MIDDLE TENNESSEE (6-6; 4-4) VS TOLEDO (7-5; 5-3)
Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 n 11 AM CT n Nassau, Bahamas n Robinson Stadium (15,000)
MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLEU RAIDERS NOTES
OPENING KICK
The Blue Raiders have gained 31 turnovers this season and 19 of those have come at home in five games. The 31 turnovers lead the nation.
RS Freshman Quincy Riley, who has played in just eight games, ranks tied for 2nd nationally with five interceptions. The 5 picks equal the 10th most in a season at MT.
MT has picked off 16 passes this season to rank 2nd in C-USA and 5th nationally.
MT has 17 current players on its roster competing in the bowl game with a degree in hand. The student-athletes are Amir Rasul, Reed Blankenship, Jarrin Pierce, Will Gilchrist, Alex Usry, Cody Smith, Eric Magwood, Martell Pettaway, Raheme Fuller, Ja’Kerrius Wyatt, Wayne Parks, Chase Cunningham, CJ Windham, Yusuf Ali, Brad Anderson, Jordan Ferguson and DQ Thomas.
MT is 42-28 all-time in C-USA play (2018 title game not included) and is averaging 182.3 yards rushing per game.
Consecutive Start Leaders: Jarrin Pierce (22), Greg Grate (22), and Reed Blankenship (21).
Under Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders have been involved in 27 games that were decided in the final minute of regulation or overtime. The team is 16-11 in those games and have won 12 of the last 17.
Rick Stockstill is third on the school’s all-time wins list with 100 victories.
In 198 games under Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders are +28 in turnover margin.
MT has scored 30 or more points 87 times in 198 games under Rick Stockstill.
Between Rick Stockstill, Tommy West and Scott Shafer the MT staff has a combined 33 years of head coaching experience with all but one year at the FBS level.
The 2021 season is the 107th for Blue Raider football and the 23rd at the FBS level
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
The Blue Raiders and Rockets will be meeting for the first time ever in football. Since turning FBS in 1999, the Blue Raiders are 3-4 vs the MAC.
BOWL HISTORY
The Bahamas Bowl will mark the 13th bowl Middle Tennessee has participated in during its football history but ninth in the FBS era. MT faced Central Michigan in the 2006 Motor City Bowl (lost 31-14), then defeated Southern Miss (42-32) in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl. MT went on to the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl where they fell to Miami (OH) (35-21) before falling to Navy in the 2013 Armed Forces Bowl (24-6). MT lost to W. Michigan in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl (45-31) and fell to Hawaii in the 2016 Hawaii Bowl before winning the 2017 Camellia Bowl and later falling to Appalachian State in the New Orleans Bowl in 2018. Prior to the FBS era, the Raiders competed in the 1956 Refrigerator Bowl, the 1960 and 1961 Tangerine Bowl, and the 1964 Grantland Rice Bowl.
DEFENSE ENJOYING STRONG YEAR OF DISRUPTION
Since ending the 2020 season last November, Scott Shafer’s defense made a point of emphasizing turnovers and creating more havoc in the backfield. Well, the players took it to heart and it has shown up in impressive numbers this season. Take a look at where the Blue Raiders rank nationally:
Turnovers Gained: 1st (31)
Defensive TDs: 1st (6)
Fumbles Recovered: 1st (15)
Interceptions: 5th (16)
Tackles for Loss: 22nd (6.8)
Passing Efficiency Defense: 27th (120.97)
Rushing Defense: 32nd (128.2)
EFFICIENT VATTIATO
In his last three starts, true freshman Nick Vattiato has been extremely efficient throwing the football. In the three games he is a combined 66-for-93 for 71.0 percent. Against ODU he set personal highs with 34 completions and 49 attempts for 304 yards. The 34 completions are the fifth most in a single-game at MT and is the most ever by a true freshman. The 304 yards is also the most ever by a true freshman at MT. For the year, Vattiato is completing 67.6 percent of his passes which would rank fourth all-time for a single-season.
RAIDERS LEAD NATION IN TURNOVERS GAINED
The Middle Tennessee defense has had its share of inconsistency this season but the unit is excelling in gaining turnovers. Through 12 games, MT has gained 31 turnovers to lead the nation with 15 fumble recoveries and 16 interceptions. MT forced six turnovers against Marshall, which went down as the most since the Blue Raiders forced seven against Charlotte in 2015, and also turned USM over five times (23 total in the last seven games). The 31 turnovers are the most since 2013 when the Blue Raiders had 33 (also had 33 in 2009). The 33 turnovers are the most in the FBS era (since 1998).
