MTSU Drops 2023 Football Schedule With Games Against Alabama, Missouri, More

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Photo: Tra Fluellen. Photo: Courtesy of MTSU Athletics

Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU) 2023 football schedule is out and will include six home games and four mid-week contests as Conference USA.

The Blue Raiders are coming off of a fantastic 2022 season where they finished 8-5, beat ranked Miami and went on to win an exciting Hawaii Bowl 25-23 against San Diego State. In the 2023 season, MTSU will face new C-USA members Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State.

MTSU’s 109th season of football includes home dates with Murray State, Colorado State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, FIU and UTEP. Their road contests include Alabama, Missouri, WKU, Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State.

“This schedule is challenging and one we are excited about as we welcome new teams into our league,” says Director of Athletics Chris Massaro. “One of the most critical aspects of the new media rights deal was the October mid-week television windows. It is important for Conference USA to have our product on networks where fans can find our games. This new deal will have our games on ESPN, CBS and ESPN+ all year, and then in October we will get great exposure on linear television. We look forward to the Tuesday and Wednesday night home games as it gives us a chance to draw a different kind of audience and cater more to our student body. We enjoyed a lot of success with those games during our Sun Belt days and look forward to building on that in 2023.”

The Blue Raiders will open the 2023 season on the road against national power Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Blue Raiders are 0-3 all-time against the Tide with the most recent meeting in 2015.

Middle Tennessee will remain on the road in week two against Missouri. It will be the third meeting between the two schools with the series deadlocked at 1-1. MTSU fell to the Tigers in 2003 in Columbia, 41-40 in overtime, then upset Mizzou in 2016, 51-45.

The Blue Raiders will play their home opener on Sept. 16, hosting Murray State. It will be the 70th meeting and the first since 2000 against the Racers. The next Saturday (Sept. 23), MTSU will host Mountain West member Colorado State who will be making their first-ever visit to Floyd Stadium. The Blue Raiders defeated CSU in Fort Collins this past season, 34-19.

MTSU will close out September on the road, opening C-USA play against longtime rival WKU. The Thursday night contest will begin a stretch of four straight mid-week games for the Blue Raiders.

The Blue Raiders will return home to host Jacksonville State on Oct. 4. MTSU owns a 14-2-2 advantage in the series against the Gamecocks but it will be the first meeting since 1998. Middle Tennessee will then host Louisiana Tech the following Tuesday (Oct. 10). It will be the Bulldogs’ first trip to Murfreesboro since 2016.

MTSU will complete their mid-week action on Oct. 17 at Liberty. The two teams have met just twice with MTSU winning in 1982 and Liberty taking down the Blue Raiders in 2021. This will be the first meeting as conference foes.

Following an open date, MTSU will hit the road to take on New Mexico State on Nov. 4. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2004 when both were members of the Sun Belt Conference. MTSU is 0-2 all-time at NMSU. The Blue Raiders will return home to take on FIU on Nov. 11 and then UTEP on Nov. 18. MTSU is a combined 10-1 all-time against FIU and UTEP at home.

MTSU will close out the regular season on the road against Sam Houston State on Nov. 25. It will mark the first meeting since 1991 in a series that stands 1-1.

Steven Boero
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