Blue Raiders Earn a Couple of Wins at FIU, Rice

MTSU quarterback Asher O’Hara runs the ball against Rice. Photos by Nathan Wallach

After a tough start to the 2020 football season, the MTSU Blue Raiders got some wins in October.

The month began with the Blue Raiders dropping a close call to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Oct. 3.

Another rivalry matchup between WKU and MTSU went down to the wire, but the Raiders couldn’t find enough big plays in the second half, scoring only once after halftime and losing to the Hilltoppers 20–17.

It was the eighth time in the last 10 meetings between the teams that the final was decided by less than a touchdown.

“It was a hard-fought ballgame,” MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill said. “I thought our defense played well, we just have to find a way to make more plays and get the ball in the end zone.”

The game was knotted at 10 at the break, but MTSU couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half.

The Raiders punted on their first three possessions of the second half despite making it into Hilltopper territory twice. WKU added a third-quarter field goal and widened the lead to 20–10 with 6:04 remaining.

Middle Tennessee added a touchdown with 2:07 left to pull within three points when quarterback Asher O’Hara hit C.J. Windham in the corner of the end zone, but the Hilltoppers recovered the subsequent onside kick and iced the game.

*Marquel Tinsley runs down the sideline for the Blue Raiders*

O’Hara completed 23 of 33 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown and added 98 more yards on the ground and another score on the game. Senior Jarrin Pierce was again O’Hara’s favorite target. He caught nine of 11 targets for 65 yards.

The following week, Oct. 10, MTSU finally got a win as it came back at FIU to win 31–28 comeback win in Miami.

The Blue Raiders scored a last-minute touchdown to shock the Panthers and go ahead 31–28, clinching their first win of the season.

“This one had nothing to do with anything but toughness and our competitive spirit,” Stockstill said. “We didn’t start out all that hot . . . but we kept battling. I’m just really proud of our mental toughness.”

Down 28–24 with time running out, O’Hara and the MTSU offense finally found momentum. O’Hara hit Yusuf Ali for 17 yards to get a drive going, then connected for 13 yards to Pierce.

O’Hara later hit Pierce with an over-the-shoulder throw in the end zone to snatch the late lead.

“We just had heart,” O’Hara said. “I saw the safety roll to the other side of the field, so it was a really easy decision and throw for me. I just put my decision in Jarrin and of course knew he was going to come down with it. He’s a playmaker.”

*Jarrin Pierce caught two big touchdowns in the win against FIU*

All that was left to do after the touchdown was hold off FIU’s last attempt, and it was Miami native Gregory Grate Jr. who intercepted a pass to effectively end the game with 35 seconds left.

The Blue Raiders defense forced eight punts in the game and got in the backfield for five sacks.

On Oct. 17 MTSU fell victim to an onslaught from the North Texas offense, falling 52–35 at Floyd Stadium.

Middle Tennessee surrendered 768 total yards, including 462 rushing, which was the most total yards the Blue Raiders have ever allowed in a single game.

“Give North Texas credit, their skill on offense was really good,” Stockstill said. “In the first half, we started out and did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball . . . I’m just disappointed in how we played in the second half.”

The Blue Raiders used three Mean Green turnovers to take a 28–14 lead in the game. However, North Texas proceeded to score 35 unanswered points.

“We just didn’t tackle very good at all,” Stockstill said.

The next week MTSU traveled to Texas for its first ever game at Rice, and the first game of the season for the Owls.

The game turned out to be a double-overtime thriller.

Things looked dire for MTSU in the game’s final minute, as Rice scored a miracle of a touchdown with 34 seconds left to take a 34–31 lead.

But O’Hara orchestrated a five-play, 35-yard drive to set MT up with a chance at a game-tying field goal from 48 yards as time expired, and MTSU kicker Crews Holt banged it home to send the game to overtime. It was a new career long for Holt.

Holt had a chance to extend his new career long to 50 yards on MT’s opening drive of overtime, but he missed short right.

The Owls were then set up to win it twice with field goals, but the first from 44 yards bounced off both uprights and the crossbar and missed, and the second from 40 yards was blocked by redshirt freshman Jalen Jackson.

“He fumbled the snap a little bit, and I just went up and blocked it,” Jackson said. “That was my first time blocking a kick. That was a pretty cool experience.”

O’Hara would then end the contest with a game-winning 14-yard rushing touchdown. The final was 40–34.

“That was a fantastic win,” Stockstill said. “I’m just really proud of our team for how we hung in there and battled the whole time. I can’t tell you enough how much fight, grit, determination, competitiveness, toughness this team showed here tonight. To come back and win the way we did was pretty special.”

Blue Raider defense forced three turnovers in the game and held Rice out of the end zone on a critical two-point conversion attempt in the second half.

Offensively, O’Hara finished with 333 yards passing and four total touchdowns (two passing).

MTSU will try to build on that emotional win when it hosts Charlotte on Nov. 7.