# 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

The 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University as a member of the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders compiled an overall record of 8–6 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the C-USA's East Division title. Middle Tennessee represented the East Division in the Conference USA Football Championship Game, falling to West Division champion, UAB. The Blue Raiders were invited to the New Orleans Bowl, where they lost to Appalachian State. The team played home games at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Maxwell Award | Brent Stockstill | QB | SR |
| Davey O'Brien Award | Brent Stockstill | QB | SR |
| Doak Walker Award | Tavares Thomas | RB | SR |
| Fred Biletnikoff Award | Ty Lee | WR | JR |
| Butkus Award | Darius Harris | LB | SO |
| Ray Guy Award | Matt Bonadies | P | SR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Brent Stockstill | QB | SR |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | Brent Stockstill | QB | SR |
| Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award | 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.

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

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:30 p.m. | at Vanderbilt* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SECN | L 7–35 | 25,348 |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | UT Martin* | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN+ | W 61–37 | 16,227 |
| September 15 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 3 Georgia* | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA | ESPNews | L 7–49 | 92,746 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | Florida Atlantic | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | Stadium | W 25–24 | 17,299 |
| October 5 | 6:30 p.m. | at Marshall | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | CBSSN | W 34–24 | 25,979 |
| October 13 | 6:30 p.m. | at FIU | Riccardo Silva StadiumMiami, FL | beIN | L 21–24 | 16,002 |
| October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | Charlotte | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN3 | W 21–13 | 13,102 |
| October 27 | 2:30 p.m. | at Old Dominion | Foreman FieldNorfolk, VA | ESPN+ | W 51–17 | 19,725 |
| November 2 | 7:00 p.m. | Western Kentucky | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate) | CBSSN | W 29–10 | 16,617 |
| November 10 | 2:00 p.m. | at UTEP | Sun BowlEl Paso, TX | ESPN+ | W 48–32 | 9,690 |
| November 17 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 20 Kentucky* | Kroger FieldLexington, KY | SECN | L 23–34 | 47,535 |
| November 24 | 2:00 p.m. | UAB | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN3 | W 27–3 | 14,411 |
| December 1 | 1:30 p.m. | UAB | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN (C-USA Championship Game) | CBSSN | L 25–27 | 15,806 |
| December 15 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. Appalachian State* | Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (New Orleans Bowl) | ESPN | L 13–45 | 23,942 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Commodores | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |

### UT Martin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Skyhawks | 7 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 37 |
| Blue Raiders | 14 | 12 | 21 | 14 | 61 |

### At Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 3 Bulldogs | 14 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 49 |

### Florida Atlantic

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 25 |

### At Marshall

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 3 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 34 |
| Thundering Herd | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### At FIU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Panthers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 24 |

### Charlotte

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### At Old Dominion

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 17 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 51 |
| Monarchs | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### Western Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Blue Raiders | 10 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 29 |

### At UTEP

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 14 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 48 |
| Miners | 0 | 10 | 0 | 22 | 32 |

### At Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
| No. 20 Wildcats | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 34 |

### UAB

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blazers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 27 |

### UAB (C-USA Championship game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blazers | 3 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| Blue Raiders | 13 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 25 |

### Vs. Appalachian State (New Orleans Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mountaineers | 0 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
| Blue Raiders | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 |