As Duke, Middle Tennessee Are Opposing Each Other Saturday Afternoon In Murfreesboro Tennessee Manny Diaz Is Coaching Against His Former Team
From 2007-2010 Manny Diaz who is currently Duke’s Head Coach was Defensive Coordinator for Middle Tennessee.
According to Go Duke Magazine Article by Barry Jacobs
As Duke, Middle Tennessee are opposing each other Saturday afternoon in Murfreeboro Tennessee Manny Diaz is coaching against his former team.
Where?
On the gridiron!
Duke is a member of Atlantic Coast Conference comes into the game undefeated with a record of 3-0 because they topped Uconn 26-21 on Saturday September 14, 2024 in Durham Duke was down 21-17 to Uconn when Alexander Honing caught 13 yard pass from Nick Evers , Chris Freeman kicked made, extra point down 21-20 to Uconn in 4th quarter when Todd Pelino, kicked, made 47 yard field goal.
Though,
Duke was down 21-17 21-20 i to Uconn in 4th quarter Saturday Duke came back to win 26-21 as Maalik Murphy threw 20 yard touchdown pass to Que’Sean Brown.
Where?
On the gridiron!
Following Duke being down 21-17 21-20 in 4th quarter Saturday following Maalik Murphy throwing 20 yard touchdown pass to Que’Sean Brown following two point conversion failing following Duke coming back to win 26-21 Duke Head Coach Manny Diaz had this to say!
“I thought they really seized control of the game,”“And that’s where we really had to dig down and believe in a way that, I don’t feel like Northwestern ever did that a week ago. So our guys, they took a proper punch tonight.”
We felt that was gonna be a key aspect of the game tonight,”
We felt getting the ball on the perimeter, which a lot of his throws were where we get the ball in space.”
Following Duke being down 21-17 21-20 in 4th quarter Saturday following Maalik Murphy throwing 20 yard touchdown pass to Que’Sean Brown following two point conversion failing following Duke coming back to win 26-21 safety Jaylen Stinson had this to say!
“Just settle down and not panic,”“Be resilient. On the tablets watching film, something we saw on film was we were starting to panic and not play like we were playing the first half. So when we were able to relax and just rely on each other and communicate on the field, that’s what got us through.”
According to Stephen Wiseman News & Observer article https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article292206220.html
Middle Tennessee is a member of Conference USA comes into the game with record of 1-2 because unlike Duke who remained undefeated with 26-21 win over Uconn on Saturday September 14, 2024 Middle Tennessee lost to Western Kentucky 49-21 on the same day where their offense included three touchdowns. Their first touchdown came in the 3rd quarter when OmariKelly caught 37 yard pass from Nicholas Vattiato , Zeke Rankin kicked, made extra point when makingthe score 28-7 Western Kentucky then Omari Kelly caught 71 yard pass from Nicholas Vattiato, Zeke Rankin kicked, make extra point making the score 35-14 Western Kentucky. In the 4th quarter Omari Kelly caught 7 yard pass from Nicholas Vattiato , Zeke Rankin kicked, made extra point. Though, three touchdowns wasn’t enough as Western Kentucky came out on top.
According to espn app
Following Middle Tennessee’s 49-21 loss to Western Kentucky Middle Tennessee Head Coach Derek Mason had this to say!
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."
Duke, Middle Tennessee previous match up came September 14, 2019 in Murfreesboro Tennessee when Duke won by score of 41-19 when – Duke football scored on seven of its nine possessions to take down Middle Tennessee State, 41-18, Saturday night at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium.
The Blue Devils saw great output from redshirt senior quarterback Quentin Harris, who finished 24-of-27 for 237 yards and four touchdowns. His four passing scores matched Dave Brown's program record for touchdowns in consecutive games (eight), after he also had four against North Carolina A&T last week. In addition, Harris added 107 yards on 11 carries, including a career-long 65-yard run in the third quarter.
Junior running back Deon Jackson got Duke on the board first as he muscled his way into the end zone to give the Blue Devils the lead midway through the first half. The score capped off a 14 play, 67-yard drive that ate 6:04 of the clock. Jackson finished with 71 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown.
