The first Tuesday night college football matchup of the season kicked off in Murfreesboro, TN.
Middle Tennessee had been on the wrong end of several crushing defeats this year and hoped homefield advantage would ring in its first FBS win of 2023. Battling a Louisiana Tech squad taking the field for its FBS-high eighth time this season, the Blue Raiders finally attained that goal. Louisiana Tech nearly erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit, but Middle Tennessee’s defense held firm on the final drive to secure a 31-23 victory over the visiting Bulldogs.
The Blue Raiders’ offense was coming off a dynamic performance against Jacksonville State where quarterback Nick Vattiato fired for 408 passing yards, but several key mistakes — four second half turnovers and eight sacks yielded — caused a 16-point lead to quickly evaporate last Wednesday.