2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

The 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Blue Raiders played their home games at the Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by 13th-year head coach Rick Stockstill. They finished the season 8–6, 7–1 in C-USA play to finish as champions of the East Division. They represented the East Division in the C-USA Championship Game where they lost to West Division champion UAB. They were invited to the New Orleans Bowl where they lost to Appalachian State.

2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football
C-USA East Division champion
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionEast Division
2018 record8–6 (7–1 C-USA)
Head coachRick Stockstill (13th season)
Offensive coordinatorTony Franklin (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorScott Shafer (2nd season)
Home stadiumJohnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
(Capacity: 31,000)
2018 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Middle Tennessee x  7 –1     8 –6  
Marshall  6 –2     9 –4  
FIU  6 –2     9 –4  
Charlotte  4 –4     5 –7  
Florida Atlantic  3 –5     5 –7  
Old Dominion  2 –6     4 –8  
Western Kentucky  2 –6     3 –9  
West Division
UAB x$  7 –1     11 –3  
North Texas  5 –3     9 –4  
Louisiana Tech  5 –3     8 –5  
Southern Miss  5 –3     6 –5  
UTSA  2 –6     3 –9  
UTEP  1 –7     1 –11  
Rice  1 –7     2 –11  
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

Previous season

The Blue Raiders finished the 2017 season 7–6, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. They received an invite to the Camellia Bowl where they defeated Arkansas State.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Maxwell Award[1] Brent Stockstill QB SR
Davey O'Brien Award[2] Brent Stockstill QB SR
Doak Walker Award[3] Tavares Thomas RB SR
Fred Biletnikoff Award[4] Ty Lee WR JR
Butkus Award[5] Darius Harris LB SO
Ray Guy Award[6] Matt Bonadies P SR
Wuerffel Trophy[7] Brent Stockstill QB SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[8] Brent Stockstill QB SR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[9] Tavares Thomas RB SR

Preseason All-CUSA team

Conference USA released their preseason all-CUSA team on July 16, 2018, with the Blue Raiders having four players selected.[10]

Preseason media poll

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Blue Raiders predicted to finish in third place in the East Division.[11]

East Division
Predicted finish Team
1Florida Atlantic
2Marshall
3Middle Tennessee
4FIU
5Western Kentucky
6Old Dominion
7Charlotte

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:30 p.m.at Vanderbilt*
SECNL 7–3525,348
September 86:00 p.m.UT Martin*
ESPN+W 61–3716,227
September 1511:00 a.m.at No. 3 Georgia*
ESPNewsL 7–4992,746
September 296:00 p.m.Florida Atlantic
  • Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
  • Murfreesboro, TN
StadiumW 25–2417,299
October 56:30 p.m.at Marshall
CBSSNW 34–2425,979
October 136:30 p.m.at FIU
beINL 21–2416,002
October 202:00 p.m.Charlotte
  • Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
  • Murfreesboro, TN
ESPN3W 21–1313,102
October 272:30 p.m.at Old Dominion
ESPN+W 51–1719,725
November 27:00 p.m.Western Kentucky
CBSSNW 29–1016,617
November 102:00 p.m.at UTEP
ESPN+W 48–329,690
November 1711:00 a.m.at No. 20 Kentucky*
SECNL 23–3447,535
November 242:00 p.m.UAB
  • Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
  • Murfreesboro, TN
ESPN3W 27–314,411
December 11:30 p.m.UAB
CBSSNL 25–2715,806
December 158:00 p.m.vs. Appalachian State*
ESPNL 13–4523,942
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
Schedule Source:[12]

Game summaries

at Vanderbilt
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 7 0 0 0 7
Commodores 7 7 7 14 35
See also: 2018 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–15 2017 VANDY, 28–6

UT Martin
1 2 3 4 Total
Skyhawks 7 10 7 13 37
Blue Raiders 14 12 21 14 61
See also: 2018 UT Martin Skyhawks football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
18–7–1 1999 MTSU, 70–14

at Georgia
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 0 7 0 0 7
No. 3 Bulldogs 14 28 7 0 49
See also: 2018 Georgia Bulldogs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
0–1 2003 UGA, 29–10

Florida Atlantic
1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 14 7 3 0 24
Blue Raiders 0 10 7 8 25
See also: 2018 Florida Atlantic Owls football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
11–4 2017 FAU, 38–20

at Marshall
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 3 7 14 10 34
Thundering Herd 3 14 0 7 24
See also: 2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–5 2017 MARSH, 38–10

at FIU
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 0 14 7 0 21
Panthers 3 10 0 11 24
See also: 2018 FIU Panthers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
9–4 2017 MTSU, 37–17

Charlotte
1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 6 0 0 7 13
Blue Raiders 0 14 0 7 21
See also: 2018 Charlotte 49ers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–0 2017 MTSU, 35–21

at Old Dominion
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 17 14 14 6 51
Monarchs 7 3 7 0 17
See also: 2018 Old Dominion Monarchs football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–0 2017 MTSU, 41–10

Western Kentucky
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 3 0 7 0 10
Blue Raiders 10 10 3 6 29
See also: 2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team and 100 Miles of Hate
Overall record Last meeting Result
34–32–1 2017 WKU, 41–38

at UTEP
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 14 13 7 14 48
Miners 0 10 0 22 32
See also: 2018 UTEP Miners football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–1 2017 MTSU, 30–3

at Kentucky
1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Raiders 0 10 6 7 23
No. 20 Wildcats 17 7 7 3 34
See also: 2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
0–2 2008 UK, 20–14

UAB
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 3 0 0 0 3
Blue Raiders 0 13 7 7 27
See also: 2018 UAB Blazers football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–3 2017 UAB, 25–23

UAB (C-USA Championship Game)
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 3 21 0 3 27
Blue Raiders 13 3 6 3 25
Further information: 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game
Overall record Last meeting Result
4–3 11/24/2018 MTSU, 27–3

vs. Appalachian State (New Orleans Bowl)
1 2 3 4 Total
Mountaineers 0 24 14 7 45
Blue Raiders 3 3 7 0 13
Further information: 2018 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team and 2018 New Orleans Bowl
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–1 1992 MTSU, 35–10
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References
  1. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  2. "Davey O'Brien Award Watch List includes 26 players". July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  3. "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  4. "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  5. "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  6. "Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  7. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  8. "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  9. "2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award" (PDF). August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  10. http://conferenceusa.com/news/2018/7/16/football-fb-2018-preseason-awards.aspx
  11. http://conferenceusa.com/news/2018/7/17/football-fb-preseason-media-poll.aspx
  12. "2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 24, 2018.


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