MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- With 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter in a 42-42 game, Middle Tennessee (5-4, 3-2 CUSA) was scratching and clawing for its first win over rival Western Kentucky (3-6, 2-3 CUSA) in seven years. 31 seconds later, Middle Tennessee claimed a 51-42 win over that team in red, in possibly the most chaotic sequence of the college football season.

After a WKU kickoff sailed into the endzone for a touchback, redshirt junior Roman Gagliano went 3-for-4 for 42 yards paired with a defensive holding call, setting Dominic Bourgeois up for a 49-yard go ahead field goal with five seconds to play. After missing from 51 earlier in the game, Bourgeois sent Floyd Stadium into a frenzy with the go-ahead kick putting MTSU up 45-42.

With a second left in the ballgame, Bourgeois squib kicked to the Hilltopper return team. After two laterals, the ball hit the turf. The game ended with the ball in senior cornerback Aidan Singleton's hands, putting the Blue Raiders on top of WKU 51-42.

The late heroics stole the show from Middle Tennessee's offensive effort, as the Gagliano led unit put up a record number of points for the Derek Mason era. Saturday night's win was on pace to be the first 40 point performance under Mason, until Singleton turned it into the first 50 point outing. It also marked the first time in Mason's head coaching career to put up 50 or more.

Gagliano rattled off a career-high four passing touchdowns, while his 312 passing yards was the second highest mark of his career. The Opelika, Alabama native found redshirt freshman Neo Clifton twice for scores, while hooking up with freshman Ziyon Butler and senior Koraun Perdue as well.

Saturday served as a breakout for Butler, as he hauled in six catches for 129 yards. Both categories sent new career highs. The Gagliano-to-Butler connection struck gold in the fourth quarter for a 65-yard score, the first of Butler's career.

Antonio Martin Jr. was yet another Blue Raider with a career day, running his way to 125 yards on the ground. Martin opened the second half with a 75-yard rushing touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, putting the Blue Raiders up 28-13. This was his fifth 100-yard effort of the season.

Defensively, Korey Smith and Zeion Simpson-Smith led the way. Smith led the team with seven tackles, while Simpson-Smith had five including a tackle for loss and a sack.

By the Numbers:

300+:Roman Gagliano tallied 300 or more passing yards for the second time in his career with 312 today. The prior 300-yard outing came in his first career start against WKU last season with 383.

7: The Blue Raider win marked the first win over WKU on the gridiron in seven seasons.

3: Three Blue Raiders on offense put up career-highs: Roman Gagliano with four passing touchdowns, Antonio Martin Jr with 125 rushing yards and Ziyon Butler with six receptions and 129 yards.

2016: Antonio Martin Jr's fifth 100-yard game of the season makes him the eighth Blue Raider running back to accomplish the feat, and the first since I'Tavius Mathers in 2016.

Postgame Interviews



Up next: The Blue Raiders will hit the road to Lynchburg, Virginia, for a showdown with the CUSA-leading Liberty Flames (7-1, 4-0 CUSA).