MTSU opens CUSA play Saturday at Jax State

Saturday, Sept. 26 \| 6:02 p.m. \| AmFirst Stadium (24,000) \| Jacksonville, AL

	MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 2-1, 0-0 CUSA	VS	Jax State GAMECOCKS 2-2, 0-0 CUSA

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

GAME 4

» Saturday, November 26 - 6:02 p.m. CT
» AmFirst Stadium
» Jacksonville, AL

SERIES HISTORY

» This will be the 26th meeting all-time between MTSU and Jacksonville State on the gridiron. The Blue Raiders own a 18-5-2 advantage in the series, which began in 1927. MTSU has a 15-2-1 advantage in games played in Murfreesboro and the series is deadlocked at 3-3-1 at JSU. The Gamecocks have won four straight in the series with MTSU's last win coming in 1997.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES

» MTSU has not started a season 3-1 since the 2022 campaign.

» Individual CUSA Rankings: RB Antonio Martin (2nd in rushing yds/g); PK Dominic Bourgeois (1st in Scoring, 1st in FG made); WR Cam Lacy (1st in receptions/game, 5th in scoring TDs, 5th in all-purpose yds/g); LB Korey Smith (2nd in total tackles); S Kalen Woods (1st in fumble recoveries)

» MTSU's offensive line has allowed just two sacks this season to rank 11th nationally and 1st in CUSA in sacks allowed per game (0.67).

» 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 six 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 three four on the MTSU roster has recorded an interception for the Blue Raiders. The four are Kalen Woods, Jackson Lowe, Korey Smith and Jason Hardy.

» 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 11 (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 7, Kalen Woods 7

» 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.

CONFERENCE OPENERS

» Dating back to 1952 when Middle Tennessee began Ohio Valley Conference play, the Blue Raiders own a mark of 45-26-1 in conference openers. MT was 33-13-1 in OVC openers and 6-6 in Sun Belt openers. The Blue Raiders are 6-7 in CUSA openers and own a mark of 24-7-1 when playing a league opener at home and stand 21-19 on the road. The last conference season opener MTSU won was in 2019 at home against Marshall.

LAST FIVE

» Dating back to the end of the 2025 season, MTSU has gone 4-1 in its last five games. During that span, the Blue Raiders have averaged 170.6 yards rushing per game and only turned the ball over twice.

BIG NIGHT FOR LOWE

» Redshirt sophomore Jackson Lowe turned in a monster game for the Blue Raiders to secure the win over Nevada. Along with six tackles, Lowe registered the team's first sack of the season and forced a fumble and recovered it deep in Wolf Pack territory. The play led to a Blue Raider TD and their first lead of the game.

MARTIN TOPS 100 ... AGAIN

» 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 three games for MTSU, Martin has notched two 100-yard rushing games with 103 against Murray State and 104 in the win over Nevada. In 2025, MTSU had one back with two 100-yard games for the entire season. Entering the JSU game, Martin is second in CUSA in rushing yards per game (79.7) and yards per carry (5.09).

DEFENSE IMPROVEMENT GROWS

» After three games of 2026, the Blue Raider defense is not where they want to be but the unit is showing some positive signs. The defense ranks second nationally in defensive touchdowns with two and is giving up just 287.7 yards of total offense per game to rank third in CUSA. The goal now is to become more disruptive as the unit has just one sack and getting 3.0 TFLs per game.

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 23 catches in the first three games to rank 8th nationally with 7.6 receptions a contest to go with three touchdowns and 222 total yards (139 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 11 straight games.

TACKLING MACHINE

» Linebacker Korey Smith, who starred at Murfreesboro's Oakland High School, enters the Jax State game leading the team in total tackles with 26. His 8.7 stops per game currently ranks second-most in Conference USA. The junior turned in his career-high in tackles with 13 on the road against Marshall then followed that up with 10 stops in win over Nevada.

Saturday, Sept. 26 | 6:02 p.m. | AmFirst Stadium (24,000) | Jacksonville, AL

GAME 4

SERIES HISTORY

Players Mentioned

Dominic Bourgeois

Jason Hardy

Jackson Lowe

Antonio Martin Jr.

Korey Smith

Kalen Woods

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics