Blue Raiders host Jax State on ESPN2 tomorrow night

Wednesday, Oct. 29 \| 6:35 p.m. \| Floyd Stadium (27,303) \| Murfreesboro, TN

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 1-6, 0-3 CUSA	VS	JAX STATE GAMECOCKS 4-3, 3-0 CUSA

WATCH: ESPN2 \| STATS: LINK \| RADIO: WGNS (LINK)

MURFREESBORO – Middle Tennessee returns home for the first time in three weeks to host conference foe Jax State at Floyd Stadium. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

MTSU (1-6, 0-3 CUSA) is seeking its first conference win of the season and will rely on the experience of signal-caller Nicholas Vattiato and the strong play of running back Jekail Middlebrook. Vattiato has thrown for 1,673 yards and 11 touchdowns this season and ranks third nationally among active players with over 9,000 passing yards. Middlebrook leads the Blue Raiders will 777 all-purpose yards and is one of the top all-around threats in CUSA. Defensively, the Blue Raiders have allowed just 16 total second half points in the last two games combined and has not allowed over 100 yards rushing in the last two outings.

Jax State (4-3, 3-0) comes to Murfreesboro sharing the CUSA top spot with a perfect league record. The Gamecocks are led by the nation's leading rusher in Cam Cook who has 949 yards.

This will be the 21st meeting all-time between the two schools who are only separated by 193 miles.

GAME 8

» Wednesday, October 29 - 6:35 p.m. CT
» Floyd Stadium
» Murfreesboro, TN

SERIES HISTORY

» This will be the 21st meeting all-time between MTSU and Jacksonville State on the gridiron. The Blue Raiders own a 14-4-2 advantage in the series, which began in 1927. MTSU has a 11-1-1 advantage in games played in Murfreesboro. The lone loss to the Gamecocks in the 'Boro came in the last meeting in Floyd Stadium in 2023. In fact, the very first game in Floyd Stadium when it opened in 1933 was against Jax State.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» MTSU has started nine different players along the offensive line this season. That matches Georgia, Michigan St., Oregon St., Stanford, South Carolina and Troy for the most in the country.
» Over the last three games, MTSU has allowed just 16 second half points
» Jekail Middlebrook ranks 28th nationally in all-purpose yards at 111.0 per game.
» TE Hunter Tipton has 12 receptions in the last two games combined
» MT owns 21 explosive plays of 20 or more yards this season, including a high of 6 against Marshall earlier this year. The Blue Raiders had 44 total in 2024.
» Consecutive Start Leaders: Nick Vattiato: 31; Mateo Guevara: 19
» The Blue Raiders will play in four different time zones this season which ranks tied for the second most nationally (Stanford - 5).
» Among active FBS career leaders in passing yards, Nicholas Vattiato ranks 3rd with 9,197 yards and is one of just five to reach 9,000 yards. His 869 completions is 2nd most.

BLUE RAIDERS AT FLOYD

» Since Floyd Stadium opened in 1933, the Blue Raiders have compiled an overall mark of 310-140-13 (.684), including a record 31-game win streak from 1987-94. Since joining the FBS ranks in 1999, the Blue Raiders are 88-54 (.624) overall at Floyd Stadium and 60-31 in conference games (32-15 vs CUSA; 28-16 vs SBC). MT has a 44-25 record at home in its last 69 games.

LACY SHOWING GROWTH

» WR Cam'ron Lacy has really stepped up his game the past three outings. Lacy, who turned heads in the offseason, has totaled 19 receptions for 245 yards and two touchdowns the last three games. The redshirt sophomore enjoyed a career night against Missouri State with six grabs for 114 yards and two scores. Lacy, who leads MTSU with 12.8 yards/catch, was the first Blue Raider to top 100 receiving yards since Myles Butler had 101 yards at UTEP last year.

MIDDLEBROOK IMPROVING RUN GAME

» Sophomore Jekail Middlebrook has been a weapon out of the backfield for MTSU all season but has really shined the past four games. During that span, Middlebrook has rushed for 359 yards (89.75/game) and averaged 6.6 cards a carry. He has also added 15 receptions over his past four outings and currently ranks tied for second on the team with 26 grabs. Middlebrook's 26 catches ranks in the top 10 nationally among running backs.

COX LEADING RECEIVERS

» Junior College transfer Nahzae Cox is proving to be the Blue Raiders' go-to receiver after seven games. The junior from Fresno, Ca., leads the team with 31 receptions for 390 yards and five scores (33rd nationally and 1st in CUSA). Cox is also second on the team in yards per catch at 12.6.

DAMONTE CONTINUES TO BE DISRUPTIVE

» After a career year in 2024, Damonte Smith has picked up where he left off in a big way. Smith, a redshirt senior from Savannah, Ga., enters play this week with 25 stops, including 8.5 TFLs, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. In fact, Smith came into his final season with 6.0 career TFLs and has already surpassed that total in seven games this year.

THE 200 MAN

» In 39 career games played, Nicholas Vattiato owns 29 200-yard passing games to rank second all-time at MTSU (Brent Stockstill - 35). He tallied 10 games with 200 or more yards in 2023 and 2024 which ranks second most in a season behind Brent Stockstill's 12 in 2015. Vattiato has thrown for 200 or more yards 25 times in his last 30 games.

Wednesday, Oct. 29 | 6:35 p.m. | Floyd Stadium (27,303) | Murfreesboro, TN

GAME 8

SERIES HISTORY

Players Mentioned

Myles Butler

Nahzae Cox

Mateo Guevara

Cam'ron Lacy

Jekail Middlebrook

Damonte Smith

Hunter Tipton

Nicholas Vattiato

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics