Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is 5-4 and No. 128 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 17.5 points below an average FBS team. Last game: won 51-42 vs Western Kentucky in Week 10.
Week 11: at Liberty, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Middle Tennessee is No. 128
- Middle Tennessee's rating is −17.5: the machine's estimate that Middle Tennessee is 17.5 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 128 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at −16.1, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 1.4.
- The biggest weekly moves: −4.4 after Week 5 (L 0-55 at Kansas) and −1.9 after Week 4 (L 13-23 at Jacksonville State).
- Its record is 5-4. The 4 losses were to No. 46 Kansas, No. 84 Jacksonville State, No. 113 Kennesaw State, No. 119 Marshall, by 20.8 points on average. The 5 wins came by 9.2 points on average; the best was over No. 93 Nevada. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 98 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 127 Bowling Green (−16.8); just below is No. 129 Eastern Michigan (−18.4).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Derek Mason is in his 3rd season at Middle Tennessee (since 2024). This season: 5-4. At Middle Tennessee overall: 11-22, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 177-302 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1899 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 16-4 |
| Yards per attempt* | 6.3No. 124 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 8.3%No. 117 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 2.9%No. 16 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 267-1371 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 5.1No. 28 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 17.7%No. 10 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 17.3%No. 71 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 26.9No. 78 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.77No. 81 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 34.2%No. 117 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 66.7%No. 42 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 6No. 15 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 31.0No. 117 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 6.58No. 129 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 8.0No. 120 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 5.4No. 131 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 4.0%No. 113 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 12No. 55 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 39.6%No. 84 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Roman Gagliano177-299, 1899 yds, 16 TD, 4 INT
Rushing
- Antonio Martin128 carries, 711 yds, 4 TD
- Terrence Brown Jr.61 carries, 394 yds, 2 TD
- Roman Gagliano51 carries, 197 yds, 3 TD
Receiving
- Cam'Ron Lacy54 catches, 579 yds, 4 TD
- Neo Clifton21 catches, 267 yds, 5 TD
- Ziyon Butler16 catches, 238 yds, 1 TD
Tackles
- Korey Smith75
- Ashton Taylor54
- Bryce Williams45
Sacks
- Zeion Simpson-Smith2
- Ashton Taylor1.5
- Kaven Call1.5
Interceptions
- Bryce Williams1
- James Johnson1
- Jason Hardy1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Roman GaglianoMost passes in the last game9 games299 attempts100%
Carrying
- Antonio Martin9 games128 carries61%
- Terrence Brown Jr.8 games61 carries29%
- DJ Taylor4 games9 carries4%
- Brooklen Davis2 games5 carries2%
Catching
- Cam'Ron Lacy9 games54 catches31%
- Terrence Brown Jr.8 games31 catches18%
- Neo Clifton9 games21 catches12%
- Ziyon Butler6 games16 catches9%
Tackling
- Korey Smith9 games75 tackles13%
- Ashton Taylor9 games54 tackles9%
- Bryce Williams9 games45 tackles8%
- Jackson Lowe9 games43 tackles8%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 38–14 vs Murray State. Murray State is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 2 L 26–28 at Marshall. The passing game struggled: 5.2 yards an attempt, 2.9 less than Marshall usually allows.
- Week 3 W 27–20 vs Nevada. The run defense was the strength: Nevada got 2.3 yards a carry, 2.0 under what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 3.
- Week 4 L 13–23 at Jacksonville State. The run defense gave ground: Jacksonville State got 7.1 yards a carry, 2.5 over what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 5 L 0–55 at Kansas. The run defense gave ground: Kansas got 8.3 yards a carry, 4.4 over what it usually gains. Its fewest yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 7 W 33–30 vs Delaware. The run defense was the strength: Delaware got 2.3 yards a carry, 1.2 under what it usually gains. The defense had 6 sacks.
- Week 8 W 26–23 at Florida International. The run game was the strength: 6.4 yards a carry, 3.1 more than Florida International usually allows. The fewest yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 9 L 28–44 vs Kennesaw State. The pass defense gave ground: Kennesaw State got 10.8 yards an attempt, 4.1 over what it usually gains. The most yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 10 W 51–42 vs Western Kentucky. The run defense gave ground: Western Kentucky got 7.4 yards a carry, 3.5 over what it usually gains. The machine had Western Kentucky by 0.9 (52%), so this was a win it did not see coming.