Murfreesboro, TN – It was time, the 74th edition of the 100 Miles of Hate, taking place in Floyd Stadium. MTSU felt they were well prepared and could take down the Hilltoppers, but to their surprise, WKU was the one who was prepared. Stomping Middle on their home turf, 49-21.
“Hats off to Western Kentucky, they played hard, and they’re a good football team, and you can’t spot a good team 21 points,” says MTSU head coach Derek Mason. “We made mistakes from the start, which was unfortunate, but we’ve got to fight through this adversity, and we’ve got to be better.”
MTSU opened the game by winning the toss and electing to receive. They began what seemed like a successful drive by going 59 yards in seven plays but couldn’t connect on two consecutive passes and turned it over on downs in Hilltopper territory.
Western took advantage of that turnover and quickly found themselves in the red zone. Starting quarterback TJ Finley would be injured on the drive, but backup Caden Veltkamp would finish it with a touchdown pass to River Helms.
That would be followed by another Veltkamp touchdown pass to put WKU up 14-0. Nick Vattiato connected with Omari Kelly for a 54-yard reception to set the Blue Raiders up at the 1-yard line, and of course, they scored, right? No, Middle was stopped on four straight plays and turned it over on downs again.
MTSU once again found themselves inside the Western Kentucky 10-yard line with a chance to get back into the ballgame, but the Blue Raiders fumbled the opportunity. Vattiato hit Gamarion Carter on a slant, but the pass was behind him and tipped into the arms of Western cornerback Anthony Johnson Jr.
Veltkamp would lead the ‘Tops on a 99-yard drive that ended in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Easton Messer to pad the WKU lead, 21-0.
Western Kentucky would score on their first drive coming out of halftime to make it 28-0 and kill what hope MTSU had. But the Blue Raiders would finally get on the board the next drive. They marched to midfield, and as Vattiato dropped back on 1st and 10, he saw Kelly behind the defense and let it rip, finding the transfer receiver in the endzone.
“Nick and I came out of halftime and said, ‘We’ve got to go ball.’ He put his trust in me and others, but I was trying to do my part,” says Kelly.
From then on, both teams would trade scores, but it was nowhere near enough from MT as the Hilltoppers scored on four of their five second-half drives.
The Blue Raider passing attack did begin to light it up with three second-half touchdowns and career days from Vattiato and Kelly. Who finished a few yards away from setting the single-game passing and receiving yards records.
“We did an excellent job in pass protection; that’s a credit to the o line, tight ends, and running backs; they did their jobs,” Vattiato says. “I told the receivers before the game to go do what you can do, and guys got open, guys made plays, we’ve got to build on that.”
Kelly finished with nine catches for 239 yards and three touchdowns, while his quarterback threw for 456 yards with a 77% completion percentage.
Even with the outstanding game from both, the WKU offense was too much to handle, as the Blue Raiders dropped their sixth consecutive game to Western, 49-21.
“We have to take ownership as players. Coaches can only do so much,” says Vattiato. “They can put us in a spot to succeed, but the players have to be on the field and execute. We’ve got to take that on as a unit. That’s receivers, tight ends, running backs, offensive line and myself.”
Game Balls
Offense: Omari Kelly
You could’ve chosen either Vattiato or Kelly, but since the receiver nearly doubled his career yardage mark (147) and hauled in three touchdowns, it’s got to be him.
Defense: CJ Johnson
Johnson stepped up in the absence of star safety Brendon Harris and made the most of his opportunities. The redshirt junior finished with a team-leading nine tackles while playing solid coverage in the secondary.
Special Teams: Kellen Stewart
It was hard to choose, considering MTSU punted once and attempted no field goals. But Stewart was solid in the kick return department, returning four for nearly 100 yards.
Notes
Despite averaging over a yard per play more, MTSU was outscored by 28 and put up over 100 yards less than Western Kentucky.
Nick Vattiato had a sensational day with a career-high 456 passing yards with three touchdown tosses.
Holden Willis and Omari Kelly have become the alpha dogs in the receiver room, compiling 312 receiving yards on 13 catches.
Looking Ahead
MTSU has an early homecoming next weekend against the Duke Blue Devils, who were able to edge out UConn 26-21 to remain unbeaten. The Blue Devils will roll into Murfreesboro on Saturday at 3-0, led by talented transfer quarterback Maalik Murphy.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 PM CT and will be shown on ESPNU.
