Entering Saturday, Middle Tennessee State had never beaten an AP Poll-ranked team in 24 tries.
That all changed Saturday afternoon in South Florida as the Blue Raiders shocked the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes, coming away with a 45-31 road victory.
The Blue Raiders were 25.5 point underdogs against the Hurricanes, but they never played the part. MTSU jumped out to a 24-3 lead early in the second quarter, and this 69-yard strike from Chase Cunningham to Elijah Metcalf put the Blue Raiders up 31-10 in the third quarter.
Chase Cunningham and Elijah Metcalf link up for a 69-yard TD! 🙌@MT_FB | #CUSAFB pic.twitter.com/xNswZd1MyT
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) September 24, 2022
Miami did not help its own cause, with plays such as this bumbling backfield collision:
https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1573799524610473986
Yet Miami fought back and seemed poised to cut the lead to 31-24, until being stopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1. MTSU took possession and on the very next play Cunningham threw a 98-yard TD strike to DJ England-Chisholm. Cunningham finished with 408 passing yards and three touchdowns on only 25 attempts.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 99-YARD TD!
The Blue Raiders stopped Miami on 4th-and-goal at the 1 on the previous play. They're 25.5-point underdogs.🏈 pic.twitter.com/l6PuRAIH3t
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 24, 2022
Miami countered with a 91-yard kickoff return on the next play, but the Blue Raiders could not be stopped, scoring again to put the game out of reach. And that led to quite a bit of excitement from their players after they wrapped up the win.
Middle Tennessee shocks No. 25 Miami 45-31, as a 25.5-point underdog! 🏈 #UpsetAlert pic.twitter.com/f9XlFTdQBK
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 24, 2022
The Blue Raiders upset sparked a festival of crazy memes and reactions on social media all afternoon.
Uhhh … what's going on here? 🤨
Middle Tennessee (+1600 ML) is 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 Miami 👀 pic.twitter.com/ybhDfhS5Xf
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 24, 2022
there's a lot of hyperbole on any given cfb twitter saturday but middle tennessee state stopping miami on fourth and goal at the two and then immediately throwing a 98 yard td to go up 38-17 may, objectively, be the funniest thing to ever happen in college football history
— The Smoking Musket (@smokingmusket) September 24, 2022
It's one thing to lose to a mid-major, but Miami is getting humiliated. They have now given up passes of 98, 89, 71 and 69 yards.
To Middle Tennessee.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 24, 2022
Manny Diaz watching Miami give up 45 points to Middle Tennessee State: pic.twitter.com/EvVqi7aVuA
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) September 24, 2022
If Miami can just get past Middle Tennessee, they can hit the soft part of the schedule
— David Lang (@Dukielang) September 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/MiguelD_canes/status/1573809514381451264
And finally, it’s worth noting that Middle Tennessee State is now, improbably, 3-0 all-time against Miami, although the two teams had not met in almost 100 years.
I don't think y'all are looking at this Miami game the right way. Today is the first time the Hurricanes have ever scored against Middle Tennessee
25-0 loss in 1931
7-0 loss in 1932— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) September 24, 2022
[Photo from Jasen Vinlove/USA Today Sports]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.