Two 7-5 teams square off in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve as the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders battle the San Diego State Aztecs. MTSU, out of Conference-USA, finished the season with three straight wins to secure a bowl bid. Meanwhile, the Aztecs, out of the Mountain West Conference, closed their season with three wins in four games. The opening kick is set for 8:00PM EST.
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The Blue Raiders hope to finish off the season with a fourth straight win as they get set to play in the Hawaii Bowl. MTSU is led by quarterback Chase Cunningham. Cunningham has thrown 19 touchdowns on the season compared with nine interceptions. He just missed the 3,000 yard mark, passing for 2,920 yards with a 67% completion percentage. The team's leading receiver is Jaylin Lane, who compiled nearly 900 yards receiving and had four touchdowns. Middle Tennessee State's ground attack is led by backs Frank Peasant and Darius Bracy. Peasant ran for 747 yards with nine touchdowns and Bracy added 257 yards with four touchdowns.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders are led by their two safeties, Tra Fluellen and Teldrick Ross. Fluellen is the team's leading tackler with nearly 100 this season and Ross leads the team in passes defended, with 17 on the season. Defensive end Jordan Ferguson leads the pass rush with 8.5 s acks on the season. Keep an eye on the kicking game in this one. MTSU has six blocked kicks this season, which is third nationally. Also, the Blue Raiders defense has turned turnovers into touchdowns six times this season, which is tied for best in the country. The marquee win on the Blue Raiders schedule this season was a decisive win at Miami in September.
It's GAME WEEK at the @HawaiiBowl ??
?? vs. San Diego State
?? Saturday at 7 PM CT
?? ESPN
?? https://t.co/VkiPYk39UC#BLUEnited | #EATT pic.twitter.com/F3lwGoVGNh— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) December 18, 2022
The Blue Raiders come into this bowl matchup with 26th best passing offense in the country but just the 103rd best ground attack. Overall they are 64th in scoring in the country. Defensively, they rank 91st in scoring defense while having the 28th best rushing defense but just the 131st best pass defense. They are extremely opportunistic, ranking 15th in the country in turnover differential. MTSU can be stingy in the red zone, ranking 43rd in the country in red zone defense.