Blue Raiders head to Las Cruces for season finale

Saturday, Nov. 29 \| 2:02 p.m. \| Aggie Memorial Stadium (28,853) \| Las Cruces, NM

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 2-9, 1-6 CUSA	AT	NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES 4-7, 2-5 CUSA

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Middle Tennessee travels to Las Cruces on Saturday for the final game of the season as they face New Mexico State. Kickoff is set for 2 PM CT and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Blue Raiders (2-9, 1-6) are coming off their first conference win of the season with an impressive 31-17 decision over Sam Houston last week. MTSU got another strong effort from redshirt freshman quarterback Roman Gagliano who threw for 268 yards and a touchdown while churning out 67 yards on the ground and two scores. Sophomore running back Jekail Middlebrook returned to the lineup after missing the WKU game to rush for 106 yards on 15 carries and hauling in two passes for 31 yards and a score. The Blue Raider offense has been humming along the last two weeks to the tune of 1,001 total yards and 57 points.

Defensively, MTSU held the Bearkats to just 79 rushing yards and 360 yards total thanks to strong efforts from linebacker Parker Hughes and defensive tackle Shakai Woods. The unit allowed just 17 total points and only seven over the final three quarters with the lone score coming with under a minute to play.

New Mexico State (4-7, 1-5) is coming off a win at UTEP where they erased a 21-point deficit. The Aggies are led by quarterback Logan Fife who has thrown for 2,238 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. The defense has forced at least one turnover in every game this year and the unit is led by Ezra Christensen who leads CUSA in sacks and ranks 34th nationally.

GAME 12

» Saturday, November 29 - 2:02 p.m. CT
» Aggie Memorial Stadium
» Las Cruces, NM

SERIES HISTORY

» The Blue Raiders and Aggies have met six times on the football field and the series is led by New Mexico State, 4-2. The two teams first met in 2001 for four straight years as members of the Sun Belt Conference. MTSU and NMSU split the four meetings with each team winning at home. Following a 19-year break, the Blue Raiders and Aggies faced off in 2023 in Las Cruces where the Diego Pavia led Aggies squeaked by MTSU, 13-7. Last year in Murfreesboro, NMSU won a 36-21 decision.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» The last time MTSU played in Las Cruces, the Aggies had a quarterback by the name of Diego Pavia.
» Senior Parker Hughes now has an interception in back-to-back games after never having one in his career. At WKU he picked off his first one and returned it 62 yards. That went down as the longest return by an MTSU linebacker in the FBS era.
» Jekail Middlebrook ranks 18th nationally in all-purpose yards at 112.1 per game.
» In his last seven games, Jekail Middlebrook has amassed 876 all-purpose yards for 125.1 yards per game.
» WR Myles Butler has 13 receptions for 170 yards in the last two games combined.
» Consecutive Start Leaders: Mateo Guevara: 23
» MT owns just 45 explosive plays of 20 or more yards this season, including a high of 10 against WKU. MTSU has 17 in the last two weeks. The Blue Raiders had 44 total in 2024.
» Among active FBS career leaders in passing yards, Nicholas Vattiato ranks 3rd with 9,674 yards and is only the 7th to reach 9,000 yards. His 918 completions is 2nd most.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON GAMES

» Since the Blue Raiders joined the FBS ranks in 1999, they hold a 15-11 overall record in final regular season games. MTSU has won three of the last five final regular season games. The last time MTSU won a final regular season contest on the road was 2022 at FIU.

GAGLIANO ON A ROLL

» Redshirt freshman quarterback Roman Gagliano has taken college football by storm the past two weeks. In the two games, he has accounted for 806 yards of total offense with 651 passing yards and 155 rushing yards while being responsible for five touchdowns. Against WKU, the Opelika, Ala., native accounted for 471 yards of total offense to equal the second most in a game in school history. He amassed 383 passing yards (most ever by a first time starter and most by a freshman) to go with 88 yards on the ground. He followed that up last week against Sam Houston with 268 yards through the air and 67 yards on the ground that included two rushing scores. In the two games, Gagliano has three runs of 30 or more yards.

OFFENSE ROLLING THE LAST TWO GAMES

» The Blue Raiders offense has turned it up a notch the past two games. During that span, they have totaled 1,001 total yards on 134 plays for a 7.5 yards per play average. The unit has also scored 57 points which is the most points in back-to-back games in the Derek Mason era. Most importantly in the two outings is that that offense has not committed a turnover.

MIDDLEBROOK FIRST BACK TO TOP 1,000 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS SINCE 2016

» Sophomore Jekail Middlebrook is enjoying a breakout season for the Blue Raiders and currently ranks third in CUSA in all-purpose yards (18th nationally). Middlebrook has 1,121 total yards and is the first MTSU player to reach 1,000 yards since receiver Jaylin Lane in 2022. In fact, he is the first running back to top 1,000 since I'Tavius Mathers in 2016. Middlebrook owns a team-best 657 rushing yards, 400 receiving yards and 64 punt return yards.

MIDDLEBROOK RANKS SECOND NATIONALLY

» RB Jekail Middlebrook has become quite the weapon for the Blue Raiders in the passing game. The Fayetteville, Ga., native owns 39 receptions to rank second nationally among running backs. It's the most grabs in a single-season during his three seasons and gives him 65 for his career. The most catches by a RB in a single-season at MTSU is 66 by I'Tavius Mathers in 2016 and the most in a career is 72 by Jimbo Pearson (1960-64).

Saturday, Nov. 29 | 2:02 p.m. | Aggie Memorial Stadium (28,853) | Las Cruces, NM

GAME 12

SERIES HISTORY

Players Mentioned

Myles Butler

Roman Gagliano

Mateo Guevara

Parker Hughes

Jekail Middlebrook

Nicholas Vattiato

Shakai Woods

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics