# 2023 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

The 2023 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Blue Raiders played their home games at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and competed as members of Conference USA. They were led by eighteenth-year head coach Rick Stockstill.
Stockstill was fired on November 27, going 113–111 through 18 seasons as head coach. At the time of his firing Stockstill was the fourth-longest tenured head coach in the FBS.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team drew an average home attendance of 13,219 in 2023.

## Schedule

Middle Tennessee and Conference USA announced the 2023 football schedule on January 10, 2023.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Alabama* | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL | SECN | L 7–56 | 100,077 |
| September 9 | 6:00 p.m. | at Missouri* | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN+/ESPN+ | L 19–23 | 57,645 |
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Murray State* | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN+ | W 35–14 | 16,605 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | Colorado State* | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN+ | L 23–31 | 19,806 |
| September 28 | 6:30 p.m. | at Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY (100 Miles of Hate) | CBSSN | L 10–31 | 14,712 |
| October 4 | 7:00 p.m. | Jacksonville State | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPNU | L 30–45 | 13,066 |
| October 10 | 6:00 p.m. | Louisiana Tech | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | CBSSN | W 31–23 | 9,602 |
| October 17 | 6:00 p.m. | at Liberty | Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA | CBSSN | L 35–42 | 16,354 |
| November 4 | 5:00 p.m. | at New Mexico State | Aggie Memorial StadiumLas Cruces, NM | ESPN+ | L 7–13 | 15,727 |
| November 11 | 2:30 p.m. | FIU | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN+ | W 40–6 | 11,111 |
| November 18 | 1:00 p.m. | UTEP | Johnny "Red" Floyd StadiumMurfreesboro, TN | ESPN+ | W 34–30 | 9,122 |
| November 25 | 11:00 a.m. | at Sam Houston | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | L 20–23 | 5,349 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at No. 4 Alabama

Uniform Combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Middle Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 4 Alabama | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
at Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama
* Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 100,077
* Referee: Daniel Gautreaux
* TV announcers (SECN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), and Cole Cubelic (sideline)
* Pregame line: Alabama -39.0 Over/Under: 52.0
| Statistics | MTSU | ALA |
| First downs | 13 | 23 |
| Total yards | 211 | 431 |
| Rushes/yards | 26–78 | 40–205 |
| Passing yards | 133 | 226 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 24–35–1 | 17–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 30:57 | 29:03 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Nicholas Vattiato | 21/32, 127 yards, TD, INT |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing | Jekail Middlebrook | 8 carries, 32 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving | Jaiden Credle | 4 receptions, 25 yards |
| Alabama | Passing | Jalen Milroe | 13/18, 194 yards, 3 TD |
| Alabama | Rushing | Jalen Milroe | 7 carries, 48 yards, 2 TD |
| Alabama | Receiving | Isaiah Bond | 5 receptions, 76 yards, TD |

### at Missouri

Uniform Combination :
| Helmet | Jersey | Pants |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Middle Tennessee | 0 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 19 |
| Missouri | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
at Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri
* Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 57,645
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Barrett Brooks (analyst)
| Statistics | MTSU | MIZZ |
| First downs | 16 | 21 |
| Total yards | 65–285 | 65–316 |
| Rushes/yards | 29-71 | 46-112 |
| Passing yards | 214 | 204 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 22-36-0 | 14-19-0 |
| Time of possession | 28:00 | 32:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Nicholas Vattiato | 22-36, 214 yards, 2 TD |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing | Frank Peasant | 13 carries, 35 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving | Elijah Metcalf | 5 receptions, 70 yards |
| Missouri | Passing | Brady Cook | 14-19, 204 yards, 2 TD |
| Missouri | Rushing | Cody Schrader | 23 carries, 84 yards |
| Missouri | Receiving | Luther Burden III | 8 receptions, 117 yards |

### at Liberty

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Middle Tennessee | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| Liberty | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
at Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, Virginia
* Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 16,354
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play) and Brock Vereen (analyst)
| Statistics | MTSU | LIB |
| First downs | 23 | 33 |
| Total yards | 63–428 | 81–541 |
| Rushing yards | 26–96 | 61–401 |
| Passing yards | 332 | 140 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 24–37–2 | 12–20–1 |
| Time of possession | 22:40 | 37:20 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Nicholas Vattiato | 24/37, 332 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing | Jaiden Cradle | 12 carries, 50 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving | Zack Dobson | 2 receptions, 82 yards, TD |
| Liberty | Passing | Kaidon Salter | 12/20, 140 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Liberty | Rushing | Kaidon Salter | 16 carries, 160 yards |
| Liberty | Receiving | CJ Daniels | 6 receptions, 71 yards, TD |

### at New Mexico State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Aggies | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
at Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, New Mexico
* Date: Saturday, November 4, 2023
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 15,727
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Adam Young (play-by-play), Danny Knee (analyst) and Tatiana Favela (sideline)
| Statistics | MTSU | NMSU |
| First downs | 17 | 21 |
| Total yards | 346 | 402 |
| Rushing yards | 168 | 182 |
| Passing yards | 178 | 220 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 24:13 | 35:47 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Middle Tennessee | Passing | Nicholas Vattiato | 20/36, 178 yards, TD, INT |
| Middle Tennessee | Rushing | Nicholas Vattiato | 18 rushes, 96 yards |
| Middle Tennessee | Receiving | Elijah Metcalf | 5 receptions, 69 yards |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Diego Pavia | 16/31, 220 yards, INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Monte Watkins | 5 rushes, 68 yards |
| New Mexico State | Receiving | Eli Stowers | 6 receptions, 83 yards |