Mid-week action starts Wednesday against Missouri State

Wednesday, Oct. 8 \| 6:36 p.m. \| Floyd Stadium (27,303) \| Murfreesboro, TN

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 1-4, 0-1 CUSA	VS	MISSOURI STATE BEARS 2-3, 0-1 CUSA

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

MURFREESBORO – Middle Tennessee looks to break through for their first home and first Conference USA win Wednesday night, hosting Missouri State in a midweek marquee match-up on ESPN2. This marks just the second meeting all-time between the two schools but first as conference foes.

Kickoff is set for 6:36 p.m. CT at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium and Clay Matvick and Chase Daniel will call the action from the booth while Victoria Arlen will provide commentary from the sidelines.

MTSU enters with a 1–4 record (0–1 in CUSA), while the Bears are 2–3 (0–1). Both teams are still searching for consistency and a statement win early in conference play.

For the Blue Raiders, quarterback Nicholas Vattiato has been the offensive focal point. He has thrown for over 1,100 yards and six touchdowns, but has totaled 577 passing yards over his last two outings. Running back Jekail Middlebrook provides balance on the ground as he is coming off his first career 100-yard game and will double as a threat in the passing game. Receiver Nahzae Cox leads the receiving corps with four touchdowns through five games.

Defensively, MTSU must tighten in the red zone and limit big plays. The Blue Raider pass rush has shown flashes but a priority will be stopping the run and limiting mistakes. Linebacker Parker Hughes leads the way with 42 total tackles while Damonte Smith has been the disruptor inside with six TFLs and two sacks.

Missouri State counters with quarterback Jacob Clark, who has been steady (1,195 yards, 8 TDs) but also prone to mistakes (6 INTs). Their run game, led by Shomari Lawrence, offers a complementary balance. The Bears' defense has found success creating turnovers, a weapon they'll look to deploy inside Floyd Stadium.

With both squads winless so far in conference play, the stakes are high. For MTSU, a win would inject momentum into the season and get the October mid-week stretch off on a positive note.

Fans in Murfreesboro will be treated to national exposure as CUSA's Weekday slate returns. Don't miss Wednesday's showdown on ESPN2 — a chance for the Blue Raiders to make a home statement.

GAME 6

» Wednesday, October 8 - 6:36 p.m. CT
» Floyd Stadium
» Murfreesboro, TN

SERIES HISTORY

» The Blue Raiders and the Bears will be meeting for just the second time in football but the first time as conference foes. The two teams last met on Oct. 18, 1986 in Springfield when the Bears were called Southwest Missouri State. MTSU won that game, 42-19, at Briggs Stadium.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» The Blue Raiders are 6-6 in Conference USA home openers.
» In his last two games, Jekail Middlebrook is averaging 99.0 yards rushing/game.
» MT entered the Marshall game with 7 explosive plays of 20 or more yards and had 6 alone against the Herd and added 5 at KSU to give them 18 for the season.
» LB Parker Hughes is 14th nationally in solo tackles with 5.0 per game.
» Consecutive Start Leaders: Nick Vattiato: 29; Mateo Guevara: 17
» The Blue Raiders will play in four different time zones this season which ranks tied for the second most nationally (Stanford - 5).
» Kickoff specialist Baylen Woodman has a touchback percentage of 84.2% (16 of 19 attempts) to rank tied for 23rd nationally and 1st among true freshmen.

BLUE RAIDERS AT FLOYD STADIUM

» Since Floyd Stadium opened in 1933, the Blue Raiders have compiled an overall mark of 310-139-13 (.685), including a record 31-game win streak from 1987-94.
» Since joining the FBS ranks in 1999, the Blue Raiders are 88-53 (.624) overall at Floyd Stadium and 60-30 in conference games (32-14 vs CUSA; 28-16 vs SBC). MT has a 44-24 record at home in its last 68 games.

MID-WEEK STRETCH BEGINS

» The month of October means the Blue Raiders will begin mid-week conference play for the third straight year. MTSU will play three mid-week games during the month, with all three on Wednesdays. MTSU played four mid-week games in 2023 and three in 2024. The Blue Raiders are 2-5 in the CUSA mid-week games.

MIDDLEBROOK POPS 100

» For the first time in his career, running back Jekail Middlebrook topped the 100-yard rushing mark with a career-best 109 yards on 20 carries at Kennesaw State. It marked the first 100-yard game for MTSU since Jaiden Credle had 125 yards against Duke on Sept. 21, 2024. The last time MTSU had multiple 100-yard rushing games in a season was 2020.

MIDDLEBROOK IN GOOD COMPANY

» Running back Jekail Middlebrook enters the Missouri State game with 18 receptions to rank tied for second on the team and is ninth nationally among running backs. Marvis Parrish (WKU) is first with 23, followed by Landon Sims (Hawaii) with 22, Emmett Johnson (Nebraska) with 22, Hollywood Smothers (NC State) with 21, Landan Brown (Sam Houston with 20), Eli Heidenrechi (Navy) with 20, Raleek Brown with 19 (Arizona State), and Jonah Coleman (Washington) with 19. Middlebrook's career season high for receptions is 22 set last year.

DAMONTE WREAKING HAVOC

» Coming off 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 17 stops, including 6.0 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 matched that total in five games this year.

THE 200 MAN

» In 37 career games played, Nicholas Vattiato owns 27 200-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 23 times in his last 28 games.

Wednesday, Oct. 8 | 6:36 p.m. | Floyd Stadium (27,303) | Murfreesboro, TN

GAME 6

SERIES HISTORY

Players Mentioned

Nahzae Cox

Jaiden Credle

Mateo Guevara

Parker Hughes

Jekail Middlebrook

Damonte Smith

Nicholas Vattiato

Baylen Woodman

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics