Middle Tennessee Holds Off FIU 26-23 Behind Terrence Brown
Terrence Brown Jr. had 18 carries for 158 yards, and one of them went 54 yards for a touchdown with 2:06 left in the third quarter. That run turned a 16-16 tie into a 23-16 Middle Tennessee lead, and the Blue Raiders held on to win 26-23 at Florida International.
FIU scored first, a 49-yard touchdown pass from J.J. Kohl to Kyle McNeal, and Middle Tennessee spent the rest of the first half climbing back. Roman Gagliano's 30-yard pass to Brody Benke got it close, and Dominic Bourgeois field goals from 51 and 39 yards made it 13-8 at the break. After Bourgeois hit from 50 in the third, Kohl found Kevin Schaeffer from a yard out and Devonte Lyons ran in the two-point conversion to tie it at 16-16. Brown's run came next. Bourgeois added a 28-yarder with 10:26 left, and Kohl threw a 21-yard touchdown to Sterling Joseph with 6:06 to go to make it 26-23. That was the last score of the game.
Bourgeois kicked four field goals, 12 of Middle Tennessee's 26 points (the kicker earned his lunch). The yardage was lopsided: 451 for Middle Tennessee (251 on the ground) against 347 for FIU. The Blue Raiders did not turn it over once, while Kohl threw an interception. That was a three-point game with a 104-yard gap in the box score.
Middle Tennessee goes to 4-3 and FIU slips to 3-4. For fantasy, Brown had a season-high 26.3 points and Kohl had 26.0 with three touchdown passes in a loss.