Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football


Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football program represents Middle Tennessee State University in the sport of American football. The Blue Raiders compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the East Division of Conference USA. They are coached by Rick Stockstill, who started in 2006. Middle Tennessee has appeared in 12 bowl games and seven I-AA playoffs. The Blue Raiders play their home games at the Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium which has a seating capacity of 30,788.

History

Early history (1911–1946)

Middle Tennessee State University first fielded a football team in 1911 under the direction of head coach L. T. "Mutt" Weber. From 1913–1923, Alfred B. Miles led the Blue Raiders football program. The 1914 football season led by Miles was its first undefeated season, with five straight victories after a tie with Cumberland.
Frank Faulkinberry was hired as MTSU's head coach after Miles' departure. During his tenure, the Blue Raiders compiled a record of 33–26–4. Faulkinberry was found shot to death in his garage on May 13, 1933, a suspected suicide being the cause.
E. M. Waller led the Blue Raiders for two seasons and compiled a 3–14–1 record. Waller resigned due to the team's struggles after two seasons.
Johnny Floyd started coaching MTSU in 1935 and led the Blue Raiders for four seasons. Under his tutelage, the Blue Raiders compiled a record of 30–8–1. Floyd's 1935 team went a perfect 8–0. However, a 2–6 campaign in 1938 ended his time in Murfreesboro.
Ernest Alley was named the next head coach of MTSU football, and in his one-season, the Blue Raiders compiled a 1–6–1 record.
Elwin W. Midgett led the Blue Raiders for four seasons (MTSU did not field a football team from 1943–1945 because of World War II. In 1940, Midgett led the Blue Raiders to a 4–4 mark. In 1941, the Blue Raiders posted a 4–3–1 campaign, followed by 4–2–1 in 1942, and 6–2–1 in 1946.

Charles Murphy era (1947–1968)

is the longest-tenured and winningest head coach in MTSU, football history, with a 155–63–8 record in 22 seasons as MTSU's head coach. Under Murphy's tutelage, the Blue Raiders posted four undefeated seasons along with 17 winning seasons and four bowl appearances. Murphy was asked to resign at MTSU after a 2–8 campaign in 1968.

Donald Fuoss era (1969)

Succeeding Murphy as the Blue Raiders head coach was Donald Fuoss, who only lasted for one season, a 1–9 campaign in 1969 that resulted in his firing.

Bill Peck era (1970–1974)

took over as head coach in 1970 and instantly brought improvement to Murfreesboro. In his first season, the Blue Raiders posted a 6–3–1 record. In 1971, MTSU posted a record of 7–4. That was followed by a 7–3–1 mark in 1972, a 4–7 mark in 1973 and a 3–8 campaign in 1974. Peck was asked to resign after back to back losing seasons to end his tenure.

Ben Hurt era (1975–1978)

Ben Hurt took over the Blue Raiders in 1975. Under his tutelage, in 1975, MTSU posted a 4–7 mark. That was followed by another 4–7 campaign in 1976. In 1977, Hurt's Blue Raiders posted a 3–8 record that was followed by a 1–9–1 1978 season, after which Hurt was fired.

James Donnelly era (1979–1998)

head coach James Donnelly was hired as MTSU's head coach in 1979. Under his leadership, the MTSU football program compiled a record of 133–80–1. Donnelly is the second winningest football coach in MTSU history. Of his 20 seasons at the helm, 15 of them were winning seasons and four of them were seasons of at least 10 wins. Donnelly resigned after a 5–5 season in 1998.

Andy McCollum era (1999–2005)

assistant coach Andy McCollum took over for Donnelly in 1999. McCollum led the Blue Raiders to a 6–5 record in 2000, their first as an FBS program. In 2001, McCollum oversaw an offense that ranked fifth nationally and MTSU finished 8–3 as the runner-up behind North Texas which won the Sun Belt Conference championship. In 2005, MTSU's defense ranked ninth nationally. McCollum was fired after the 2005 season.

Rick Stockstill era (2006–present)

In 2006, South Carolina tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Rick Stockstill got the head coaching job at Middle Tennessee State. In his first season, Stockstill led the Blue Raiders to the program's second bowl game as well as a share of the Sun Belt Conference title. He was later that year named the conference coach of the year.
The 2007 and 2008 seasons saw the Blue Raiders take a small step back with back-to-back 5–7 seasons. However, in 2009, Stockstill and the Blue Raiders went 10–3 and won the New Orleans Bowl, which was the third bowl victory in school history. Again, Stockstill was named conference coach of the year for the 2009 season. The Blue Raiders went to another bowl in 2010, and they finished the season 6–7 after losing the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
After the successful 2009 season, he turned down several offers from other schools, including Conference USA's East Carolina and Memphis, citing that it was not the right time to leave the Blue Raiders. Stockstill has led MTSU to seven bowl games in 13 years.
In 2016, Stockstill led the Blue Raiders to an 8–5, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in third place in the East Division. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl where they lost to Hawaii.
In 2017, Stockstill led the Blue Raiders to a 7–6, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish for a tie in third place in the East Division. They were invited to the 2017 Camellia Bowl where they defeated Arkansas State.