LANE LEADS NATION
Freshman Jaylin Lane enters the bowl game leading the nation in punt return average at 16.9 yards a return. Lane has 16 returns on the season, including a 70-yard TD in the opener against Monmouth. The 16.9- yard average currently equals the third-best single-season average in school history.
DEFENSE FINDING THE ENDZONE
The Blue Raider defense has been incredible this year in forcing turnovers but equally impressive in reaching the endzone. The defense has scored six times this year to lead the nation with three interceptions for scores and three fumble returns. The six scores are the most by a Blue Raider defense in the FBS era which started in 1999.
BLOCK PARTY
Middle Tennessee owns four blocked kicks this season to rank ninth nationally and the four blocks are the most by the Blue Raiders since they had five rejections in 2014. The Blue Raiders have two blocked punts and two blocked field goals with three of the four credited to defensive linemen. Under Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders have blocked at least one kick all 16 years and have 48 total.
‘FERG’ WREAKING HAVOC UP FRONT
Junior defensive end Jordan Ferguson has enjoyed a career year in 2021 and has been highly disruptive. Ferguson leads the team with 8.0 sacks (ranks 1st in C-USA, 36th nationally) and 14 hurries while sharing the team lead with 15.5 TFLs (T1st in C-USA, 16th nationally). He has also added three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. His 8.0 sacks equal the third most in a season at MT.
PICK PARTY
Through 12 games of 2021, the MT defense has intercepted 16 passes which ranks 2nd in C-USA and 5th nationally. The 16 picks are the most by the Blue Raiders since they recorded 16 in 2018 (next is 17 in 2015). Nine different players have accounted for the 16 interceptions.
SOLID SEASON FOR ULBRICH
Punter Kyle Ulbrich, who set career highs at UTSA earlier this year with 10 punts for 441 yards and five downed inside the opponent 20-yard line, has enjoyed a strong junior season. The Ray Guy Award candidate is averaging 44.5 yards a punt which would be the best mark of his career to go with 16 kicks of 50 or more yards and 22 punts downed inside the opponent 20-yard line (which is already 10 more than his season-best total of 12). For his career, Ulbrich has had 36 punts of 50-plus yards and he has pinned the opponent inside their 20 a total of 43 times.
SCORING IN ALL PHASES … AGAIN
A huge key to success in college football is to be sound in all three phases of the game – offense, defense and special teams. The Blue Raiders have scored in all three phases this season two different times which joins Iowa for the most of any team in the FBS this year. The Blue Raiders scored in all three phases in the opener against Monmouth which was the first time they had accomplished that feat since Aug. 30, 2014 against Savannah State. MT did it a second time this year by scoring all three ways in a win over Southern Miss.
30 IS MAGIC
Under Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders are 76-11 when scoring 30 or more points. The 11 losses came at Louisville in 2007 when the Raiders fell 58-42; at Troy in 2011, 38-35; at home against WKU in 2011, 36-33 (2OT); against W. Michigan in the Bahamas Bowl in 2015 (45-31); at home against WKU in 2016 (44-43); against Hawai’i in the Hawai’i Bowl (52-35); at WKU (41-38 3OT) in 2017; at UNT (33-30) in 2019, at UTSA in 2020 (37-35), vs UNT (52-35) in 2020 and Charlotte (42-39) in 2021.
GIANT KILLERS
Under Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders have a knack of knocking off Power 5 opponents. With the win at Syracuse in 2017, MT now has five wins over Power 5 foes under Stockstill. MT owns wins over Maryland (2008, 2009), Georgia Tech (2012), Missouri (2016) and Syracuse (2017) with six others being decided by a TD or less.
1 POINT GAMES
Rick Stockstill seems to have a little magic going in tight games. Under his direction, the Blue Raiders are an impressive 7-2 in games decided by one point.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
90 Yard Drives: The Blue Raiders have put together 31 scoring drives of 90 or more yards under Rick Stockstill. MT had four 90-yard-or-longer drives in 2016 for the most in his tenure and had two in 2020. The longest drive under Stockstill was a 99-yarder in 2007 at ULM.
Freshman Jaylin Lane set career highs in receptions and yards against ODU with 10 grabs for 107 yards. It was Lane’s first career 100-yard receiving game.
