Middle Tennessee uses big plays to stun No. 25 Miami, 45-31

Associated PressSep 24, 2022, 11:49 PM EDT

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Chase Cunningham passed for 408 yards and three touchdowns, including a 98-yarder to DJ England-Chisholm, and Middle Tennessee State stunned No. 25 Miami 45-31 for its first win in 21 tries against ranked opponents.

England-Chisholm caught two passes – the first of them being a 71-yard touchdown in the first quarter, the other being the 98-yarder in the fourth – to help the Blue Raiders (3-1) seal the upset.

Cunningham completed 16 of 25 passes for Middle Tennessee State, including a 69-yard scoring throw to Elijah Metcalf. Cunningham and Frank Peasant also ran for scores for the Blue Raiders, and defensive end Zaylin Wood returned an interception for a touchdown.

Key’Shawn Smith returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown for Miami (2-2), which turned the ball over on its first three possessions and never escaped the early hole it dug. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke – the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year last season – was pulled in the third quarter and replaced by Jake Garcia.

Van Dyke completed 16 of 32 passes for 138 yards, one touchdown to Henry Parrish Jr., and two interceptions – those coming on Miami’s first and third plays from scrimmage. Garcia completed 10 of 19 passes for 161 yards for the Hurricanes, who heard plenty of boos from the fans who showed up to what was not even a half-filled stadium; most were long gone before the final whistle.

Garcia entered midway through the third quarter and brought an immediate spark. He engineered a five-play, 72-yard touchdown drive – fueled by passes of 39 and 23 yards, Miami’s two biggest gains of the day to that point – and got the Hurricanes within 31-17 on a 1-yard rush by Thaddeus Franklin.

That was the first of two touchdowns by Franklin, the other coming from a yard out with 6:05 left to get the Hurricanes within 45-31.

The win was a long time coming for MTSU coach Rick Stockstill, who played his college football at Florida State – Miami’s rival. The Seminoles went 0-2 in games that Stockstill played against the Hurricanes in 1980 and 1981.

Those games were close. This one wasn’t.

And while a blowout might have been expected with Miami entering as a 25.5-point favorite, few, if anyone, would have dared to say it would be the Blue Raiders doing the romping. It even had oddsmakers scrambling; MTSU actually became the betting favorite to win by the midpoint of the second quarter, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

It was 10-0 before Miami got on the board, 24-3 early in the second quarter when Cunningham scored on a 9-yard rush. The Hurricanes never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

Miami had a chance to get within a touchdown on a 4th-and-goal from the Middle Tennessee 1 on the opening play of the fourth quarter; Garcia’s pass couldn’t be controlled by tight end Will Mallory, causing a turnover on downs.

The next play, England-Chisolm got loose down the left sideline for the biggest pass play ever allowed by the Hurricanes, two yards longer than the 96-yard pass Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey caught from Sam Hollenbach in 2006.

From there, it was only a matter of time before MTSU could truly start the celebration.

THE TAKEAWAY

Middle Tennessee State: The Blue Raiders went to the upper level of college football, now called FBS, in 1999. Entering Saturday, they were 0-20 against opponents that were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll when those games were played and outscored by 585 points – 868-283.

Miami: According to SportRadar, the Hurricanes became the first Power 5 school this season to commit three turnovers in a first quarter. The last Power 5 school to achieve that ignominious feat was … Miami, last season against Florida State.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

It’s over for Miami, for now. The Hurricanes were No. 25 and will fall out of the poll Sunday. At 2-2, it’ll be difficult for the Hurricanes to be considered again by many voters anytime soon.

NEVER LED

MTSU is now 3-0 all-time against Miami, with the other wins coming in 1931 and 1932. The Hurricanes never held the lead in any of those games.

UP NEXT

Middle Tennessee State: Hosts UTSA on Friday in the Conference USA opener for both clubs.

Miami: A bye week, then Atlantic Coast Conference play starts Oct. 8 at home against North Carolina.

Arizona-Utah canceled, Pac-12 down to 4 games to open season

Associated PressNov 6, 2020, 9:51 PM EST

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Images

The Pac-12 football season is getting off to a shaky start.

The opener between Utah and Arizona on Saturday in Salt Lake City was canceled due to a rise in positive COVID-19 cases within the Utes program.

Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said a number of positive coronavirus tests Friday morning put Utah below the Pac-12’s minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship players under the conference’s game cancelation policy. The Pac-12 approved the request on Friday.

“The cancellation of the our football game is a very difficult outcome to accept, but it absolutely is the right decision under the circumstances,” Harlan said in a statement. “While I am heartbroken for our student-athletes and everyone associated with Utah Athletics, as well as our great fans, our No. 1 guiding principle is the health and safety of our student-athletes.”

The cancellation is the second in two days for the Pac-12, which is set to kick off its seven-game season this weekend after spending the past several weeks watching as other conferences began playing. The game between Washington California was canceled Thursday.

Games between Arizona State and No. 20 Southern California, UCLA and Colorado, Washington State and Oregon State, along with Stanford at No. 12 Oregon are still scheduled to be played Saturday.

“The cancellation of this game, following yesterday’s cancellation of the Washington at Cal football game, is of course incredibly disappointing to our student-athletes and our fans,” the Pac-12 said in a statement. “At the same time it is an indication that our health and safety protocols are working in identifying positive cases and contact tracing cases.

“While all of us want to see our football student-athletes on the field competing, our number one priority must continue to be the health and safety of all those connected to Pac-12 football programs.”

In all, 10 Bowl Subdivision games this week were either canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total to 47 since Aug. 26.

Two Conference USA games scheduled for this weekend, Charlotte’s game at Middle Tennessee and UTSA’s visit to Rice, were postponed earlier Friday due to positive tests and contact tracing protocols.

Utah will, barring more positive tests, now open its season Nov. 13 at UCLA.

Arizona’s new season opener will be Nov. 14 against USC.

“Our football program and athletics department have worked incredibly hard in preparation to take the field on Saturday,” Arizona AD Dave Heeke said in a statement. I could not be more disappointed that our players, coaches and staff will be unable to experience game day, which they have prepared months for. With that said, health and safety must continue to be our guiding principles throughout these uncertain times.”

Middle Tennessee to allow fans for home opener

Associated PressSep 9, 2020, 10:17 PM EDT

HELEN COMER/DNJ

Middle Tennessee is allowing 20% fan capacity, or about 7,000 fans, inside Floyd Stadium on Sept. 19 for the Blue Raiders’ home opener against Troy.

Athletic director Chris Massaro announced the update Wednesday.

Tailgating will not be allowed. Massaro says the plan was drawn up after consulting with university, local and state health officials. Of the seats, 1,000 will be held for students.

Massaro says the seating capacity could expand or contract depending on how people follow the guidelines at the opener and if COVID-19 cases continue dropping locally. All seats will be re-assigned for social distancing, and fans will be required to wear a mask inside the stadium and in the parking lots.

The NFL’s Tennessee Titans host Jacksonville on Sept. 20 in Nashville with no fans allowed at Nissan Stadium. The difference there is Nashville has its own local health department overseeing capacity issues during the pandemic.