Tag: MTSU

Alabama dominates Middle Tennessee State 56-7 in season opener

Crimson Tide race out to a 1-0 start after thrashing MTSU

Alabama’s highly anticipated season opener could not have gone any better as the Crimson Tide thrashed Middle Tennessee State 56-7 in Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday evening. Now, all focus will be directed to Texas as the Longhorns come to town next weekend in what will be a top-10 matchup as well as the host of College GameDay.

The Tide’s new coordinators, Kevin Steele and Tommy Rees, both performed very strongly and seem to be a vast improvement from the coordinators Alabama had in 2022. The biggest takeaway of the evening is that Jalen Milroe is the guy. Whatever quarterback controversy there was heading into the evening, No. 4 slammed the door shut on it as he totaled 242 yards and five scores. The skill positions surrounding Milroe also showed a giant leap forward from what we saw a season ago.

The defense looked great for the most part as well as they only gave up one score on the evening. Grad transfer Jaylen Key got into the action early on as he forced the first turnover of the 2023 season before leaving the game with an injury. The status of Malachi Moore and Jaylen Key will be the big question marks heading into next week.

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In-state FBS safety enters transfer portal

An in-state FBS safety enters the NCAA transfer portal.

Middle Tennessee State junior safety Greg Grate has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

“After a long decision, I will be entering the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility,” Grate announced.

Grate played for the Blue Raiders from 2018-21, appearing in 47 games. He totaled 232 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, two sacks, eight interceptions, 20 pass deflections, seven forced fumbles and forced one fumble.

He returned one interception for a touchdown.

Grate came to Middle Tennessee State from Miami Carol City Senior High School in Miami Gardens, Florida.

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NCAA Tournament: Lady Vols eliminate MTSU

Recapping UT’s win over Blue Raiders Sunday.

The Lady Vols opened the NCAA Tournament by defeating Middle Tennessee State.

Tennessee used a big second half to rally past the Blue Raiders and nab an 87-62 victory at the Fred Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

Middle Tennessee State, a No. 14 seed in the River Walk Region, proved to be pesky early and played the third-seeded Lady Vols evenly over the first 20 minutes as the game was tied 39-39 at halftime.

UT (17-7) pulled away, outscoring the Blue Raiders 23-10 in the third quarter.

Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper, right, speaks with guard Jordan Horston (25) and guard Jordan Walker during the second half of a college basketball game in the first round of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)

Four Lady Vols posted double figures in the scoring column.

Rennia Davis recorded a double-double as she led Tennessee with 24 points. She also pulled down 14 rebounds.

Rae Burrell scored 22 points and totaled down seven rebounds for the Lady Vols. Tamari Key scored 13 points, while Kasi Kushkituah scored 10 and had eight rebounds for Tennessee, which plays No. 6 Michigan on Tuesday.

Jordan Walker had 14 rebounds and scored nine points for the Lady Vols.

Former Tennessee player Anastasia Hayes, the Conference USA Player of the Year, led the Blue Raiders (17-8) with 26 points.

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