QB Chase Cunningham’s 444 yards of total offense against Charlotte went down as the 7th most in school history.
Chaton Mobley had 15 carries for 132 yards and a TD in the win over Marshall for an 8.8-yard average. It went down as the fourth 100-yard game of his career and his first since getting 156 yards against North Texas last year.
In MT’s game at Charlotte, QB Chase Cunningham made his first career start and responded with 379 passing yards, 5 TD passes and a team-high 65 rushing yards. It went down as the most yards and TDs by an MT QB making his first start in school history.
Middle Tennessee has three players on its roster who have rushed for 100 or more yards in a collegiate game. Chaton Mobley owns four, Martell Pettaway also has three and Brad Anderson has done it twice.
MT has registered over 5,000 yards of total offense in a season nine times in its history, and seven of those have come under Rick Stockstill, including four in the last five years.
The Blue Raiders have rushed for 200 or more yards in a game 58 times under Rick Stockstill, including 11 times over 300 yards.
Since joining C-USA in 2013, MT has rushed for 12,763 yards in 70 league games. That averages out to 182.3 yards a game.
WR CJ Windham has qualified for his sixth career letter, which is a new MT record.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Defensive Scores: Under Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raider defense has scored 40 defensive touchdowns, and 35 have come since 2009. Of the 40 scores, 25 have been interceptions and 15 have come by way of fumble returns.
33 Times Under Shafer: Middle Tennessee’s defense has held the opposition to under 400 yards of total offense in 33 of 60 games under Scott Shafer. MT did it nine times in 2017, nine times in 2018, three times in 2019, five times in 2020 and seven times in 2021.
The Blue Raider defense has amassed 31 quarterback sacks on the season which is just outside the top five all-time totals. The team’s next sack will equal the fifth most in school history. The 31 sacks in 2021 are the most since 2018 when that unit had 36.
DE Jordan Ferguson’s 71-yard fumble return for a TD against FAU (2021) went down as the longest play by a defensive lineman under Rick Stockstill and was the fourth lineman to score a TD under Stockstill with two being in 2021.
MT owns two shutouts since entering C-USA play in 2013. MT defeated FIU 48-0 in 2013 and downed Alabama A&M in 2016, 55-0.
LB DQ Thomas has 243 tackles for loss yards to rank second all-time at MT. Dennis Mix (1979-82) is the all-time leader with 244 yards.
The six forced turnovers by the defense against Marshall was the most by the Blue Raiders since collecting seven against Charlotte in 2015.
The 29 points scored off turnovers by the Blue Raiders against Monmouth was the most by Middle Tennessee since scoring 31 against Charlotte in 2015 – a span of 72 games.
The 90-yard fumble return for a TD by Reed Blankenship against Marshall is the second longest in the Rick Stockstill era behind Rod Isaac’s 100-yard return at WKU in 2010.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
RB Chaton Mobley blocked a punt against Marshall and also scored an offensive TD. Mobley is the first Blue Raider to block a kick and score an offensive or defensive TD in a game since Pierre Ingram on Sept. 25, 2004 against Louisiana (Ingram blocked a FG and had a 15-yard TD reception).
Jaylin Lane’s 70-yard punt return for a TD against Monmouth was the longest by the Blue Raiders since Kevin Byard went 76 yards for a score against ODU in 2014.
DT Zaylin Wood was credited with his first career blocked kick when he rejected a FG at UTSA and DE Jorden Starling had his first against Charlotte. Likewise, RB Chaton Mobley had his first blocked kick in the win over Marshall and Ralph Mency got his against USM.
Ulbrich boomed a career long 75-yard punt at FIU in 2020 which went down as the fifth longest in school history. For his career, Ulbrich has 36 punts of 50 or more yards and is one of just three players all-time to record two 70 yard or longer punts.
MT has at least one blocked kick each year under Stockstill.
TOLEDO ROCKETS NOTES
For the second time in four seasons, the Rockets are headed to the Bahamas. Toledo faces Conference USA foe Middle Tennessee State (6-6, 4-4 CUSA) in the 2021 Bahamas Bowl on Friday, Dec. 17 at noon on ESPN.
