Blue Raiders face Jayhawks for first time Saturday

Saturday, Oct. 3 \| 11:07 a.m. \| David Booth Memorial Stadium (32,000) \| Lawrence, KS

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 2-2, 0-1 CUSA	AT	Kansas JAYHAWKS 1-2, 0-1 Big 12

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GAME 5

» Saturday, October 3 - 11:07 a.m. CT
» David Booth Memorial Stadium
» Lawrence, KS

SERIES HISTORY

» This will be the first meeting in football between MTSU and Kansas.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» This will be MTSU's first-ever football game played in the state of Kansas.

» MTSU's second-leading receiver last year was Nahzae Cox who now suits up for the Jayhawks.

» Individual CUSA Rankings: RB Antonio Martin (2nd in rushing yds/g); PK Dominic Bourgeois (4th in Scoring, 3rd in FG made); WR Cam Lacy (1st in receptions/game, 2nd in scoring TDs, 7th in all-purpose yds/g); LB Korey Smith (2nd in total tackles); S Kalen Woods (1st in fumble recoveries); P Ashton Logan (1st in punting avg.)

» QB Roman Gagliano needs 122 more passing yards to reach the 2,000-yard mark for his career (has played in just 12 games).

» MTSU started 10 players against Murray St. who came from last year's transfer portal haul (five on offense and five on defense).

» The 38 points scored against Murray State is the most put up in the Derek Mason era.

» The Blue Raider offense has committed just two turnovers in its last seven games combined.

» MTSU's weather delay was 4:13 in win over Murray State and marked the third straight year the Blue Raiders have had a home game interrupted for weather. They had 2:40 delay in 2024 against TTU and a 2:12 delay against Marshall last year. That totals 9:05 in delays or right at 3 games.

» Only five players on the MTSU roster has recorded an interception for the Blue Raiders. The five are Kalen Woods, Jackson Lowe, Korey Smith, Jason Hardy and James Johnson.

» An emphasis for the Blue Raider offense in 2026 will be to increase the amount of explosive plays (20 or more yards). In the last two years combined, the offense has just 89 explosive plays with 45 coming last season. In 2026 they have 14 (8 vs Murray State).

» MTSU has six coaches who have either played or coached at the NFL level (Derek Mason, Brian Stewart, Calvin Lowry, Louie Cioffi, and Josh Smith).

» Consecutive Starts: Korey Smith 8, Kalen Woods 8

» MTSU's last 1,000-yard rusher was Asher O'Hara in 2019 and he was a quarterback. The last running back to top 1,000 yards was I'Tavius Mathers in 2016.

» MTSU is one of just 12 schools in FBS to have a candidate on the Lou Groza and Ray Guy Watch Lists and the only Group of 6 team.

» The 2026 season for MTSU is the 112th for Blue Raider football and the 28th at the FBS level.

MTSU VS THE BIG 12

» The Blue Raiders' game at Kansas will mark just the third meeting against a team from the Big 12 Conference. The last time MTSU played a team from the Big 12 was Sept. 23, 2006 when the Blue Raiders lost at #16 Oklahoma (Adrian Peterson). The other meeting was in 2003 at #23 Missouri when MTSU lost in OT.

MARTIN REGISTERS THIRD 100-YARD GAME

» Running back Antonio Martin Jr., who was grabbed out of the portal from Kansas State, has made an immediate impact on the Blue Raider running game. In four games for MTSU, Martin has notched three 100-yard rushing games with 103 against Murray State104 in the win over Nevada and 106 last week at Jax State. In 2025, MTSU had one back with two 100-yard games for the entire season. Entering the Kansas game, Martin is second in CUSA in rushing yards per game (86.3) and third in rushing yards and yards per carry (5.39). Overall, MTSU has not had three 100-yard rushing games in a season since 2019 when it registered seven. The last time an individual player had four 100-yard rushing games in a season was also 2019 (QB Asher O'Hara with four).

FORCING TURNOVERS

» After four games, the Blue Raiders have done a great job in forcing and coming away with turnovers. MTSU enters the Kansas game ranked 17th nationally and 1st in CUSA with seven turnovers gained. The defense has registered four fumble recoveries and three interceptions. The team had 15 gained turnovers last year and are nearly halfway to that mark in just four games. For the season, MTSU is +6 in turnover margin to rank 9th nationally.

QUIETLY, LOGAN IS HAVING AN ELITE SEASON

» Redshirt senior Ashton Logan is quietly having a season to remember. The Ray Guy Award Watch List member is averaging 48.4 yards a punt to lead CUSA and rank 3rd nationally. The 48.4 yards a boot would go down as the best in MTSU history for a single-season if the season ended today. For his career, Logan has 76 punts for a 45.7 yard average which would also be a new career mark for MTSU. Of his 76 boots, 25 have been over 50 yards and 29 have been downed inside the 20-yard line.

LOWE ON A ROLL

» Redshirt sophomore Jackson Lowe has put together back-to-back strong games from his cornerback position. Along with a CUSA Defensive Player of the Week award, Lowe has registered 17 tackles, to go with a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup the past two games combined. His 89.2 PFF grade following the win over Nevada led all cornerbacks nationally.

LACY ON PACE FOR CAREER YEAR

» WR Cam Lacy is owning the early part of the 2026 campaign and becoming quite the weapon on offense. The Toccoa, Ga., native has 29 catches in the first four games to rank 11th nationally with 7.25 receptions a contest to go with four touchdowns and 310 total yards (176 of those yards have been after the catch). Lacy, who has three career 100-yard receiving games, set his personal-best mark with nine catches against Marshall following setting his career-high in yards with 118 in the win over Murray State. He has had at least one grab in 12 straight games.

GIVE ME THAT BALL!

» Safety Kalen Woods is showing a knack for being around the football through four games this year. During that span, Woods has two fumble recoveries for touchdowns, an interception and two pass breakups. His touchdowns came against Murray State and Marshall while his interception came at Jax State. It marked the first time in MTSU's FBS history that the same player has returned a fumble return for a TD in back-to-back games. The last CUSA team to have a player with a fumble recovered for a TD in consecutive team games was Antwan Peek for Cincinnati in November 2002.

Saturday, Oct. 3 | 11:07 a.m. | David Booth Memorial Stadium (32,000) | Lawrence, KS

GAME 5

SERIES HISTORY

Players Mentioned

Dominic Bourgeois

Nahzae Cox

Roman Gagliano

Jason Hardy

James Johnson

Ashton Logan

Jackson Lowe

Antonio Martin Jr.

Korey Smith

Kalen Woods

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics