Blue Raiders heading west to face Wolf Pack

Saturday, Sept. 13 \| 4 p.m. \| Mackay Stadium (30,000) \| Reno, NV

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 0-2, 0-0 CUSA	AT	NEVADA WOLF PACK 1-1, 0-0 Mountain West

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

RENO – Middle Tennessee heads west to Reno on Saturday for a matchup against Mountain West foe Nevada. The Blue Raiders are looking to bounce back after dropping games against Austin Peay and Wisconsin to begin the 2025 campaign.

GAME 3

» Saturday, September 13 - 4 p.m. CT
» Mackay Stadium
» Reno, NV

SERIES HISTORY

» This marks the first-ever meeting in football between MTSU and Nevada
» This will be the 5th game all-time against the Mountain West for MTSU
» The Blue Raiders and Wolf Pack have also never met in men's basketball or baseball, but have faced each other once in women's basketball (2016, MTSU won)
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» Reno, Nevada will go down as the second furthest West location the Blue Raiders have played a game in its history. The furthest is Honolulu, Hawaii (1993, 2016, 2022).
» From Murphy Center to Mackay Stadium in Reno it is 2,177 miles which will mark the second longest trip ever for the MTSU equipment truck. The longest is 2,198 miles it went in 2002 and 2003 to Moscow, Idaho.
» MTSU has had a different offensive line starting group for 12 straight games dating back to last season.
» With 25 more passing yards, quarterback Nicholas Vattiato will move past Logan Kilgore for 3rd place on the all-time list at MTSU.
» Consecutive Start Leaders: Nick Vattiato: 26; Mateo Guevara: 14; Brandon Buckner: 12
» The Blue Raiders will play in four different time zones this season which ranks tied for the second most nationally (Stanford - 5).
» Nicholas Vattiato is one of five active FBS quarterbacks with at least 7500 passing yards in the FBS. Vattiato is the only one of those five to have all those yards come with his current school.
» Between the 19 full-time coaches who can be on the field (only 11 can still recruit), seven have either played or coached at the NFL level (Derek Mason, Brian Stewart, Kendall Simmons, Calvin Lowry, Louie Cioffi, Josh Smith and Jacoby Stevens).
» The Blue Raiders face five first-year head coaches this season. The teams with new head coaches MTSU will play are: FIU, Kennesaw State, Jax State, Sam Houston State, and Marshall (4 are at home).

BLUE RAIDERS AND THE MOUNTAIN WEST

» The Nevada game will mark the fifth contest all-time for the Blue Raiders against the Mountain West Conference. The Blue Raiders are 2-2 against the MWC with wins against San Diego State (2022) and Colorado State (2022) and losses to Hawaii (2016) and Colorado State (2023). Overall, MTSU is 4-5 against teams from the current membership of the MWC.

DISCIPLINE VASTLY IMPROVED

» It's only two games, but the Blue Raiders have improved drastically in the penalty department from a year ago. In 2024, MTSU ranked 115th nationally with 7.33 penalties/game. In 2025, the Blue Raiders enter the Nevada game tied for 21st nationally at 4.0 per game.

COX BECOMING GO-TO GUY

» Junior College transfer Nahzae Cox is proving to be the Blue Raiders' go-to receiver after just two games. The junior from Fresno, Ca., leads the team with nine receptions for 125 yards and two scores. Cox owns the two longest receptions of the season (37 and 31 yards) and leads the team in yards per catch at 13.9.

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 eight stops, including 4.0 TFLs, a sack and an interception. Smith's 2.0 TFLs/game ranks tied for 10th nationally and third in CUSA. In fact, Smith came into his final season with 6.0 career TFLs and already has 4.0 after just two games in 2025.

MIDDLEBROOK SHOWCASING HIS VERSATILITY

» For the first time in his career, Jekail Middlebrook is the featured running back and he's showcasing his versatility more than ever. He leads the team in rushing, ranks second in receptions and is also the team's punt returner. Middlebrook averages a solid 4.3 yards a carry for his career but is also a serious threat in the passing game. The Fayetteville, Ga., product owns 33 career receptions but he has 16 over his last four games combined. His 3.5 catches/game currently ranks third in CUSA among running backs.

Saturday, Sept. 13 | 4 p.m. | Mackay Stadium (30,000) | Reno, NV

GAME 3

SERIES HISTORY

Players Mentioned

Brandon Buckner

Nahzae Cox

Mateo Guevara

Jekail Middlebrook

Damonte Smith

Nicholas Vattiato

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics