Middle Tennessee State: 2022 Hawaii Bowl Champions

Zeke Rankin's fourth field goal of the game, a 37-yarder with 2:05 left, lifted Middle Tennessee to a 25-23 win over San Diego State on Saturday in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu.

Rankin's kick capped a 55-yard drive that enabled the Blue Raiders (8-5) to win their fourth straight game after trailing by two touchdowns before the first quarter ended. Middle Tennessee's defense clinched the win by forcing their fifth turnover of the game on a botched hook-and-lateral play at the Aztecs' 43 with 55 seconds left.

Chase Cunningham completed 26 of 43 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns with an interception for the Blue Raiders. He survived a pass rush that sacked him seven times for 76 yards. Middle Tennessee won despite rushing for negative 66 yards and gaining only 170 total yards.

Jalen Mayden was 19 of 43 for 309 yards with two touchdowns and three picks for San Diego State. The Aztecs managed just three field goals after the first quarter but led 23-22 after Jack Browning connected from 52 yards out with 5:43 remaining in the game.

Jaylin Lane caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a score for the Blue Raiders.

San Diego State dominated the first quarter, using a passing game that improved dramatically over the season's second half after Mayden was installed at quarterback.

He hit Mark Redman with a 9-yard touchdown pass at the 7:18 mark, then found Kenan Christon with a short pass that became a 73-yard scoring strike just over 2 1/2 minutes later and gave the Aztecs a 14-0 lead.

But Middle Tennessee then found traction on both sides of the ball, even though it couldn't protect Cunningham from San Diego State's rush line. It hit the board on a 44-yard field goal by Rankin just over three minutes into the second quarter.

Cunningham cut it to 14-10 on an 8-yard touchdown pass to defensive end Jordan Ferguson with 3:14 left and Rankin connected from 49 with 22 seconds remaining, slicing the Blue Raiders' deficit to a point at halftime.

Middle Tennessee: 2021 Bahamas Bowl Champions

NASSAU, Bahamas -- — Freshman Nick Vattiato threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard scoring pass to Jarrin Pierce with 6:24 left, and Middle Tennessee beat Toledo 31-24 on Friday in the Bahamas Bowl.

Two plays after Toledo's 32-yard punt, Vattiato connected with a wide-open Pierce along the right side for a 28-17 lead. The 59-yard play was the longest completion in Middle Tennessee's bowl history.

On Toledo's next possession, quarterback Dequan Finn was pressured by Jordan Ferguson and defensive lineman Zaylin Wood intercepted a tipped pass, leading to a 35-yard field goal for a 31-17 lead.

Toledo got within seven points with 1:08 remaining, but Thomas Cluckey recovered an onside kick to secure it.

"Winning a bowl game, you're a champion, you're Bahamas Bowl champion and these seniors, these guys, they can take that with them the rest of their lives ," Middle Tennessee coach Rick Stockstill said after his 101st victory with the program.

Pierce caught four passes for 114 yards and Ferguson had a sack to reach nine on the season for Middle Tennessee (7-6), which was a double-digit underdog. Mike DiLiello rushed for 44 yards, including a 17-yard score to put the Blue Raiders ahead for good at 21-17.

Wood's interception was Middle Tennessee's 17th of the season, extending their national lead in turnovers gained to 32.

Finn was 18-of-39 passing for 212 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for Toledo (7-6). Finn broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run on fourth and 1 to tie it at 7.

Matt Landers, a Georgia transfer, set a Bahamas Bowl record with a 90-yard touchdown catch to put Toledo ahead 14-7. On first down at the 10, Finn threw it deep over the middle that Landers tipped to himself with an outstretched left arm and coasted into the end zone.

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Middle Tennessee State: 2017 Camellia Bowl Champions

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Brent Stockstill and Middle Tennessee produced a triumphant finish to an injury-riddled season.

Stockstill passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns and the Blue Raiders came up with some key stops to hold off Arkansas State 35-30 in the Camellia Bowl on Saturday night.

A team that had players miss a combined 125 games with injuries earned its first bowl win since 2009.

"We never made excuses this whole year," said Rick Stockstill, the quarterback's coach and father. "A lot of people wanted to give up on us but this team never gave up."

There were some chances to fold in this one, too.

The Blue Raiders (7-6) ran out most of the final 5 minutes with a series of short passes from Stockstill after losing much of an 18-point lead over the Red Wolves (7-5).

Punter Matt Bonadies pinned Arkansas State's prolific offense 91 yards from the end zone with 1:27 left and no timeouts. Middle Tennessee defenders then sacked Justice Hansen three times, including one by Darrius Liggins on the final play.

That capped a wild game that included DJ Sanders' 54-yard fumble return for a touchdown, six turnovers and 17 penalties.

"Stockstill, as we expected, played really, really well," Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson said. "They made plays they had to make and we made too many mistakes to win a game against a good football team. I thought all along they were better than their record and they proved that tonight."

The Blue Raiders won four of their final five games after Brent Stockstill's return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for half the season. He was intercepted three times.

"Not very often as a quarterback can you throw three picks and (have) your defense bail you out like that" the quarterback said.

The Red Wolves had cut a 28-10 deficit down to 35-30 on Hansen's 41-yard touchdown pass to Christian Booker with 5:03 left.

Middle Tennessee linebacker Darius Harris was MVP after collecting 12 tackles, a sack and two pass breakups. He forced the fumble that allowed Sanders to scoop and score.

Hansen completed 31 of 57 passes for 337 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He had a 2-yard touchdown pass to Warren Wand after Arkansas State converted a fake punt with Cody Grace's 21-yard pass to Chris Murray on fourth-and-14. The 2-point attempt failed.

Stockstill then swiftly gave the Blue Raiders a bigger cushion with a pair of big plays. He hit CJ Windham on a 34-yard catch and then threw a 30-yard touchdown to Shane Tucker.

Arkansas State then marched down to Middle Tennessee's 1 with help from a couple of pass interference calls but the Blue Raiders held with Darryl Randolph's tackle for loss and an incompletion.

THE TAKEAWAY

Arkansas State: Is 3-4 in bowls over the last seven seasons. Outgained Middle Tennessee 462-352 and ran 33 more plays (97-64). Justin McInnis had seven catches for 107 yards.

Middle Tennessee: Finished strong after only clinching bowl eligibility with a win over Old Dominion in the regular season finale. Had 10 penalties for 87 yards. Terelle West scored on a 45-yard run.

ROLLAND-JONES: Arkansas State defensive end Ja'Von Rolland-Jones finished his career with 43.5 sacks, just shy of Terrell Suggs' record of 44. He had one sack negated by a penalty but didn't get one that counted, though he did have a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry.


WILD PLAYS: Sanders' fumble return wasn't even the wildest defensive sequence of the first half. Arkansas State's Justin Clifton grabbed an interception and fell on his back late in the first quarter. He got up and ran most of the way down the field before fumbling. Darreon Jackson tried to pick it up but the ball bounced to Kyle Wilson in the end zone. Officials ruled Clifton down at the Red Wolves' 1 so none of that counted.

UP NEXT

Arkansas State's Hansen and leading rusher Warren Wand both return on the offense, but tight end Blake Mack and left tackle Jaypee Philbert are seniors, and so is Holland-Jones and star defensive back Blaise Taylor.

Middle Tennessee returns virtually every key player on offense, including Stockstill, and loses four seniors on defense.

Middle Tennessee State: 2016-17 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Champions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Giddy Potts and Middle Tennessee both reached the big 3-0 in timely fashion.

Potts matched his season high with 30 points to lead Middle Tennessee to win No. 30 and its second straight Conference USA Tournament championship with an 83-72 victory over Marshall on Saturday night.

Potts scored seven straight points to help the Blue Raiders (30-4) pull away with a late 15-5 run and reach that milestone win for the first time.

"For us to be able to do that in the fashion we did it, it really speaks volumes about our team and what we had to go through over the season and not just being satisfied with what we did last year," Middle Tennessee senior Reggie Upshaw Jr. said.

The Thundering Herd (20-15) pulled within two points at 53-51 with 12:51 left before Potts and Middle Tennessee answered with what proved the decisive run.

Potts, the tournament MVP, made three 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds for Middle Tennessee while making seven of eight free throws. League player of the year Jacorey Williams, an Arkansas transfer and Birmingham native, added 17 points and Upshaw scored 15 and had eight boards.

Potts drew some motivation from being relegated to third-team all-conference status.

"We were talking about that the whole week," he said. "(Teammates) were telling me I've just got to come out and play my game and I'd be MVP."

