Blue Raiders face Marshall for Homecoming on Saturday

Saturday, Sept. 20 \| 6 p.m. \| Floyd Stadium (27,303) \| Murfreesboro, TN

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 1-2, 0-0 CUSA	AT	MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD 1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt

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MURFREESBORO – Middle Tennessee will celebrate Homecoming on Saturday when the Blue Raiders host Marshall at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT as MTSU welcomes alumni and fans back to Murfreesboro for the annual tradition.

The Blue Raiders enter the game at 1-2 after picking up their first win of the season last week, a 14-13 road victory at Nevada. MTSU's defense played a central role in that result, limiting the Wolf Pack to just one touchdown and coming up with timely stops in the second half. Head coach Derek Mason's team will look to carry that momentum into its final non-conference game of the year.

Marshall comes to town also at 1-2 following a convincing home win over Eastern Kentucky. The Thundering Herd bring one of the league's top rushing attacks, averaging more than 177 yards on the ground per game. Saturday's matchup will mark the 12th meeting between the programs, with Marshall leading the all-time series 6-5.

MTSU will lean on the energy of a Homecoming crowd as it looks to even its record and create momentum entering CUSA play next week. The Blue Raiders and Thundering Herd last met in 2021, when MTSU earned a 34-28 win in Murfreesboro.

GAMEDAY TIMELINE
7:30 AM: Walnut Grove Opens
10:30 AM: Mixer on Middle (Parade Watch Party)
11:00 AM: Homecoming Parade
1:00 PM: Homecoming Tailgate Lunch (tickets required)
3:00 PM: Walnut Grove Activities Begin
3:30 PM: Raider Walk
4:00 PM: Live Concert in Walnut Grove (Davvn)
4:30 PM: Gates Open at Floyd Stadium
5:40 PM: On-Field Pregame Begins
6:00 PM: Kickoff

GAME 4

» Saturday, September 20 - 6 p.m. CT
» Floyd Stadium
» Murfreesboro, TN

SERIES HISTORY

» The Blue Raiders and Herd will be meeting for the 12th time in football, and the first since 2021. Marshall owns a slim 6-5 advantage in the series, which began in 1992 in the NCAA I-AA playoffs. The two schools played as members of CUSA together from 2013-2021 and during that span, MTSU owned a 5-4 advantage in the series. The Blue Raiders are 4-1 all-time at home against Marshall, including the last two in a row.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» The Blue Raiders rank 27th nationally in tackles for loss at 7.3 per game
» Last week at Nevada, Nicholas Vattiato surpassed Logan Kilgore and Wes Counts on the all-time passing yardage list and now ranks 2nd all-time with 8,072 yards.
» Kickoff specialist Baylen Woodman has a touchback percentage of 88.9% (8 of 9 attempts) to rank tied for 17th nationally and 1st among true freshmen.
» 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).
» Consecutive Start Leaders: Nick Vattiato: 27; Mateo Guevara: 15; Brandon Buckner: 13
» The Blue Raiders will play in four different time zones this season which ranks tied for the second most nationally (Stanford - 5).
» The 2025 season marks the 40th anniversary of MTSU's 1985 team (quarterbacked by Marvin Collier) that won the OVC, had a No. 1 national ranking and advanced to the 1-AA playoffs. It is also the 60th anniversary of the 1965 team (quarterbacked by Teddy Morris) that won the OVC and went a perfect 10-0.
» MTSU has 53 total interceptions over the last five years combined. They had 17 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 5 in 2024 and 3 in 2025.

BLUE RAIDERS AT FLOYD STADIUM

» Since Floyd Stadium opened in 1933, the Blue Raiders have compiled an overall mark of 310-138-13 (.688), including a record 31-game win streak from 1987-94.
» Since joining the FBS ranks in 1999, the Blue Raiders are 88-52 (.628) overall at Floyd Stadium and 60-30 in conference games (32-14 vs CUSA; 28-16 vs SBC). MT has a 44-23 record at home in its last 67 games.

BLUE RAIDERS ON HOMECOMING

» MTSU owns a mark of 55-28-2 all-time on Homcoming and are 15-11 since joining the FBS ranks in 1999. The Blue Raiders have had Homecoming in the month of September just twice in school history and both occured in 2023 and 2024. MTSU has lost three straight on Homecoming with the last win coming in 2021.

COMEBACK KIDS

» The Nevada comeback win marked the first time since 2014 that MTSU has rallied from a deficit of nine or more points with 6:30 or less remaining in regulation. The last occurrence came on Nov. 22, 2014, when the Blue Raiders overcame a 13-point deficit in the final 4:15 to defeat FAU, 35-34. It also marked the first time since 2016 that a Conference USA team pulled off such a comeback. On Oct. 15, 2016, FIU erased a 13-point deficit with 4:21 left to edge Charlotte, 27-26.

GASTON SHINES

» Safety Juwon Gaston, a transfer from Houston in his first year at MTSU, made his presence felt in the win over Nevada. Gaston, a redshirt senior, recorded the first two interceptions of his career to key the comeback win over the Wolf Pack. His first pick was in the endzone to stop a Nevada scoring drive and the second came in the fourth quarter that led to MTSU's first TD of the game. Gaston is the first Blue Raider to have multiple interceptions in a game since Decorian Patterson against FIU on Nov. 26, 2022. He now ranks 1st in CUSA and 6th nationally in interceptions/game (.67).

COX IS GO-TO GUY

» Junior College transfer Nahzae Cox is proving to be the Blue Raiders' go-to receiver after just three games. The junior from Fresno, Ca., leads the team with 14 receptions for 170 yards and three scores (tied for 11th nationally). Cox owns two of the three longest receptions of the season (37 and 31 yards) and is second on the team in yards per catch at 12.1.

THE 200 MAN

» In 35 career games played, Nicholas Vattiato owns 25 200-yard passing games to rank second all-time at MTSU. He needs 10 more to tie Brent Stockstill for the all-time record. 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 21 times in his last 26 games.

Saturday, Sept. 20 | 6 p.m. | Floyd Stadium (27,303) | Murfreesboro, TN

GAME 4

SERIES HISTORY

Players Mentioned

Brandon Buckner

Nahzae Cox

Juwon Gaston

Mateo Guevara

Nicholas Vattiato

Baylen Woodman

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics