Murray State Racers at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Sat Sep 5 · 6:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 8d ago·2 min read
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Two programs coming off rough 2025s kick off the season against each other in Murfreesboro — one side is going to leave with real momentum, the other with more questions.
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Best BetMiddle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is the clear pick to win outright here — an FBS program hosting an FCS opponent that just finished 1-11 is about as lopsided as a matchup gets on paper. Murray State's roster is still young and thin on experience after last year's overhaul, and nothing in the offseason news points to the Racers being ready to pull the upset. Back the Blue Raiders here.
Murray State
+Huge 2025 signing class now has a full spring
+Sophomore-heavy roster gains valuable experience
−Finished 1-11 in 2025, 1-14 the year before
−Replacing 80-plus newcomers left little continuity
Middle Tennessee
+Won 2 of final 3 games in 2025
+11 players earned Preseason All-C-USA honors
+QB Gagliano threw for 911 yards down the stretch
−Still finished just 3-9 overall in 2025
−New OC Anthony Scelfo installing a new system
Middle Tennessee limps into the summer off a 3-9 finish, but the tape from November suggests something changed late — quarterback Roman Gagliano took over down the stretch and helped the Blue Raiders win two of their final three games, capped by an overtime walk-off touchdown pass in a win over New Mexico State. Murray State, meanwhile, is trying to climb out of a hole that's now two years deep: 1-14 in Jody Wright's debut season, then 1-11 in year two. This opener in Murfreesboro is as much about establishing an identity as it is about the final score.
The roster math favors the home team. Middle Tennessee returns 30 lettermen and mixed in 37 newcomers this offseason, and 11 players landed on the Athlon Sports Preseason All-Conference USA team — a sign the program believes it has more talent than a 3-9 record suggests. Murray State's rebuild leans the other direction: last year's team started more than 80 newcomers, including 54 true freshmen, and while that group got a full spring under its belt, it's still short on reps against FBS competition.
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None of that means Murray State shows up hoping to just survive. Wright has pointed to the upside of bringing back that huge freshman class, and a Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule that already throws six ranked opponents at the Racers means this trip to Murfreesboro is, in some ways, the gentlest test on the calendar. For Middle Tennessee, it's a chance to open 2026 with real answers about whether new offensive coordinator Anthony Scelfo's system clicks right away.
Murray State Racers
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Both staffs enter fall camp with something to prove. Mason is in year three at Middle Tennessee, and the goal has shifted from just improving to getting back to a bowl game — a modest step up from the 2025 numbers would put that in reach. Wright's timeline is earlier in the build, and a road trip to an FBS program to open the year is less about stealing an upset than about seeing where all those freshmen-turned-sophomores actually stand.
Neither of these programs is walking into 2026 with lofty preseason expectations, but early-season games like this one are how rebuilds get real answers. Middle Tennessee wants proof its late-season surge was the start of something; Murray State wants proof its patience is finally paying off. Saturday, September 5 will tell us plenty about which program is actually further along.