CJ Burks led Marshall with 16 points. Stevie Browning finished a strong tournament with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He had 78 points in four games.

Austin Loop got all 12 of his points on four 3-pointers. Jon Elmore, the league's leading scorer, had 12 points despite 2-of-9 3-point shooting. Adjin Penava had 10 points.

"I don't think we shot as well as we usually do," Elmore said. "The whole tournament we've been kind of burning the nets down and making everything. We started out slow and still didn't shoot very well for us at all."

The Blue Raiders had a 13-point lead cut to 40-32 by halftime. Browning punctuated the half with a contested 3-pointer with 5 seconds left for Marshall and added another in the final second.

"This team kicked the car on down the road a little bit," third-year Marshall coach Dan D'Antoni said. "We got 20 wins and were in the finals of the conference and started out at rock bottom. The hardest part is taking a program that's maturing and playing one that's mature."

BIG PICTURE

Marshall: defeated two of the top three seeds to make the title game, and was seeking its first NCAA Tournament bid since the 1986-87 season. ... Missed its first 10 3-point attempts after setting a school and C-USA tournament record with 19 makes in a semifinal win over Louisiana Tech. Finished 10 of 32 from beyond the arc.


"For the first 13 minutes, we guarded about as well as we can guard," the Blue Raiders' Davis said. "We made them take tough shots."

Middle Tennessee: reached 30 wins for the first time. ... Made 30 of 56 shots (53.6 percent). ... Outrebounded Marshall 41-35.

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

D'Antoni drew a technical foul with 5:12 left protesting a foul call against Penava. Potts made one of two technical free throws to push the Blue Raiders' lead back to double digits. Upshaw, who drew the foul, made both of his attempts from the line.

UP NEXT

Marshall hopes for an NIT berth to extend the season and careers of three senior starters.

Middle Tennessee awaits its NCAA Tournament destination after arriving in Birmingham with an already-strong RPI of 37. "Our team thinks we've got a lot of basketball left and that's going to be our mindset this week," Davis said.

Middle Tennessee State: 2015-16 Conference USA Men's Basketball Champions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Reggie Upshaw made two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to lift Middle Tennessee to a 55-53 victory over Old Dominion on Saturday in the Conference USA tournament championship game.

The Blue Raiders (24-9) earned their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2013 in a defensive struggle that was markedly different from their 99-90 semifinal shootout with Marshall.

Aaron Bacote dribbled once and launched a 3-pointer from before midcourt for Old Dominion (22-13).

That set off a celebration that included Upshaw standing on the scorer's table in front of Middle Tennessee fans at Legacy Arena. He was the tournament MVP.

Giddy Potts led Middle Tennessee with 14 points and made 4 of 5 3-pointers before fouling out. Darnell Harris scored 10 points and Upshaw had nine, including the two biggest.

Trey Freeman led Old Dominion with 17 points, but was only 7-of-23 shooting. Aaron Bacote scored 15 points and the rest of the team totaled 21.

Brandan Stith's tip-in attempt off Bacote's miss didn't fall, and he didn't appear to get it off on time anyway. He sprawled face-first on the floor when it didn't.

Freeman, the league's leading scorer, couldn't come close to his semifinal performance. He set a tournament record with 42 points, including 34 in the second half against Western Kentucky.

The teams traded tying baskets inside over the final 1:11 then Zoran Talley, whose jumper had given the Monarchs a lead, missed this time.

Middle Tennessee ran off most of the clock before Upshaw tried to spin and was fouled by Denzell Taylor as he shot.

GIDDY'S DAY

Potts, the nation's No. 2 3-point shooter, fouled out on a charge with 3:17 left and the game tied at 49. The rest of the team was 2 of 11 from 3-point range.

TREY'S TOUGH TIME

Freeman launched an array of long jumpers and made a deep 3-pointer but got few open looks. He refused to blame the fatigue of four games in four days. "I just had a bad game," he said.

TIP INS

Middle Tennessee: Has won six straight games. Now 9-1 in games decided by three points or less.

Old Dominion: Was trying to become the fifth C-USA team to win four tournament games in four days and first since Houston in 2012. Made 1 of 9 3-ointers.

UP NEXT

Middle Tennessee is heading to its eighth NCAA Tournament.

Old Dominion awaits its postseason fate, possibly in the NIT.