Blue Raiders to face Wolf Pack Saturday at Floyd Stadium

Saturday, Sept. 19 \| 6:02 p.m. \| Floyd Stadium (27,303) \| Murfreesboro, TN

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 1-1, 0-0 CUSA	VS	NEVADA WOLF PACK 1-1, 0-0 MOUNTAIN WEST

WATCH: ESPN+ \| STATS: LINK \| RADIO: WGNS (LINK)

GAME 2

» Saturday, November 19 - 6:02 p.m. CT
» Floyd Stadium
» Murfreesboro, TN

SERIES HISTORY

» The Blue Raiders and Wolf Pack will be meeting for just the second time in football after facing each other last year in Reno. Trailing 13-7 in the fourth quarter, MTSU put together an 11-play drive that was capped off by a 5-yard TD run by Nicholas Vattiato to give the Blue Raiders the win. The Wolf Pack attempted a 56 yard field goal with :03 left but it was no good.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» The last time MTSU started its home season 2-0 was during the 2021 season when the Blue Raiders started 4-0.
» MTSU's offensive line has allowed just one sack this season to rank 11th nationally and 1st in CUSA in sacks allowed per game (0.50).
» MTSU started 10 players against Murray St. who came from last year's transfer portal haul (five on offense and five on defense).
» Seventeen years ago on Sept. 19, MTSU went to Maryland and upset the Terps 32-31 in 2009.
» 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 five 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.
» Since joining the FBS ranks in 1999, the Blue Raiders have won the season opener nine times. When winning the opener during that stretch, MTSU has averaged 6.5 wins a season.
» Only three players on the MTSU roster has recorded an interception for the Blue Raiders. The three are Kalen Woods, Jackson Lowe, and Korey Smith.
» 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 the 2026 opener, MTSU had 8 explosive plays but just one at Marshall.
» 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 6, Kalen Woods 6 and Alex Gale 6
» 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.

DEFENSE SHOWING IMPROVEMENT

» After two games of 2026, the Blue Raider defense is not where they want to be but the unit is showing some positive signs. The defense shares the national lead in defensive touchdowns with two and is giving up just 300 yards of total offense per game. The goal now is to become more disruptive as the unit has yet to record a sack this season.

LACY OFF TO SIZZLING START

» WR Cam Lacy is owning the early part of the 2026 campaign and becoming quite the weapon on offense. The Toccoa, Ga., native has 17 catches in the first two games to rank fourth nationally with 8.5 receptions a contest to go with two touchdowns and 190 total yards (120 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 10 straight games.

SCOOP AND SCORE X2

» Safety Kalen Woods has been in rare air the last two weeks with fumble recoveries for touchdowns in back-to-back games. It marks 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 FBS player to have a fumble recovered or returned for a TD in consecutive games was Nohl Williams for California in November 2023. 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.

SMITH PACING DEFENSE

» Linebacker Korey Smith, who starred at Murfreesboro's Oakland High School, enters the Nevada game leading the team in total tackles with 16. His 8.0 stops per game currently ranks second-most in Conference USA. The junior is coming off his career-high in tackles with 13 on the road against Marshall.

IMPRESSIVE STARTER NUMBERS FOR ROMAN

» Signal-caller Roman Gagliano has made five career starts with three to end the 2025 season and the two games this year. In those five starts, the Opelika, AL, native has accounted for 1,619 yards of total offense with 1,354 passing yards, 265 rushing yards and been responsible for 13 touchdowns. More importantly is the fact he has thrown 217 career passes with only one interception.

CAREER NIGHT FOR AJ

» After being held without a catch in the opener against Murray State, wide receiver AJ Jones responded in a big way at Marshall. The redshirt senior hauled in a career-high six receptions for a personal-best 61 yards and a touchdown. His TD grab came with 50 seconds to play and gave the Blue Raiders the opportunity to send the game into OT.

BOURGEOIS MAKING NAME FOR HIMSELF

» Newcomer Dominic Bourgeois, a Lou Groza Award Watch List nominee, came to MTSU a perfect 25-for-25 for his career in the field goal department. Bourgeois connected on a 45 yarder against Murray State before hitting one from 52 yards and a second from 35 yards at Marshall. The 52 yarder matched the fifth longest in school history and the longest made by a Blue Raider since 2010 when Alan Gendreau made a 55-yard bomb. The senior missed a 50-yard try at the end of the third quarter at Marshall to end his perfect streak but enters this week 28-for-29 on field goals for his career.

Saturday, Sept. 19 | 6:02 p.m. | Floyd Stadium (27,303) | Murfreesboro, TN

GAME 2

SERIES HISTORY

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dominic Bourgeois

Roman Gagliano

Alex Gale

AJ Jones

Jackson Lowe

Korey Smith

Nicholas Vattiato

Kalen Woods

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics