MTSU football dropped its homecoming game to the Marshall Thundering Herd 42-28, after being heavily impacted by 12 penalties for 111 yards and 21 unanswered points.
While the Herd’s quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson compiled four touchdowns on 18-22 and 261 passing yards, the Blue Raiders wasted the offense’s best performance so far in 2025.
With two second-half passing touchdowns to tight end Toby Payne and wideout De’Andre Tamarez, Rio-Wilson’s efficient passing paired with the MTSU offense going silent after taking a 28-21 lead was a large part of the loss to cap off homecoming weekend.
“There were a lot of penalties called in some critical situations,” MTSU head coach Derek Mason said. “Even in the red zone that help take some points off the board and those are some situations that we have to get ourselves out of.”
The Thundering Herd picked up the first score of the game, as quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson found Payne for a five-yard touchdown. This score came off the heels of an interception by safety Daytione Smith, coming down with a deflected pass thrown by Nick Vattiato.
Following an extra point by Lorcan Quinn, the game entered a severe weather delay at 6:14 p.m., that lasted two hours and twelve minutes with an 8:26 kickoff after Marshall’s first score.
In the first play out of the break, Blue Raiders running back Jekail Middlebrook broke free for a 74-yard rush, setting MTSU up at the one. Vattiato found Nahzae Cox on a goal line fade, the fourth connection between the two this year.
“The guys did a really good job staying loose and staying locked in,” Vattiato said. “We came out and we made an impact right away. We started fast, we did some good things and that’s kind of how we ended the first half.”
The Herd responded quickly on the next drive, as Rio-Wilson hooked up with Floyd Lacey for a 68-yard touchdown.
Vattiato and Middle Tennessee answered with the third touchdown in seven plays on the next drive, as Vattiato found first-year Blue Raider Amorion Walker for a 41-yard score, tying things at 14 in the first quarter.
Rio-Wilson picked up the fifth touchdown of the first quarter with a two-yard rush, his third score of the first quarter to cap off a nine-play, 75-yard drive.
MTSU kicker Jacob Hathaway cut the Marshall lead to 21-17 after drilling a 50-yard field goal, the eighth longest in program history. It was also the first 50-yard plus field goal for the Blue Raiders since 2017.
After a fumble recovery by MTSU’s Zeion Simpson-Smith with 6:43 to play in the second quarter, Middle Tennessee drove to Marshall’s 20-yard line on an 11 play, 45-yard drive. Five minutes and six seconds later, Hathaway knocked in his second field goal of the night from 38 yards to make it 21-20 before halftime.
The Blue Raider offense seemed to be clicking going into halftime, as Vattiato was 13-18 for 208 yards and two touchdowns.
After each side punted to begin the second half, MTSU’s Vattiato led a 67-yard touchdown drive that ended with him being pushed in to the endzone by a herd of Blue Raiders. The offense elected to go for two, and converted as Vattiato found tight end Hunter Tipton to give MTSU their first lead at 28-21.
The Herd tied it at 28 after a methodical 12-play, 65-yard drive that ended in Rio-Wilson and Payne connecting for a four-yard touchdown.
After forcing a MTSU three-and-out, Rio-Wilson led the Herd’s fifth touchdown drive of the night with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tamarez to take a 35-28 lead. Marshall finished off the Blue Raiders with an 11-yard touchdown run by running back Micheal Allen to push it to 42-28.
MTSU will travel to Kennesaw, Georgia, next Saturday to open Conference USA play against the Kennesaw State University Owls (2-2).
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