Conference affiliations

Middle Tennessee has been both an independent and affiliated with multiple conferences.

Conference championships

Middle Tennessee has won 13 conference championships, seven outright and six shared.
† Co-championship

Divisional championships

As a member of Conference USA since 2013, Middle Tennessee competes in the East Division. The Blue Raiders have won one division title.

Bowl games

Middle Tennessee has appeared in twelve bowl games as a program, with four of those falling as a non-Division I Bowl game. The Blue Raiders have a record of 4–8.
MT appeared twice in the Tangerine Bowl. The first game, played January 1, 1960, against Presbyterian College, resulted in a 21–12 win. The second game, against Lamar University on December 29, 1961, was a 21–14 loss.
The Blue Raiders were invited to the Motor City Bowl in 2006 after a shared conference title with Troy University. Troy had won the conference with a tie-breaker, but MT was invited due to the Big Ten having two teams in the Bowl Championship Series and thus being unable to fulfill their bowl contract for the Motor City Bowl. This was their first bowl game in 42 years along with their first under Division I. They played Central Michigan University in the game and were defeated 31–14.
MT finished the 2009 regular season with a 9–3 record and was invited to play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 20, 2009. The team played against the University of Southern Mississippi, defeating them 42–32. This was their second bowl game since joining the FBS and first ever bowl win. Quarterback Dwight Dasher was named as the game's MVP after rushing and passing for two touchdowns each.
non-Division I bowl game

Division I-AA Playoffs results

The Blue Raiders have appeared in the I-AA playoffs seven times with a record of 6–7.

Rivalries

Troy

Middle Tennessee's rivalry with Troy, now dormant following Middle Tennessee's 2013 move to Conference USA, is known as the Battle for the Palladium. Troy and Middle Tennessee first played each other in 1936, but it wasn't until 2003 that schools started playing annually for the Palladium Trophy. Middle Tennessee currently leads the series 12-8.
Games playedFirst meetingLast meetingMiddle Tennessee winsMiddle Tennessee losses
20October 9, 1936 November 24, 2012 128

Western Kentucky

The rivalry between Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky, is both school's oldest rivalry, as the two programs played together for several decades in the Ohio Valley Conference before both became members of the Sun Belt Conference and then transitioned to Conference USA about the same time. The name comes from the fact that the two universities are separated by about 100 miles.
Games playedFirst meetingLast meetingMiddle Tennessee winsMiddle Tennessee lossesSeries Tied
67October 10, 1914 November 3, 2018 34321

Nickname

The nickname of the Middle Tennessee athletic teams is the Blue Raiders. Female teams were long known as the Lady Raiders, but adopted the Blue Raiders name in 2007. The nickname's origin goes back to a 1934 newspaper contest. An MT football player, Charles Sarver, won $5 from Murfreesboro's The Daily News Journal with his winning entry "Blue Raiders", which he later admitted borrowing from Colgate University, whose teams were known as "Raiders" at the time. No official nickname existed prior to 1934, when teams were called "Normalites", "Teachers", and "Pedagogues".

Colors and mascot

MT is represented by the colors white and royal blue, described as PMS 301 by the university.
Lightning is the mascot of both the Middle Tennessee men and women's sports teams.

Retired number

Middle Tennessee has retired one jersey number. Morris was in the forefront of a big era of the Blue Raiders, winning three OVC championships in his tenure as quarterback.

All-time record vs. CUSA teams

Official record against all current CUSA opponents:
OpponentWonLostTiedPercentageStreakFirstLast
Charlotte400Won 420152018
Florida Atlantic1240Won 120032018
FIU950Lost 120052018
Louisiana Tech240Won 119842016
Marshall350Won 119922018
North Texas780Won 220012016
Old Dominion300Won 320142018
Rice000–––
Southern Miss300Won 320092014
UAB440Lost 119952018
UTEP310Won 220132018
UTSA110Lost 120152016
Western Kentucky34321Won 119142018
Totals85631

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 27, 2019.
at Dukeat Virginia Techat Colorado Stateat Missouriat Ole MissDukeLiberty
Indiana Stateat LibertyMissouriColorado Stateat DukeAustin Peay
Virginia Techat UConn
at UConn