Middle Tennessee football found success late, but not enough early, falling behind in the first half to Western Kentucky in an eventual 49-21 loss at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium on Saturday evening.  

The Blue Raiders (1-2, 0-1 CUSA) trailed by 21 points at halftime after failing to come away with points twice in the redzone in the first half, while the Hilltoppers (2-1, 1-0 CUSA) converted all three redzone possessions into touchdowns.  

MTSU was stuffed three times on goal-to-go situations on the one-yard line early in the second quarter, with Jaiden Credle failing to get over the plane of the goal line on a jump attempt on fourth down following a fumbled snap recovery on third down. A pass thrown behind Gamarion Carter on the next drive was dropped, resulting in a Nicholas Vattiato interception off the deflection.  

WKU struck on their first drive of the second half to stretch the lead to 28, but MTSU battled back quickly, driving 82 yards down the field to score their first touchdown of the game, a 37-yard strike off the back foot of Vattiato to Omari Kelly, who had gotten behind the Hilltopper secondary. After another WKU score, Vattiato again found Kelly behind the Hilltopper defense, rolling out from pressure to his left and telling Kelly to go deep, finding the Auburn transfer for a 71-yard score, cutting the lead to 35-14.  

After another pair of touchdowns from the visitors, MTSU again put together a scoring drive that ended in a touchdown pass from Vattiato to Kelly, Vattiato rolling to the left to find a wide-open Kelly in the endzone from eight yards out to cap off a 64-yard drive in the fourth quarter, giving the teams the final margin on the night.  

 
By the Numbers
239: Receiving yards for Omari Kelly, the second most in a single game in Middle Tennessee program history. Demetic Mostiller holds the record for most receiving yards in a single game, hauling in 244 yards of catches on November 4, 1995 against UT Martin.  

456: Passing yards for Nicholas Vattiato, the second most in a single game in Middle Tennessee program history and a career high for the redshirt junior. The signal caller's previous career high also came in a losing effort (408 yards, in a 45-30 October 4, 2023, vs. Jacksonville State. Wes Counts holds the program record for passing yards in a single game, tossing 459 yards against Idaho on October 6, 2001.  

1-for-3: MTSU's conversion rate in the redzone, including a 0-for-2 first half.

Blue Raider Notes
• Return specialist Brian Brewton made his Blue Raider debut against WKU.
• Middle Tennessee's 82-yard TD drive in the third quarter marked the longest scoring drive of the year.
• Going into tonight's game, the Blue Raiders had seven explosive plays (plays of 20 or more yards) on the season. MTSU tallied six explosive plays against WKU. 

Offensive Notes
#1 | Omari Kelly | WR | Jr.
• Logged a career-high nine catches for 239 yards on the evening – Became the first Blue Raider to have 100 or more yards receiving since Holden Willis on Nov. 18, 2023 against UTEP.
• His 239 yards mark the second most by a Blue Raider in program history – Five yards shy of the school record held by Demetric Mostiller (244 against UT Martin on Nov. 11, 1995). He became just the fourth player to surpass 200 yards receiving in program history.
• Caught his first career touchdown on a 37-yard pass from Vattiato.
• Tallied a career-long 71-yard reception in the third quarter – This marked the longest play from scrimmage for the Blue Raiders this season. 

#11 | Nick Vattiato | QB | r-Jr.
• Made his team-leading 15th straight start today against WKU.
• Finished 24-for-31 for 456 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. His 456 yards set the school record for most passing yards by a junior.
• Vattiato notched his second career 400-yard performance – seventh QB to eclipse 400 yards, 10th 400-yard performance all-time by a Blue Raider.
• Marks his 17th career 200 or more yard passing game in 23 games played. That ranks fifth all-time and he needs one more to tie Wes Counts and Clint Marks for third place. 

Defensive Notes
#6 | Marvae Myers | S | Gr.
• Logged his first start of the season against WKU.
• Tallied six tackles on the evening, including five solo stops. 

#22 | Chris Johnson | S | r-Jr.
• Registered a career-high nine tackles, including five solo stops. 

#36 | Jordan Thompson | LB | r-Fr.
• Posted a career-high seven tackles, including two solo stops. 

Speacial Teams Notes
#97 | Grant Chadwick | P | Fr.
• Booted a career-long 56-yard punt in the first quarter against WKU.

Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Mason
"First off, hats off to Western Kentucky. Those guys were opportunistic, I thought they played hard. They're a good football team and you can't spot a good football team 21 points, period. You look at the night, it starts with some miscues early from us on special team, which was unfortunate. You look at where we sit. You move the ball offensively, but wind up turning it over on downs and then they go down and score.

"I look at where we sit right now. We have to start fast. We have to make sure that positive things happen for us early and fight through this. It's something for this football, as this football team in particular as it looks at itself, I take full responsibility for how we prepare and come into these games. I thought we were prepared and ready to play. With the momentum change of some of those plays, we're just not mature enough to handle all parts of it. We have to continue as a staff to put this group in position to be better."

Up Next 
The Blue Raiders continue their homestand with their annual homecoming game next week, welcoming Duke University from the ACC to Floyd Stadium on September 21. The kickoff time for the game has been moved to 3 p.m. on Saturday, with TV coverage on ESPNU and radio coverage on the Blue Raider Network.