Final: Blue Raiders defeated 34-14 in season-opener by Austin Peay
Murfreesboro, TN– The Blue Raiders invited in the Austin Peay Governors on Saturday evening, looking to start Derek Mason’s second season off on the right foot. There were major implications for both teams heading into this matchup, as both teams brought in more than sixty newcomers onto their roster. For Austin Peay, they needed to prove that their overhauled roster could compete with the best of the best. For Middle Tennessee, it was a chance to prove to the college football world, and frankly, themselves, that they can handle an FCS opponent without any semblance of an upset.
Austin Peay Jumps to Lead
To start the game, it seemed like Austin Peay was the FBS team, and Middle Tennessee was the team on the FCS side. The Blue Raiders were dominated in all aspects of the game as the Governors hopped out to a 14-0 lead, and Nicholas Vattiato didn’t complete his second pass of the game until after the two-minute warning. After both schools had the opportunity to have four drives, Austin Peay scored three touchdowns, Middle Tennessee didn’t score, and Austin Peay outgained MT 204-49.
It was not a result of chance, though. Austin Peay was a much more physical team and simply out-manned the Blue Raiders on both sides of the ball. Every Governor’s runner fell forward, and it seemed as though the Governors had an open lane on every rushing play on offense.
Blue Raiders’ First-Half Saving Grace
Image Courtesy of HELEN COMER/The Daily News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
If it wasn’t for the Blue Raiders’ lone scoring drive at the end of the half, MTSU would’ve finished with just 33 yards at the half, but the Raiders did push into the half with a 67-yard touchdown drive. After the two-minute warning, every one of the Blue Raiders’ plays was of eight yards or more. The dominance that Austin Peay showed for the majority of the first half was mirrored by Middle Tennessee for a couple of minutes before halftime. Whether it was Vattiato connecting with Nahzae Cox or a Vattiato scramble, the Blue Raiders reclaimed some magic offensively.
Austin Peay Starts Half with Ball
Middle Tennessee started off the second half with the chance to turn the game around with a takeaway to begin the third quarter. That did not happen, however. Austin Peay drove down the field and scored on a 40-yard field goal from Carson Smith to extend the lead to 7-24.
Middle Tennessee Restores Hope
After Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee punted the ball back to each other a couple of times, Middle Tennessee had another magical drive, topped off by the best Raider play of the night, a back-shoulder acrobatic catch by Zahzae Cox at the goal-line to secure the Blue Raiders’ second score of the game. The energy started to shift again in Floyd Stadium, and it seemed that MT would capitalize on its newfound momentum to erase Austin Peay’s ten-point lead.
That “momentum” would end up swinging back in Austin Peay’s favor, and MTSU’s offense would be a shadow of what it was in the first quarter. The Blue Raiders’ last four drives finished with a combined five yards, with two turnovers on downs and two punts.
Austin Peay had control of the game from the time the game kicked off. The Blue Raiders’ offense never really got started and struggled to find its footing, even after having two solid scoring drives. MTSU’s 2025 campaign starts off with a disappointing loss to an FCS opponent and in-state rival, 34-14. In his post-game press conference, Derek Mason said, “For us tonight it was a struggle, really don’t know why that is.” Mason would double down on this later in the presser, saying that “it seemed to be that we could not connect the dots.” Among other things, the Blue Raiders looked disorganized in the season opener. Derek Mason and the MTSU coaching staff need to connect these dots soon, so that they don't suffer another embarrassing loss to other teams on the 2025 schedule.
It wasn’t all bad, though. The Raiders learned that newcomer wide receiver Nahzae Cox is an absolute stud at the wide receiver position. Cox had countless athletic catches, and it constantly seemed like he was on a different level. The defensive line looked solid as well. Even though Austin Peay’s quarterback, Chris Parson, worked incredibly well under pressure, the Blue Raiders had pressure on Parson all night. There were countless times where Parson was forced over fifteen yards behind the line of scrimmage, and the MTSU defense can build on this type of pressure in coming games. Derek Mason and the Raiders leave this game with a lot to prove, a lot to improve on, and the pieces to make those changes, but the confidence level has to be low at the moment.
The Blue Raiders are set to face off against Wisconsin next week on Sept. 6.