2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

The 2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University as a member of the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Rick Stockstill, the Blue Raiders compiled an overall record of 8–6 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the C-USA's East Division title. Middle Tennessee represented the East Division in the Conference USA Football Championship Game, falling to West Division champion, UAB. The Blue Raiders were invited to the New Orleans Bowl, where they lost to Appalachian State. The team played home games at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

2018 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football
C-USA East Division champion
C-USA Championship Game, L 25–27 vs. UAB
New Orleans Bowl, L 13–45 vs. Appalachian State
Conference	Conference USA
Division	East Division
Record	8–6 (7–1 C-USA)
Head coach	Rick Stockstill (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tony Franklin (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Scott Shafer (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Middle Tennessee x		7	–	1					8	–	6
FIU		6	–	2					9	–	4
Marshall		6	–	2					9	–	4
Charlotte		4	–	4					5	–	7
Florida Atlantic		3	–	5					5	–	7
Old Dominion		2	–	6					4	–	8
Western Kentucky		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
UAB x$		7	–	1					11	–	3
North Texas		5	–	3					9	–	4
Louisiana Tech		5	–	3					8	–	5
Southern Miss		5	–	3					6	–	5
UTSA		2	–	6					3	–	9
UTEP		1	–	7					1	–	11
Rice		1	–	7					2	–	11
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Maxwell Award[1]	Brent Stockstill	QB	SR
Davey O'Brien Award[2]	Brent Stockstill	QB	SR
Doak Walker Award[3]	Tavares Thomas	RB	SR
Fred Biletnikoff Award[4]	Ty Lee	WR	JR
Butkus Award[5]	Darius Harris	LB	SO
Ray Guy Award[6]	Matt Bonadies	P	SR
Wuerffel Trophy[7]	Brent Stockstill	QB	SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[8]	Brent Stockstill	QB	SR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[9]	Tavares Thomas	RB	SR

Preseason All-CUSA team

Conference USA released their preseason all-CUSA team on July 16, 2018, with the Blue Raiders having four players selected.^[10]

Offense Brent Stockstill – QB Chandler Brewer – OL Ty Lee – WR

Defense Khalil Brooks – LB

Preseason media poll

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Blue Raiders predicted to finish in third place in the East Division.^[11]

East Division
Predicted finish	Team
1	Florida Atlantic
2	Marshall
3	Middle Tennessee
4	FIU
5	Western Kentucky
6	Old Dominion
7	Charlotte

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:30 p.m.	at Vanderbilt*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	L 7–35	25,348
September 8	6:00 p.m.	UT Martin*	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	ESPN+	W 61–37	16,227
September 15	11:00 a.m.	at No. 3 Georgia*	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	ESPNews	L 7–49	92,746
September 29	6:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	Stadium	W 25–24	17,299
October 5	6:30 p.m.	at Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	CBSSN	W 34–24	25,979
October 13	6:30 p.m.	at FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	beIN	L 21–24	16,002
October 20	2:00 p.m.	Charlotte	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	ESPN3	W 21–13	13,102
October 27	2:30 p.m.	at Old Dominion	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	ESPN+	W 51–17	19,725
November 2	7:00 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	CBSSN	W 29–10	16,617
November 10	2:00 p.m.	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN+	W 48–32	9,690
November 17	11:00 a.m.	at No. 20 Kentucky*	Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN	L 23–34	47,535
November 24	2:00 p.m.	UAB	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	ESPN3	W 27–3	14,411
December 1	1:30 p.m.	UAB	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (C-USA Championship Game)	CBSSN	L 25–27	15,806
December 15	8:00 p.m.	vs. Appalachian State*	Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Bowl)	ESPN	L 13–45	23,942
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[12]

Game summaries

At Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	7	0	0	0	7
Commodores	7	7	7	14	35

See also: 2018 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

UT Martin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	7	10	7	13	37
Blue Raiders	14	12	21	14	61

See also: 2018 UT Martin Skyhawks football team

At Georgia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	0	7	0	0	7
No. 3 Bulldogs	14	28	7	0	49

See also: 2018 Georgia Bulldogs football team

Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	14	7	3	0	24
Blue Raiders	0	10	7	8	25

See also: 2018 Florida Atlantic Owls football team

At Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	3	7	14	10	34
Thundering Herd	3	14	0	7	24

See also: 2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

At FIU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	0	14	7	0	21
Panthers	3	10	0	11	24

See also: 2018 FIU Panthers football team

Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	6	0	0	7	13
Blue Raiders	0	14	0	7	21

See also: 2018 Charlotte 49ers football team

At Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	17	14	14	6	51
Monarchs	7	3	7	0	17

See also: 2018 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

Western Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	3	0	7	0	10
Blue Raiders	10	10	3	6	29

See also: 2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team and 100 Miles of Hate

At UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	14	13	7	14	48
Miners	0	10	0	22	32

See also: 2018 UTEP Miners football team

At Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	0	10	6	7	23
No. 20 Wildcats	17	7	7	3	34

See also: 2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	3	0	0	0	3
Blue Raiders	0	13	7	7	27

See also: 2018 UAB Blazers football team

UAB (C-USA Championship game)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	3	21	0	3	27
Blue Raiders	13	3	6	3	25

Further information: 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game

Vs. Appalachian State (New Orleans Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mountaineers	0	24	14	7	45
Blue Raiders	3	3	7	0	13

Further information: 2018 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team and 2018 New Orleans Bowl