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Middle Tennessee

Blue Raiders · Conference USA

Head coach Derek Mason Year 3 with Middle Tennessee

Year-3 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.10 W vs. preseason expectation

Season Projection · 2026 W0

10,000 sims
4.4
Expected wins
4-8
Proj record
1 to 8
Win range (90%)
#122 (102–135)
Final rank (90%)
0%
Make playoff
2%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

0%

Baseline projection.

  • vs Murray State
    Home · Sep 5
  • vs Nevada
    Home · Sep 19
  • vs Delaware
    Home · Oct 13
  • at Florida International
    Away · Oct 20

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2026

37 score
  • Quarterback 35% (3/5 )
  • Offensive line 39% (7/18 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 30% (17/27 )
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 28% (16/28 )
  • Secondary 33% (11/24 )
  • Special teams 91% (6/10 )

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

-1.0 rating

15 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

  • Antonio Martin RB ← Kansas State 18 impact
  • Gumbo Gaskins S ← Samford 16 impact
  • Ricky Lee CB ← Sacramento State 15 impact
  • Aidan Singleton CB ← Lehigh 15 impact
  • Ashton Taylor LB ← Jackson State 15 impact
  • Kaven Call LB ← East Tennessee State 8 impact

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

If QB1 is out (Nick Vattiato)

GIE projects a 4.7 rating drop and a 18.8pp shift in playoff probability if Middle Tennessee loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=3 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 36.5% 47th — average
  • Red-zone TD rate 13.6% 37th — below avg
  • 4th-down aggression 36.5% 52th — average
  • Late & close 4.8 yds/play 42th — below avg

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Latest Stories

  • Recap

    Middle Tennessee: 2025 Week 16 recap

    Middle Tennessee sits at 3–9 after a 31–24 road win over New Mexico State in Week 14, a result that halted a rough stretch but didn't fundamentally alter the trajectory. The Blue Raiders hold a rating of –16 and rank 127th per GIE,…

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.