Overview
- Middle Tennessee defeated Florida International 26-23 on Tuesday after a 4th-and-10 conversion from the FIU 40 with just over 1:30 left allowed the Blue Raiders to keep possession and run out the clock.
- Running back Terrence Brown Jr. rushed for 158 yards and a 54-yard touchdown while Roman Gagliano finished with about 200 passing yards and a score, and kicker Dominic Bourgeois made four field goals and set program marks.
- Coach Derek Mason said he elected to go for the first down instead of punting because he did not want to give the ball back to FIU, and that decision directly sealed the road win.
- Pre-game markets listed FIU as about a 10-point favorite and models such as SportsLine had projected a high-scoring game near 55 combined points, while the actual 49-point total fell between those expectations.
- The win puts MTSU at 4-3 and 2-1 in Conference USA with five games left, bringing the Blue Raiders two victories from bowl eligibility while FIU drops to 3-4 and faces questions about late-game vulnerability.