Middle Tennessee absolutely battled, taking down Delaware 33-30 in a wild one that saw seven lead changes, opening Week 7 of college football in Murfreesboro. These guys just showed off how much they’ve improved, matching their total win count from all of 2025 already. Talk about coming out strong, especially for their first Weekday CUSA game of the season.
Gagliano and the Freshman QB Duel That Went Down to the Wire
Man, the quarterbacks in this game were electric. Middle Tennessee’s Roman Gagliano was slinging it, racking up 291 yards and three touchdowns. He dropped the go-ahead dime to Neo Clifton with just 3:06 left on the clock, a play that gave the Blue Raiders their final lead after it had swapped hands seven times already! Over on the Delaware sideline, they threw true freshman Tyler Bell into the fire for his first career start, with star Nick Minicucci out for his second straight game. And honestly, Bell balled out, setting a freshman record for Delaware with 306 passing yards and tossing a pair of touchdowns. What a debut, even if it ended in a loss. But when the chips were down, Gagliano and Clifton made the plays that sealed it.
Defense Clamps Down When It Counted Most
Even with both offenses going off, it was Middle Tennessee’s defense that made the crucial plays needed to snag this win. After Clifton’s late score, free safety Bryce Williams picked off Bell with only 1:51 left, putting Delaware’s road win hopes in serious jeopardy. Seriously, what a moment! The Blue Raiders were dialing up pressure all night, logging five sacks on the Fightin’ Blue Hens, with inside linebacker Ashton Taylor getting in on 1.5 of those. They even started off with an unorthodox 5-3 lead in the first quarter, forcing an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety. Delaware tried some crazy stuff, like wide receiver Bryson Graves throwing a screen pass to Bell for a touchdown, but every time the Blue Hens built momentum, Middle Tennessee ripped it right back. You saw it best on the first play of the third quarter when the Blue Raiders immediately answered a 13-0 Delaware run with an 80-yard bomb from Gagliano to tight end Koraun Perdue. Perdue finished with 103 yards and a touchdown, while Clifton added 64 yards and two scores.
This win brings Middle Tennessee to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in CUSA play, matching Derek Mason’s highest win total in his third year. They’re undefeated at home (3-0), but still looking for that first road win (0-3). Delaware, now 2-4 and 0-2 in CUSA, entered the preseason with CUSA title aspirations and the most returning talent in the country. But now they’ve dropped three straight and are the first team with multiple CUSA losses. Middle Tennessee heads to FIU next Tuesday for another Weekday CUSA showdown, where they’ll be looking to finally break that road losing streak. Delaware, on the other hand, needs to find a way to rebound.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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