Late Peasant Touchdown secures win No. 1 of the Mason Era

Saturday, August 31

Murfreesboro, TN

6:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

1-0 , 0-0

Tennessee Tech

0-1 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tennessee Tech

Middle Tenn.

9/1/2024 12:46:00 AM | Football

Box Score Game Book Post Game Notes Cumulative Season Stats Photo Gallery

Middle Tennessee trailed with under a minute to go against Tennessee Tech before Peasant’s late run pushed the Blue Raiders past the Golden Eagles.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Blue Raiders were pushed to the brink late Saturday night at Floyd Stadium, but held on thanks to a late touchdown from Frank Peasant, defeating Tennessee Tech 32-25.

Middle Tennessee (1-0) struck on the very first drive of the night, converting three third downs on Nicholas Vattiato passes before Frank Peasant's three-yard run on third and goal gave MTSU a 7-0 lead after just over eight minutes of play. Four different running backs earned carries on the drive, while Vattiato completed his three passes to three different receivers.

After a fourth down interception from John Howse IV set MTSU up inside the Golden Eagles 30-yard line, MTSU converted on fourth down to get inside the red zone, capping off the seven-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Vattiato to Myles Butler, doubling the Blue Raiders' lead. The Blue Raider run game continued to pile it on the next drive, with Jaiden Credle scampering in for a 10-yard score after an 11-play, 59-yard drive, stretching the lead to 21-0 midway through the second quarter.

The Golden Eagles (0-1) would get a safety after pinning MTSU on their own one-yard line following a punt, and then capped off their drive following the free kick with a field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the lead to 21-5 at halftime.

Tennessee Tech took advantage of third quarter struggles from the Blue Raider offense to cut the lead to 21-11 with a late touchdown pass in the frame. A 33-yard Zeke Rankin field goal in the fourth quarter gave MTSU a bigger cushion, but the Golden Eagles responded quickly with a touchdown drive to cut the lead to 24-18 with 4:38 to play.

Middle Tennessee's longtime rival would take the lead late in the fourth quarter on Jordyn Potts' third touchdown pass of the night, taking a 25-24 lead after the PAT with 1:06 left on the block. MTSU then had their backs against the wall in their final drive of the game, facing a fourth-and-five on their own side of the field. But Vattiato stepped up in the pocket to avoid the pressure and found Omari Kelly in the middle of the field, getting to the Tennessee Tech 30-yard line.

Frank Peasant took advantage of the field position to become the hero of the night, taking the shotgun handoff 30 yards to the left pylon on the very next play to put the Blue Raiders back on top, 32-25, after the two-point conversion was good on a pass from Vattiato to Kellen Stewart. Good pressure from the Blue Raider front on the final Tennessee Tech drive helped ice the contest, as the Golden Eagles' lateral attempts failed on the final play of the game.

By the Numbers
9-for-17: MTSU's success rate on third down. The Blue Raiders started the game 8-for-10 on third down in the first half, before going just 1-for-7 in the second half.
210: Passing yards for MTSU.
13: Blue Raiders made their first collegiate start today against Tennessee Tech – Slade Alexander, Brandon Buckner, Miles Butler, Anthony Bynum, Trevon Ferrell, Daniel Gonzalez, Mateo Guevara, John Howse IV, Omari Kelly, Marcus Miller, Damonte Smith, Jordan Thompson and Simon Wilson.

Blue Raider Notes
• Middle Tennessee kicked off its 110th season of football with today's 2024 season opener against Tennessee Tech.
• The Blue Raiders move to 63-45-2 all-time in season openers.
• The Blue Raiders registered seven tackles for loss and a pair of sacks on the evening.
• Tonight's win marked the Blue Raiders' 300th win in Floyd Stadium.

Head Coach Derek Mason Notes
• Today's game marked the first game of the Derek Mason era at Middle Tennessee, and featured a two-hour and 40-minute weather delay.
• Coach Mason's first game at Vanderbilt on August 28, 2014, against Temple featured an hour and 42-minute weather delay, with the game concluding at 1:14 a.m. CT.
• With today's win, Coach Mason moves to 1-0 at MTSU and 28-55 all-time.

Offensive Player Notes
#1 | Omari Kelly | WR | Jr.
• Tallied a team-high 47 yards on four catches.

#3 | Frank Peasant | RB | r-Sr.
• Rushed for 49 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 10 carries.

#5 | Myles Butler | WR| r-Jr.
• Recorded his first career touchdown at the FBS level in the second quarter on a seven-yard pass from Vattiato.
• Tallied 43 yards and a touchdown on four catches.

#11 | Nick Vattiato | QB | r-Jr.
• Finished 20-for-35 with 210 yards and a touchdown.
• Reached 200+ passing yards for the 15th time in his career, ranking fifth all-time.

Defensive Player Notes
#7 | Brendon Harris | S | Gr.
• Registered a team-high six tackles, including four solo and a pass breakup.

#31 | John Howse IV | S | r-Jr.
• Logged the Blue Raiders' first interception of the season, the second of his career –previously against Kentucky (2023).

Special Teams Player Notes
#7 | Zeke Rankin | PK | r-Sr.
• Tallied four of PATs on the evening to moved to 128-of-131 on his career.
• Hit a 33-yard field goal – his first of the season.
• With today's field goal, he moved to fifth all-time in career made field goals (37-of-48).

#97 | Grant Chadwick | P | Fr.
• Recorded his first career punt in the third quarter against Tennessee Tech – a 38-yard boot.

Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Mason
"Tonight was an interesting night to say the least. I want to say hats off to Tennessee Tech, Coach Wilder and that crew. They came in here and they played one heck of a ball game. First games are what first games are. You look early and you think you're going to have an opportunity to go boat race somebody a little bit and just keep going. And then all of a sudden you sputter out. Football is a game of momentum. I thought we had it early, Tennessee Tech marched back, they took it.

"And that was ok. I don't think this group panicked. We wanted to play better. What you saw from this team was growth. A lot of new faces, some adversity. And you have to learn how to win in a lot of different ways in college football. You've got to learn sometimes how to play from ahead. You've got to learn how to play from behind. I think we got it all-in-one. Rain delay, playing from ahead, coming from behind. I didn't want to draw it up that way, but what I felt was this football team learned a lot about itself."

Up Next

The Blue Raiders will hit the road for the first time in 2024, heading to Oxford, Miss. to take on Ole Miss on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. on the SEC Network and the Blue Raider Network.

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