – ties for 13th all time.
• First time an opponent has blocked a Blue Raider PAT since Sep. 25, 2020, against UTSA
Offensive Player Notes
#9 | Elijah Metcalf | WR | r-So.
• Tallied a career high 95 yards on a career high 11 receptions and a TD.
#11 | Nicholas Vattiato | QB | r-So.
• Finished 30-for-41 with 274 yards and three TD's.
• Rushed for a career high 58 yards and a TD.
• Logged his first career rushing touchdown in the final seconds of the first half.
• Third consecutive 200-yard passing performance – seventh of his career – ties for 13th all time.
#83 | Holden Willis | WR | Jr.
• Tallied a career high 118 yards on a career high nine receptions with a TD.
• Registered a career long 49-yard TD pass in the first quarter against Colorado State.
• First 100-yard performance by a Blue Raider receiver since Jaylin Lane caught 10 passes for 111 yards in the 2022 Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 24, 2022.
Defensive Player Notes
#28 | De'Arre McDonald | CB | r-So.
• Notched his first career sack in the second quarter.
#31 | Deonte Stanley | CB | r-Jr.
• Logged the first interception of the year for the Blue Raiders defense.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Stockstill
"Disappointing, frustrating. (We) did a lot of good things and did a lot of things not good enough to enable you to win a game against a team like that. It's very frustrating. Proud of our effort, those suckers competed their tails off until the very end. (We) just weren't good enough tonight to close it out."
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Team Stats
CSU 3, MTS 0
CSU - Noyes,Jordan 32 yd field goal 13 plays, 67 yards, TOP 04:06
CSU 3, MTS 7
MTS - Willis,Holden 49 yd pass from Vattiato,Nicholas (Rankin,Zeke kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:17
CSU 10, MTS 7
CSU - Holker,Dallin 24 yd pass from Pooler,Giles (Noyes,Jordan kick) 6 plays, 57 yards, TOP 01:59
CSU 10, MTS 10
MTS - Rankin,Zeke 31 yd field goal 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 04:05
CSU 10, MTS 17
MTS - Vattiato,Nicholas 4 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 5 plays, 46 yards, TOP 00:42
CSU 17, MTS 17
CSU - Horton,Tory 7 yd pass from Fowler-Nicolosi,Brayden (Noyes,Jordan kick) 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:09
CSU 24, MTS 17
CSU - Horton,Tory 7 yd pass from Fowler-Nicolosi,Brayden (Noyes,Jordan kick) 13 plays, 76 yards, TOP 06:42
CSU 31, MTS 17
CSU - Kamara,Mohamed 5 yd fumble recovery (Noyes,Jordan kick)
CSU 31, MTS 23
MTS - Metcalf,Elijah 10 yd pass from Vattiato,Nicholas () 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:45
