Middle Tennessee and Marshall will meet for the 13th time in football on Saturday, November 12, with kickoff set for 6:02 p.m. CT at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, WV.
The matchup adds another chapter to a series that began in 1992 in the NCAA I-AA playoffs. Marshall leads the all-time series 7-5, but Middle Tennessee had the upper hand during the teams' CUSA years, going 5-4 from 2013-2021.
That history gives this one a little more weight than a typical November conference game. The Blue Raiders have had some success in the series, including a 34-24 win in Huntington in 2018, but they have also had a harder time overall in the road environment at Edwards Stadium.
What MTSU is chasing
For Middle Tennessee, the bigger picture is just as important as the matchup itself. The Blue Raiders are trying to start 2-0 for the first time since 2001, which would give the program an early-season boost and a cleaner path through the rest of the schedule.
Derek Mason's team already showed some offensive upside in the opener, when MTSU scored 38 points against Murray State. That was the most points in Mason's era, and it came with one turnover across eight offensive drives and five scores. The Blue Raiders also reached 30 or more points for three straight games, something the program last did during the 2022 campaign over a four-game stretch.
This matchup also comes with some recent familiarity. Last year, Middle Tennessee and Marshall met in Murfreesboro in a game delayed 2:12 by weather. MTSU's 2024 meeting with TTU also featured a 2:40 weather delay, so the Blue Raiders have already had to deal with a few interruptions in recent seasons.
Saturday's game will not decide the season, but it does offer an early test against a familiar opponent with a long shared history. With Marshall holding the series edge and Middle Tennessee trying to build momentum, the result should say a lot about where both teams stand in the conference race.
