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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 W5

10,000 sims
7.0
Expected wins
7-4
Proj record
4 to 10
Win range (90%)
#75 (39–112)
Final rank (90%)
0%
Make playoff
15%
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 Murray State
    Home · Sep 5
  • vs Murray State
    Home · Sep 5
  • vs Murray State
    Home · Sep 5
  • vs Murray State
    Home · Sep 5

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

-1.3 rating

16 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: 2026 Week 3 recap

    Middle Tennessee sits at 1–0 after a dominant 38–14 win over Murray State in Week 1, though GIE's rating hasn't budged—the model sees the victory as expected rather than transformative. The Blue Raiders rank 135th nationally at –26.5, a…

  • 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.