Following the score, Duke redshirt junior kicker AJ Reed surprised the Middle Tennessee special teams unit by converting on an onside kick. After the ball traveled the required ten yards redshirt sophomore wide receiver Damond Philyaw-Johnson jumped on it. The Duke Blue and White would capitalize on the good field position and add another score as Harris completed a screen pass to rookie wide receiver Jalon Calhoun who made a couple Middle defenders miss before finding the end zone. That touchdown handed Duke a 14-3 lead and it would never look back.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Aaron Young led the team in receiving with 106 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns. Young turned many heads with an incredible 25-yard catch in the back of the end zone late in the second quarter.
Rookie wide receiver Eli Pancol made one catch for the Blue Devils and scored an 11-yard touchdown to help the Duke offense. The Pendleton, Ind., native, scored his second touchdown in as many games.
Sophomore running back Mataeo Durant added 10 carries for 47 yards for the Blue Devils. His carries were highlighted by a 22-yard rush in the opening half. Junior tight end Noah Gray added five catches for 33 yards as well.
Defensively, senior safety Dylan Singleton and senior linebacker Koby Quansah led the team with eight total tackles apiece. This was the third consecutive game that Singleton led the Blue Devils in tackles. Redshirt junior linebacker Brandon Hill followed the pair with six tackles.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Chris Rumph II led the team with two sacks for five yards and four tackles for a loss of ten yards. In addition, Rumph II tied redshirt senior defensive tackle Trevon McSwain for tops on the team with three quarterback hurries. Hill added the largest sack of the night, tackling the Middle Tennessee quarterback 16 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter.
Reed scored six points on the night with a 49-yard kick in the second quarter and a 26-yard strike in the third. Redshirt senior punter Austin Parker booted the ball twice for 84 yards at 42 yards per kick.
According to article on goduke.com
An efficient offensive performance from the Duke Blue Devils was too much to overcome for Middle Tennessee Saturday.
Duke (2-1) made its first trip to Murfreesboro to take on the Blue Raiders (1-2) in MT's annual Blackout game and left with a 41-18 win.
"[Duke] has a really good football team," Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill said. "We just couldn't stop them. They scored on every possession except the last two possessions of the game.
"It was just one of those nights where not a whole lot went our way."
Behind quarterback Quentin Harris, the Blue Devils' offense made it tough on Middle Tennessee's defense all night long.
Duke won the total yards battle 463-339 and refused to get off the field, converting 8-of-14 third downs and two fourth downs. The Blue Devils averaged 5.8 yards per first-down play, setting them up with an average distance to go on third down of just 4.6 yards.
Harris finished with 237 yards through the air and four touchdowns and another 107 yards on the ground.
"They're a well-coached team," junior linebacker DQ Thomas said. "[Duke head coach David Cutcliffe] knows what he's doing with that offense.
"We just need to execute better and make plays when they need to be made.
Middle Tennessee's offense looked up to the task on its opening drive, going 51 yards in 13 plays before redshirt junior Crews Holt banged home a 41-yard field goal.
Quarterback Asher O'Hara was the catalyst of the drive, connected on all six of his passes and rushing for 16 yards, including a 20-yard run on third and long to set up the field goal try.
O'Hara, a redshirt sophomore making his second home start for the Blue Raiders, continued his strong start to the season. He completed 19-of-27 passes for 201 yards and two TDs and added a team-high 67 rushing yards on 18 attempts.
Through three games, he's completed 70.7% of his passes (63-89) for 785 yards and eight TDs against just two interceptions. He's also the team leader with 202 rushing yards and another touchdown.
"I missed my job a lot tonight," O'Hara said. "I'm just going to look back on film and learn from it, just like we all are."
The Blue Raiders' early 3-0 lead wouldn't last, as Duke scored 34 straight points, converting its first seven drives into scores.
O'Hara rallied MT to two second-half touchdowns, connecting on two passing scores, both to redshirt junior CJ Windham, his only two catches of the night. It was just too little, too late.
Windham finished with 40 yards receiving, while junior Jimmy Marshall led the way with three catches for 42 yards. Senior Ty Lee had three grabs for 19 yards, tying Kendall Newson's school record with 43 straight games with a catch.
Defensively, junior safety Reed Blankenship had a team-high nine tackles and a forced fumble. Senior Chris Melton finished with four tackles, two going for loss.
According to article https://goblueraiders.com/news/2024/9/14/fb-redzone-woes-stall-blue-raiders-in-loss-to-hilltoppers.aspx
Kickoff is set for 4:00pm from Johnny Red Floyd Stadium!
The game is going to be televised on ESPNU with Matt Schumacker, Dustin Fox commentating!