Middle Tennessee wins a different way, and it's a lot less calm. The Blue Raiders led WKU 42-27 going into the 4th quarter and still let the Hilltoppers tie it with 2 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion in the final minute. Dominic Bourgeois bailed them out with a 48-yard field goal at the gun. Then WKU tried a series of laterals on the kickoff and MTSU returned the loose ball for a touchdown, which is where the 51 came from. Without that return, this was a 3-point game the Blue Raiders nearly gave away.
These two have played 3 of the same opponents in the last month, and it isn't close. Liberty went to Kennesaw State and won 34-6. Middle Tennessee hosted the Owls and lost 28-44. Liberty beat FIU 49-10 in Lynchburg, while MTSU won by 3 in Miami. Both beat Delaware: Liberty by 16 on the road, MTSU by 3 at home. Every Liberty win in its last 5 has come by at least 16 points, and nobody in that stretch scored more than 14 on the Flames.
That's the problem for the Blue Raiders. Their defense has allowed 42 to WKU, 44 to Kennesaw State and 55 at Kansas, and Liberty's offense is built to keep that defense on the field. MTSU's best hope is a game that gets loose, with explosive plays, short fields and special-teams chaos like the end of the WKU game. The early forecast for Lynchburg is 45 degrees, mostly sunny, with wind around 13 mph. That doesn't stop anybody, but it doesn't help a team that needs to throw its way back into games either.
Liberty has 1 job here: keep winning in conference play. MTSU is 1 win from bowl eligibility and is coming off the biggest win of the Mason era. Saturday, November 14 shows whether that win means the Blue Raiders are building something, or whether it just made the year feel better.
