Murfreesboro, TN – It was déjà vu at Floyd Stadium for the second week in a row. The MTSU Blue Raiders had some bright spots but couldn’t get out of their way at the end of the day, giving the opposition a lot of help along the way while getting walloped by big plays.
Duke was very clean and efficient on both sides of the ball, winning the turnover battle 4-to-1 and averaging 6.1 yards per play in a bludgeoning of the Blue Raiders, 45-17
KEYS OF THE GAME
You must give the Blue Devils a lot of credit. They showed up and played their football brand, dominating the Blue Raiders. However, they did get a lot of help from MTSU with a trio of turnovers and boneheaded penalties that extended drives.
Duke was able to capitalize by scoring four touchdowns off those turnovers and used a 21-point first quarter to cruise over Middle Tennessee.
Overall, MTSU did a good job of stopping the Blue Devil rushing attack and wide receiver Jordan Moore beat them. Still, the Blue Devils found a way to get it done while exploiting MT blunders.
Duke QB Maalik Murphy was impressive, going 14-for-21 for 216 yards and three scores. RB Star Thomas provided several chunk runs when his team needed them; both blended, creating a bad recipe for stopping that talented offense.
For the Blue Raiders, Jaiden “Flip” Credle was impressive in the second consecutive week without Frank Peasant, putting up nearly half of MTSU’s yardage total by himself and finding his way into the end zone once.
Nick Vattiato was not efficient and did not take many downfield shots. Finishing with 127 yards, one touchdown and one interception on a 21-for-33 night.
STATS TO LOOK AT
141 – The amount of all-purpose yardage by Flip Credle on Saturday night. Getting 125 on the ground and the 16 other yards from receptions.
30% - The third-down conversion rate for the MTSU defense. After being ranked as the worst third-down defense in the nation through three weeks, they held Duke to a 3-for-10 mark.
3 – The number of fumbles that Duke forced in the first quarter, setting the Blue Devils up for a trio of scores.
28 – The number of points given up on turnovers and drive-extending penalties from the Blue Raiders.
10 – The number of red zone scores that Middle Tennessee has given up in the past two weeks.
48.8 – What freshman punter Grant Chadwick averaged on his punts, where he had four for 202 yards.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Blue Raider schedule doesn’t get any easier as they’ll travel to Memphis next weekend to take on the Tigers in the Liberty Bowl. Memphis is one of the top G5 teams and will be looking to get back on track after dropping a game to the Navy Midshipmen, 56-44.
The Memphis offense is a potent one that averages 35.5 points per game and 433.8 yards per game. They feature a solid quarterback in Seth Henigan, who’s passed for over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns, but they make their money on the ground.
They average over 150 rushing yards a game behind star running back Mario Anderson Jr., who puts up 80 yards per game on 5.5 YPC. ESPN gives the Blue Raiders a 6.3% chance of winning against the Tigers.
Kickoff is at 6:30 PM CT on ESPNU.
