It’s Monday, so you know what that means. Position Report Card from the GoMiddle crew. MTSU was decimated by the Bulldogs 48-21, but there were some positives, especially on the offensive side. Shayne Pickering and I are here to discuss that and give our grades for each position group.

Quarterback

Conner

Nick Vattiato had a solid day on Thursday night against a LA Tech defense that is top of CUSA in nearly every stat. The quarterback was 24-for-49 for 276 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception that was a perfect throw but tipped off the hands of a receiver. Vattiato consistently put his offense in good spots to score and proved why he’s a top quarterback in the conference.

Grade: B

Shayne

Nick Vattiato had a solid day, fitting passes into windows and putting the receivers in position to make plays against a strong defense. Once the team got behind, it was hard to come back for the offense overall but Vattiato did a lot of things well.

Grade: B-

Running Back

Conner

Middle Tennessee did not run the ball much, totaling just 18 carries. But when they gave the ball to their top two RBs, there was success on the ground. Jekail Middlebrook and Flip Credle had 10 carries where they racked up 50 yards and a touchdown, so they did their job when given the rock. The only problem was that the Blue Raiders were down multiple scores, so they had no choice but to throw it, but they were also productive there.

Middlebrook hauled in two passes for 31 yards and a score.

Grade: B

Shayne

The running backs had a solid game overall, boasting 4.4 yards per carry against a strong front. Jekail Middlebrook coming back was a significant boost as he recorded 61 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.

Grade: B+

Wide Receiver

Conner

Omari Kelly carried the wideout room this game with eight catches for 103 yards. Besides him, only Gamarion Carter and Cam’ron Lacy caught passes and weren’t very effective, with six catches for 49 yards. Even with Kelly's two costly blunders, he still played well enough to give this position room a solid grade.

Grade: B-

Shayne

Omari Kelly had over 100 receiving yards once again but really hurt the team with his inconsistencies at bringing the ball in. One dropped pass he had resulted in an interception in the red zone that deflated the team morale on the road. Gamarion Carter earned more run and had a solid showing. It is hard to give this group a high grade with Kelly being responsible for two turnovers and leaving a lot of points on the board.

Grade: C

Tight End

Conner

Through the first two drives, Holden Willis was sensational and looked like the clear-cut best tight end in CUSA with five catches, 79 yards, and a touchdown. For some reason, they stopped looking his way as much after those two drives, and even then, his presence was felt, with his blocking ability and DBs having to look for him.

Grade: B+

Shayne

Holden Willis has been unstoppable when given a chance to make a play on the ball so far this season and that continued as he recorded five receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. TK Sudderith added an 8-yard reception.

Grade: A-

Offensive Line

Conner

The O-line had a solid turnout in Ruston and a much better showing than what they had done last month. They gave up two sacks, but the pressures were down, and they consistently gave Vattiato just enough time to make plays through the air. Though the YPC number doesn’t look good, Middlebrook and Credle averaged five yards per touch, up by two yards.

It seems like MTSU has found the line combination they had been searching for all season; seeing how they progress from here on will be interesting.

Grade: B-

Shayne

The offensive line took a step forward this game against one of the better defenses in the conference, which was encouraging to see. This unit is never going to be putting out sexy performances this season but they played well enough to give this team a chance to win the game and the Blue Raiders failed to take advantage, which makes the loss sting even more. Simon Wilson botched snap on fourth and goal at the end was a big negative, but overall solid game from the group.

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

Conner

I wasn’t very impressed with this unit; their problems all year still arose. They only sacked the quarterback twice, didn’t get much pressure outside of that, and were gashed by the rush to the team with the worst YPC mark (2.4) in CUSA. They’ve shown flashes of being a good group but have never created a complete game.

Grade: D+

Shayne

This unit just did not play well to put it simply. They allowed a bas rushing offense to run for five yards per carry and gave a young quarterback time to develop a rhythm. These are things that you can't do if you want to win games on the road. Brandon Buckner recorded a sack, but outside of that, it was hard to generate pressure in the backfield consistently.

Grade: D

Linebacker

Conner

Same for the defensive line, the backers could not stop the run and didn’t get pressure on Evan Bullock. Jordan Thompson did have a good day with eight tackles, his third game of 5+ tackles this season. The backers were solid in coverage but did not do a great job overall against LA Tech.

Grade: D

Shayne

The linebackers were another big part of letting the opposition make big play after big play. Combining with the defensive line, this team set the edge about three times all game. Jordan Thompson recorded a sack.

Grade: D

Cornerback

Conner

These guys were TORCHED by Bullock and his receivers. The Louisiana Tech signal caller threw for five touchdowns on the Middle secondary, the first time a Bulldog QB had done so since 2021. Besides that, they didn’t tackle well and allowed 147 yards after the catch, making it much harder for the defense to get a stop.

Grade: F

Shayne

Conner said they were torched and he's being nice. The performance by this group was abysmal. Derek Mason constantly says they want to focus on covering the blade of grass in front of them and I'm still looking for one they covered. Part of it was a lack of pressure up front, but this group also put together a poor tackling performance so it is hard to make any excuses whatsoever. De'Arre McDonald recorded a sack.

Grade: F+

Safety

Conner

Coverage-wise, it was rough for the MT's safety. They did not cover the deep pass well, allowing five catches of 20+ yards, including a 75-yard house call by Tru Edwards. Xavier Williams contributed with a team-leading nine tackles, but his coverage was also lacking.

Grade: F

Shayne

This unit allowed big plays all night in both the pass and run game and it was just a rough performance overall for the defense. Xavier Williams led the team in tackles once again but more is needed from the group.

Grade: D-

Special Teams

Conner

Grant Chadwick did his thing again, averaging 44.6 yards a punt on five kicks, and Zeke Rankin did not try a field goal but was 3-for-3 on PATs. It was hard to grade this group with the lack of work, but they did their jobs at the end of the day.

Grade: B

Shayne

On paper, Grant Chadwick had a good game, averaging nearly 45 yards per punt, but he had two rough punts of under 40 yards. Returners just decided not to field punts and that allowed for favorable rolls for the Louisiana Tech punter who would average nearly 57 yards per punt because of it, with both pinning the Blue Raiders inside their 20-yard line.

Grade: C+