The Rockets (7-5, 5-3 MAC) will be playing in their 19th bowl game in program history and their sixth in the last eight seasons. Toledo enters its bowl game having posted three straight wins, most recently a 49-14 home triumph over Akron. Redshirt freshman quarterback Dequan Finn threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns in the victory, with junior Bryant Koback pacing the Rockets on the ground with 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Boosted by a strong end to the regular season, the Rockets enter the Bahamas Bowl leading the MAC in both scoring offense (34.2) and scoring defense (21.0).
Toledo will be led by a strong core of players that earned 11 All-MAC honors, including five first-team selections: senior offensive lineman Bryce Harris, senior defensive backs Tycen Anderson and Samuel Womack, junior running back Bryant Koback, and junior outside linebacker Jamal Hines. Middle Tennessee has won two of its last three games, including a 27-17 road victory at Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Nov. 27 that pushed the Blue Raiders into bowl eligibility.
Rocket Round-Up
• The Rockets will be playing in their 19th bowl game in program history, and they own a record of 11-7 in bowl games.
• Toledo has now been bowl eligible for 11 straight seasons – every year since 2010, excluding 2020 in which bowl eligibility requirements were waived due to COVID (Toledo was 4-2 in 2020).
• 11 players earned All-MAC honors this season, the most for a UT team since 2016 (12).
• Toledo has scored 182 points in its last four games, an average of 45.5 per contest.
• No team in the country takes care of the ball as well as the Rockets: they lead the country in fewest turnovers (six in 12 games) and fewest interceptions thrown (two in 12 games).
• Bryant Koback rushed for 135 yards against Akron, his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game. He now has 1,274 yards for the season, the second time he has rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season (1187 yards in 2019).
• Koback now has 3,900 career rushing yards, good for fourth in Toledo history. The all-time leader is Kareem Hunt (2013-16) with 4,945 yards.
• Senior cornerback Samuel Womack has 15 pass breakups, third in the country. He has 40 PBUs for his career, the most in Toledo history.
• Toledo ranks first in the MAC in both scoring offense (34.2) and scoring defense (21.0).
ROCKET UPDATE
• The Rockets will be playing in their 19th bowl game in program history, and they own a record of 11-7 in bowl games.
• Toledo has now been bowl eligible for 11 straight seasons – every year since 2010, excluding 2020 in which bowl eligibility requirements were waived due to COVID (Toledo was 4-2 in 2020).
• The Bahamas Bowl will be the first-ever meeting between Toledo and Middle Tennessee State on the gridiron
• 11 players earned All-MAC honors this season, the most for a UT team since 2016 (12).
• Toledo has scored 182 points in its last four games, an average of 45.5 per contest.
• No team in the country takes care of the ball as well as the Rockets: they lead the country in fewest turnovers (six in 12 games) and fewest interceptions thrown (two in 12 games).
• Bryant Koback rushed for 135 yards against Akron, his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game. He now has 1,274 yards for the season, the second time he has rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season (1187 yards in 2019).
• Koback now has 3,900 career rushing yards, good for fourth in Toledo history. The all-time leader is Kareem Hunt (2013-16) with 4,945 yards.
• Koback also has 45 career rushing touchdowns, which ranks second all-time in school history. Chester Taylor owns the all-time record with 56 rushing TDs.
• One more Koback note: he is one of the best running backs in the country. He ranks sixth in the nation in yards per carry (6.71), 10th in rushing yards (1,274), and 10th in rushing TDs (15).
• Senior cornerback Samuel Womack has 15 pass breakups, third in the country. He has 40 PBUs for his career, the most in Toledo history.
• Toledo ranks first in the MAC in both scoring offense (34.2) and scoring defense (21.0). Those figures rank 25th and 27th in the country, respectively.
LEADERS OF THE MAC
• Defensively, Toledo ranks first in the MAC in scoring defense (21.0) and defensive pass efficiency (117.9), second in total defense (342.6) and pass defense (191.8), and fourth in rush defense (150.8)
• Offensively, Toledo ranks first in the MAC in scoring offense (34.2), fourth in total offense (434.8), and fifth in both passing (241.7) and rushing (193.2).
• Bryant Koback leads the MAC in yards per carry (6.7), is tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns (15), and ranks second in rushing yards (1,274).
• Dequan Finn ranks second in the MAC in passing efficiency (157.8).
• Jacquez Stuart is second in the MAC in kick return average (29.2) and Devin Maddox ranks third in punt return average (9.1).
• Sam Womack is tied for first in the MAC in pass breakups (14).
• Jamal Hines ranks second in the MAC in sacks (10) and tied for second in tackles for loss (14.5).
