Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Fall to Commodores at Johnny Red Floyd Stadium in Football Showdown

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders faced a challenging start to the season with a 0-1 record after being defeated by the Vanderbilt Commodores, who improved their record to 1-0. The final score stood at 28-6 in favor of the visitors.

At Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, home of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, an attendance of 26,717 witnessed a game where the home team struggled to find their rhythm. The Blue Raiders' offense was unable to convert any of their third or fourth down attempts and failed to score on two red zone opportunities. Despite these challenges, they managed a passing touchdown covering 22 yards which was their only visit to the end zone during this encounter.

The Middle Tennessee's quarterback endured pressure throughout the game, being sacked five times for a loss of 48 yards and throwing one interception. However, he completed 18 out of his 31 pass attempts for a total of 166 passing yards and achieved an average completion rate of approximately 58 percent with a passer rating over one hundred.

On special teams, there were no blocked punts or punt returns for touchdowns; however, one extra point attempt was blocked by Vanderbilt's defense. The rushing attack from Middle Tennessee also had difficulty gaining ground against Vanderbilt's defense with only three first downs from run plays and an average gain per rush attempt under two yards.

Defensively speaking, Middle Tennessee recorded one sack but could not force any turnovers nor did they intercept any passes from Vanderbilt's offense. Penalties were minimal for both sides as the Blue Raiders committed four penalties totaling just fourteen penalty yards.

Looking ahead after this tough home opener defeat against Vanderbilt Commodores football team; fans can mark their calendars for when Middle Tennessee will take on Syracuse Orange at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse on September ninth at seven thirty PM Eastern Time. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN3 as Middle Tennessee looks forward to bouncing back from this setback.